A Day 2 running back option for Seahawks in NFL Draft

With a Kenneth Walker III-sized hole on their roster, the Seattle Seahawks are widely expected to draft a running back at some point in this week’s NFL Draft.

A full Seahawks mock draft – with a trade and 6 picks

Some experts have discussed Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price – the consensus No. 2 running back in this year’s class – as a good fit for the Seahawks with their No. 32 overall pick. But others believe drafting a running back in the first round wouldn’t be the best use of limited resources for Seattle, which currently holds just four picks.

And if the Seahawks go another route at No. 32, Price would likely be off the board by their No. 64 pick.

“Unless they take (Price) at 32, which I don’t know if they should, they would probably miss him by the time 64 comes around,” The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

So, if not Price, who else could be a good match for the Seahawks in what’s considered to be a thin running back class?

One common name being linked to Seattle is speedy Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr., who’s widely considered to be the third-best running back in the draft behind the Notre Dame duo of Price and projected top-10 pick Jeremiyah Love.

In recent mock drafts, ESPN’s Jordan Reid and NFL.com’s Chad Reuter both project Washington to the Seahawks at No. 64 overall, while The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Washington going to Seattle at No. 96 overall.

The 6-foot-1, 223-pound Washington has an impressive combination of size and speed, which he put on display at the NFL combine with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash that was the fastest time among all running backs.

Washington showcased his blazing speed with the Razorbacks this past season, rushing for 1,070 yards, eight touchdowns and 6.4 yards per carry in 12 games. He broke 17 runs of 15-plus yards, which was tied for 12th-most in the FBS and seventh-most among Power Four conference running backs, according to Pro Football Focus. He also added 28 catches for 226 yards and a TD.

Also of note? Reuter lists Washington’s NFL comparison as former Seahawks running back Chris Carson, who had back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons with Seattle in 2018 and 2019.

Klassen thinks Washington would be a good fit for the Seahawks to help replace the speed and explosiveness they lost in Walker.

“He has a little bit of the Ken Walker in him – for good and for bad,” Klassen said. “He has that 4.33 speed at 220 pounds, … but isn’t always the most efficient runner.

“But if they’re going to operate the offense the way that they do and be as good as they are on passing downs and have (Zach) Charbonnet and (George) Holani kind of holding it down as your more efficient backs, I think that could probably be fine for them.”

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