Why Seahawks’ struggling run game should improve in 2nd half

The Seattle Seahawks have excelled in a variety of facets during their impressive 5-2 start.

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They’ve had one of the league’s best defenses, both against the run and the pass. They’ve had one of the league’s most explosive passing attacks, led by Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s season-opening tear. And they’ve had one of the league’s best special teams units, with a slew of impact plays in the game’s third phase.

The one missing piece, however, has been their rushing attack. The Seahawks have struggled to achieve consistent production on the ground, ranking just 21st in rushing yards per game (106.1), 31st in yards per carry (3.7) and 31st in rushing EPA.

But as the calendar flips to November, Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Bryan Walters expects Seattle’s run game to take a step forward. And the biggest reason for that? Walters expects opposing defenses to devote even more of an emphasis to slowing down Smith-Njigba, whose NFL-leading 819 receiving yards have him on pace to break the NFL single-season receiving record.

“I think teams are gonna really try to take JSN out of the game,” Walters said Monday while serving as a guest host on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “And it’s easier said than done. The Texans tried to do that. We saw what they tried to do. JSN still was able to get open. But there’s going to be drastic measures to make JSN not the guy that hurts you.”

As a result, that could help create more space on the ground for Seahawks running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.

“You’ve got to play safety over the top of JSN,” Walters said. “You really have to know where he’s at. What happens when (defenses) start doing that? Well, that’s one (less) guy that can help stop the run. That’s one (less) guy in the box.”

Walters also expects the return of rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts to make a difference. The bruising 6-foot-3, 274-pound Ouzts missed the past four games due to an ankle injury, but was designated to return to practice off injured reserve on Monday.

“You’re getting (rookie fullback) Robbie Ouzts back,” Walters said. “Now you have a fullback that is taking care of an extra guy. … So this is where the second half of the season, you could see the numbers start shifting more in favor of the run game.”

Listen to the full conversation with Bryan Walters at this link or in the audio player near the bottom of this story. Tune into Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks news and analysis

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