Average Draft Position: 3.12 (RB20)
Projected Fantasy Points: 145.33 (RB24)
Rashaad Penny was shaping up as a low-key sleeper heading into the NFL Draft, but the Seattle Seahawks done ruined that by taking the former San Diego State star in the first round.
Understandably, Penny's fantasy stock has skyrocketed as a result.
Seattle had a bad running game last season. Not to oversimplify it too much, but they didn't have good running backs or a good offensive line. That's a problem.
While time will tell if Penny is good or not, Seattle obviously felt strongly enough about him to nab him in the first round. As for the offensive line, it's still an issue, though the 'Hawks front five performed much better last season once they acquired left tackle Duane Brown from the Houston Texans.
And finally, combined numbers for the Seahawks/Texans with and without Duane Brown the past two years. https://t.co/Hkpn8nOAkr pic.twitter.com/awErTU6X2F
— Jim Sannes (@JimSannes) May 22, 2018
The big pull here is volume, and it shouldn't be empty volume as Seattle has ranked in the top 11 in points scored in five of Russell Wilson's six seasons. The Seahawks have been throwing around the glorious term "three-down back" on multiple occasions.
While Chris Carson, J.D. McKissic, C.J. Prosise and Mike Davis are all still on the roster, Penny is in line to be Seattle's dude in 2018. Our projections bear that out as we have him as our RB24, expecting him to put up 1,044 total yards and 7.16 total touchdowns, which would've been good enough for a RB17 finish in 2017.