Seahawks stun with their No. 1 choice
San Diego State RB Penny to help keep heat off QB Wilson
RENTON, Wash. — Once again, John Schneider and Pete Carroll left observers a little surprised by the Seattle Seahawks’ first selection in the NFL draft.
This time, it included the player they picked — San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny.
“I’m one of those guys I came from a realistic program with a realistic head coach. He always said I was going to be the best player on the field. But then you start looking at all the mocks and the projections,” Penny said Thursday night. “But then as the process started going on and on I started to realize the mocks and the projections don’t mean anything. Now I see it’s real. It don’t matter what the projections say. It’s just unexpected.”
The Seahawks used the No. 27 selection in the first round to strengthen their commitment to an offense based around the run and put less of the offensive onus on quarterback Russell Wilson. Penny will help affirm that focus, even if the pick came with a number of other players available that could have helped Seattle at other positions, including along the defensive line and in the secondary.
He joins rare company as just the third running back selected in the first round of the draft in franchise history, along with Curt Warner (No. 3 in 1983) and Shaun Alexander (No. 19 in 2000).
“He has truly run a lot of stuff that we want to run with him,” Carroll said. “That’s great in the evaluation. He’s also been a shotgun runner at times, too. We’ve seen the moves and the cuts he needs to show us (in) that stuff we like to do in a big way that includes Russell’s factor. There’s no limitations, there’s just no limitations.”
Seattle traded the No. 18 pick and a seventh-round selection to Green Bay to move back nine spots. The trade landed Seattle a coveted third-round pick and a selection in the sixth round. Seattle entered the draft without any picks on the second day of the draft.
Penny was one of the elite running backs in college football last season as he became a full-time starter for the first time. He led the nation with 2,248 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns for the Aztecs. Penny rushed for at least 200 yards in each of the final five games to close out the 2017 season and had 13 rushing TDS during the stretch.
Penny was a first-team Associated Press All-america selection and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. His credentials are significant and he enters the NFL without having a heavy load of carries in college.
“I just think the fact the guy doesn’t have quite as much wear and tear, can score from anywhere on the field, great hands,” Schneider said.