11. Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks lost Carson in late December to a hip injury, which scuttled a lot of what Pete Carroll wants from his run game, though that injury did also allow the improbable return of Marshawn Lynch, which was delightful on its own terms. But make no mistake, the idea is for Carson to be the main guy in Seattle’s rushing attack. And he was able to do that when healthy. Only Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, and Nick Chubb broke more rushing tackles last season than Carson’s 62, and Carson’s 14 runs of 15 or more yards tied for fourth-best in the NFL last season.
Now, onto the problem: Carson fumbled far too often last season. This is not a good thing for a ball-control offense — or any other offense, for that matter. From the 2020 edition of the Football Outsiders Almanac, which I highly recommend:
The defining play of Carson’s season came in the third quarter of Week 9 against Tampa Bay. He took a handoff up the gut and slipped through the grasp of two defensive linemen near the line of scrimmage, then powered past a pair of safeties, one of whom had a perfect angle from the deep middle of the field. Many NFL running backs might have scored after breaking four tackles, but Carson was chased down from behind by linebacker Devin White, who swatted the ball out of Carson’s hands and out of bounds. And that’s everything you need to know about Carson in 2019: he led the NFL in broken tackles, but he also fumbled seven times, more than any non-quarterback.
And here’s what that looked like:
As was detailed in the must-read 2020 Football Outsiders Almanac, this was the defining play of Chris Carson's season. Four broken tackles, and a late, unfortunate sploot. pic.twitter.com/DDZmJ6jgo5
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 26, 2020
2020 is the last year of Carson’s rookie contract; if he’s to be a part of the Seahawks’ plans beyond the upcoming season, he’ll have to address that weighty issue.