The Seattle Seahawks landed an absolute gem when they drafted Chris Carson. The team drafted Carson in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. At Oklahoma State, Carson led the team in rushing in 2015.
However, he only recorded 517 yards on 131 attempts. Justice Hill promptly replaced him as the team's lead back in 2016. Because of his limited success, Carson fell into Seattle's lap as the 249th overall pick.
It looked like Carson might have won the starting job as a rookie, but he ended up on injured reserve just four weeks into his professional career.
He persevered though and beat out 2018 first-round pick Rashaad Penny for the starting job in 2018. He went on to post the best season by a Seattle running back since Marshawn Lynch left the team.
Now, Carson should be looking to find new ways to challenge himself in his third NFL season.
3. 1,300 rushing yards
This is more of a personal goal for Carson. It's hard to not acknowledge him as one of the better backs in the league, but he's not viewed as a Pro Bowl-caliber player. Only two running backs breached the 1,300 rushing yardage mark last season. If Carson got to that point, it would be hard for people to deny him a trip to Orlando.
Carson was actually on pace for over 1,300 rushing yards in 2018. Unfortunately, he missed two games with various injuries. Carson averaged 82.2 rushing yards per game last season.
Among running backs with at least 50 carries, that ranked fourth in the entire league. He also managed to maintain that total while averaging 4.7 yards per carry, the same as league-leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott.
The Seahawks as an offense averaged 160 rushing yards per game.
Surely, in an offense that is so predicated on establishing the run, Carson can reach 1,300 rushing yards.
2. Ten rushing touchdowns
The Seahawks may have led the league in rushing yards per game in 2018, but they finished tied for 11th in total rushing touchdowns. While the New Orleans Saints led the league with 26 rushing touchdowns, the Seahawks mustered just 15. Seattle also finished with 428 total points scored on the season. That put them in a three0way tie for sixth in the league.
However, four of the five teams above the Seahawks won their divisions and all five advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Seattle did neither.
While the Seahawks did score a lot of points last season, they would have been in statistically rare air if they scored a little more. Carson ran for nine touchdowns last season. While one more touchdown might not seem significant, it actually would have been a huge deal for Seattle.
The Seahawks lost five regular season games in 2018 by seven points or fewer, including two to the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle also lost to the Dallas Cowboys by two points in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
My point is, that one score can be very significant. Ten touchdowns also look very nice on paper.
It could go a long way to helping Carson earn more recognition or a juicy new contract when his current deal ends after the 2020 season.
1. Zero Fumbles
Carson fumbled the ball three times in 2018. Two of those three mistakes ended up becoming turnovers. A team that is trying to seriously compete in the playoffs cannot afford those kinds of mishaps.
Among the league's top 20 leaders in rushing yards last season, only one player fumbled more than Carson. Elliott fumbled the ball six times. However, the Dallas running back also logged 57 more carries and 57 more receptions than Carson. Pittsburgh's James Conner also fumbled three times.
Simple mistakes like fumbling are what drive coaches crazy. Usually, they're easily avoidable plays if the running back prioritizes ball protection. Sometimes, when trying to break big plays, runners drop their guard and get stripped. Carson should prioritize protecting the ball at all costs.
While finishing a season with zero fumbles might seem impossible, it's quite common. In 2018, ten of the top 20 leaders in rushing yards never fumbled that ball.
That includes high-usage players like Saquon Barkley, Todd Gurley, and Joe Mixon.
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