Should the Seahawks Pick Up Rashaad Penny's Fifth Year Option Next Offseason?

It came as a pretty big shock when the Seattle Seahawks drafted Rashaad Penny in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft despite already having a promising lead back in Chris Carson. Penny hasn't exactly proven the doubters wrong, with 789 yards across his first two seasons.

Now the Seahawks are one season away from having to decide on the fifth-year option on Penny's contract. Starting in Week 17 of the 2020 season, they'll have to determine whether to lock him up for an extra year, or if they'll let him become an unrestricted free agent following the 2021 season.

Should they pick up Penny's fifth-year option?

Penny has yet to start a game in his first two seasons, being overshadowed by Carson, but he has shown signs of versatility when given the chance. Last season, Penny upped his averages to 5.7 yards per carry and 37.0 yards per game in limited action. He is also a viable receiving option out of the backfield with a career 73.9 percent catch rate.

The problem for Penny has been consistency and durability. He has already missed eight games in his first two seasons, and his torn ACL in week 14 of 2019 may keep him out the beginning of 2020.

Although things were trending up for the second-year pro last season with a 74.6 grade of Pro Football Focus, his major knee injury came at the worst possible time. Now the Seahawks have already brought in veteran Carlos Hyde to compete with Carson for the starting job come Fall, so in some ways Penny could be an afterthought by the time he gets healthy again.

With plenty of availability at this position in free agency or the draft, and concerns about Penny's long-term health (not to mention the emergence of Carson as a top running back), there are very few facts that support Seattle picking up this pricey fifth-year option.

In the end, Penny has the look of another failed first-round draft pick for Pete Carroll's team, which has been an all-too-common theme in recent years. The young running back should get a second chance with another franchise, but odds are his days are numbered in Seattle.

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Michael Obermuller is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Michael Obermuller also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username king_mizzard. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.