Free agent running back Emanuel Wilson has barely been with the Seattle Seahawks. Offseason workouts for the team officially start Tuesday.
But the veteran running back is already facing pressure to prove his worth to the Seahawks. Otherwise, one pundit sees Wilson potentially getting buried on the team’s running back depth chart.
Entering offseason workouts, SI on Seahawks’ Randy Gurzi named three Seattle players “whose jobs could be on the line” in offseason workouts. Wilson made the list.
“After Kenneth Walker III signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle brought in former Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson. During his tenure in Green Bay, Wilson has respectable numbers, rushing for 1,083 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per carry,” wrote Gurzi.
“Even so, he’s now part of a tough committee which will be led by Jadarian Price. The Seahawks also have Zach Charbonnet, who is recovering from a torn ACL but appears to be progressing well in his rehab. Wilson should be the favorite for the third spot, but George Holani has shown plenty of promise in the past and could make it a tough battle.”
In three NFL seasons, Wilson has posted 4.5 yards per carry and scored eight touchdowns during 41 games. He ran for 496 rushing yards and caught 15 passes for 99 yards with the Green Bay Packers last season.
Seahawks’ Emanuel Wilson Facing Pressure Entering Offseason Workouts?
Wilson isn’t a direct replacement for Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III. But the Seahawks lost Walker in NFL free agency and only signed Wilson.
As Gurzi pointed out, though, even without Walker, the Seahawks have a full crowded backfield. In the 2026 NFL Draft, Seattle also added Jadarian Price at the end of the first round.
Last year, Zach Charbonnet split opportunities with Walker in the backfield. Charbonnet, though, missed the end of the playoffs because of a knee injury.
Once Charbonnet returns healthy, Wilson could be in line for a RB3 role in Seattle if he doesn’t earn a job ahead of the first-round rookie. Gurzi also sees George Holani pushing Wilson for opportunities.
The Seahawks have fellow running backs Jacardia Wright and Kenny McIntosh on the team’s offseason roster as well.
Too Early to Take Consider Wilson a Candidate to Lose Job
Gurzi isn’t the first to suggest Wilson is going to be a disappointment of sorts in Seattle. Seahawks analyst Hugh Millen argued right after the team signed the running back that Wilson could be a cut candidate.
Maybe Gurzi and Millen are ultimately right about Wilson. In some ways, the Seahawks added him purely as early-season insurance so Charbonnet doesn’t have to rush his rehab.
But a lot of pundits would say that it’s dangerous to have any major takeaways from offseason workouts.
May practices are certainly important. However, they rarely make or break a player. Even the NFL preseason doesn’t do that. The exhibition season is so meaningless to some NFL head coaches that teams sit their entire starting lineups.
Unless Wilson just looks awful this spring, he’s very likely going to enter training camp as one of the team’s top backs.
As a backup to Josh Jacobs, Wilson gained at least 490 rushing yards each of the past two seasons. In 2024, he ran for 502 yards with four touchdowns. During 2025, he set a new career-high with 595 yards from scrimmage.
Seahawks offseason workouts will begin on May 26. The team will have three days of practices this week.
Seahawks Free Agent Addition Projected as Already ‘In Danger’ of Losing Job