Seattle Seahawks running back George Holani began a top the depth chart to begin offseason minicamp, but analysts believe any takeaways from that are overly optimistic.
Michael Hanich of Sports Illustrated wrote about Holani’s involvement with the first team as training started.
Hanich wrote, “Not only is Holani one of the most talked-about players during mini-camps, but he also started the practices with the first-team offense. The Seahawks eventually gave Price reps at the No. 1 throughout the practices as the team intends to keep their one-two running back tandem from last season. Holani, however, matched Price’s athleticism and intensity in drills and team reps. The team has been wanting Holani to get a chance to prove he is more than the third-string back from last season. He is capable of being one of the league’s biggest surprises overall this upcoming NFL season.”
Seattle Seahawks Running Back Jadarian Price Being Eased Into Offense
Given Price is just a rookie, the Seahawks were never going to make him the workhorse immediately, but his involvement could gradually increase as we approach the regular season.
The Seahawks drafted Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price with the 32nd overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft. It makes sense that the Seahawks would ease Price into the offense. However, the expectation remains that Price will lead this backfield when the regular season begins.
With Zach Charbonnet still recovering from injury, the Seahawks were never going to rely on Holani and recent acquisition Emanuel Wilson to command the backfield. Otherwise, the Price selection would not have happened.
For his career, Holani sports a 3.3 yard per carry rate but only has 85 yards on 25 attempts. Wilson owns a more productive profile with 1083 career rushing yards on 242 attempts (4.5 yards per carry). Yet, neither player has carried a significant role in an NFL offense.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report agrees, “Will Holani have a role in the Seattle ground game this year? Yes, but if the Seahawks were confident Holani and free agent-addition Emanuel Wilson could hold down the fort until Charbonnet returns, they wouldn’t have used a first-rounder on Price in the first place.”
George Holani Remains a Solid Backup Running Back
The Seahawks will still utilize Holani as their backup running back to give support to Price, but its only natural to sell what the Seahawks are doing right now with him as lead back.
All things considered, the improvement of Holani gives encouragement to a backfield that has question marks. A duo of Price and a renewed Holani should give comfort to Seahawks fans while Charbonnet recovers. However, this is Price’s backfield moving forward and people should expect him to receive the lion share of carries throughout the season.
Nothing has changed in that regard until Holani can prove that he has another gear that analysts and fans are not aware of existing. Certainly, the recent news is positive, but it only makes sense to be skeptical of recent changes in minicamp. The season is still young.
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