Seahawks All-22: In praise of rookies Zach Charbonnet, Anthony Bradford

Which Seattle Seahawks running back has the most explosive runs (10+ yards) on the 2023 season?

Hint: It’s not Kenneth Walker.

Second-round rookie Zach Charbonnet has seen his workload increase over the past several weeks, primarily due to Walker’s oblique strain. Over the course of the season, Charbonnet has 15 carries of 10+ yards compared to Walker’s 13. Charbonnet has 62 fewer carries, which means his explosive run rate (15.7%) is almost double Walker’s (8.2%).

Against the San Francisco 49ers, Charbonnet had back-to-back runs of 23 yards against a Niners defense that hadn’t allowed a 20+ yard rush since their Week 8 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Over the entire season they’d only given up five, two of which were a Joe Burrow scramble and a Marquise Goodwin end-around. Coincidentally, the Seahawks hadn’t had a 20+ yard run since their Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns.

My main focus is on Charbonnet’s first big play, if only to highlight that this was a rookie-driven moment.

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Seattle is lined up in 11 personnel (1 running back + 1 tight end) with Jake Bobo motioning across the formation just before the snap. The Seahawks have sort of made it a habit that this is an auto-run when Bobo motions out, but that’s something we’ll set aside for another day. Bobo gets both linebackers Dre Greenlaw (No. 57) and Fred Warner (No. 54), as well as cornerback Isaiah Oliver (No. 26) to shift.

From the snap, Tyler Lockett motions behind Drew Lock for a fake end-around, which is amusing because Lockett hasn’t had a carry in two years. Evan Brown and Damien Lewis double team defensive tackle Kalia Davis (No. 93), while Jason Peters and rookie Anthony Bradford initially double up on Javon Kinlaw (No. 97). Bradford disengages by the time Charbonnet gets the handoff, and he gets to work on Warner.

Randy Gregory (No. 5) is to the outside of Will Dissly, so there’s a cutback lane for Charbonnet, but Dre Greenlaw (No. 57) is in the way. If he makes him miss, then it’s showtime. If he doesn’t, then maybe Big Dom can get involved.

Charbonnet not only makes Greenlaw whiff, he catches out cornerback Ambry Thomas (No. 20), who can’t lay a finger on Zach. It’s a great individual effort, but watch how well Bradford (No. 75) is able to block Fred Warner into the second-level and take him pretty much out of the play.

It’s great execution but the stars on this play were Charbonnet’s shiftiness and making the right read, as well as Bradford living up to his LSU reputation as a real powerful mauler in the run game.

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The ensuing 23-yard rush saw the Seahawks remain in 11 personnel, only this time DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett were swapped out for Dareke Young and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN goes in motion against San Francisco’s zone look. Once again, Greenlaw, Warner, and Oliver all shift to their left.

After the fake jet sweep by JSN, Lock flips it out to Charbonnet. Young makes a terrific block to knock Nick Bosa to the ground on the pitch. Evan Brown does enough to prevent Davis from getting any meaningful backfield penetration before falling down. From there, it’s a numbers and size game that tilts the Seahawks’ way. Damien Lewis and Charles Cross only have to deal with defensive backs, and Lewis never even gave Oliver a chance.

Bradford never ends up getting to Fred Warner, but the pre-snap motion by Smith-Njigba and the delayed pitch is enough for it not to matter. Notice where Warner is lined up before the motion...

then after the motion...

and where he’s positioned after the pitch.

Too late, Fred. Too late.

The Seahawks rank 6th in motion at the snap, so before you say to yourself, “Why doesn’t Shane Waldron do this more?”, sometimes the eye test does not match reality.

Unfortunately, other than a Walker 12-yard run after the game was just about lost, the Seahawks rushing attack predictably fizzled out. Within the context of this matchup, the 49ers have an elite run defense and the Seahawks have a middling rushing offense. Over the course of the season, the two Charbonnet plays followed by a slew of roads to nowhere is a microcosm the frustration with this offense. You see the glimpses of greatness and what the Seahawks could be, only to be surrounded a lot of “blah” and ineffectiveness.