Seattle Seahawks 2015: Marshawn Lynch vs Todd Gurley vs Melvin Gordon

By Jake Robison | February 25, 2015

The Seattle Seahawks face a quandary: they can’t keep making it back to the Super Bowl without a running back as dynamic as Marshawn Lynch, and they just don’t know how much longer he’ll stick around. Lynch is already talking retirement, which means even if he does return for 2015, it’ll likely be his last season. That means the Seahawks might as well find his replacement now, and that leaves them eying Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon.

In fact the surest way to keep Marshawn Lynch around longer may simply be to lighten his load. Bringing in a younger running back to split the carries might be the smartest move the Seattle Seahawks could make this offseason. The catch: it has to be someone who is just as special, at a time when NFL running backs are increasingly viewed as plug-and-play commodities. Melvin Gordon was so dominant in college that he broke records. Todd Gurley could have done the same if not for a limited number of carries, then a suspension, and then an injury. The question becomes whether either of them falls to them near the bottom of the first round.

There would also become the issue of which running back would get the ball in crucial situations. Marshawn Lynch would continue to be the logical answer, but as Seahawks fans are all too painfully aware, the team doesn’t always get him the ball in the instances where it matters most. But having the likes of Gurley or Gordon on the roster would ensure that Lynch stays fresh for those moments.