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NFL Draft Reaction: Penny Shocks With Round 1 Selection
Aztecs Running Back Rashaad Penny, picked #27 by the Seahawks, went before Derrius Guice, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.
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To those who have followed human highlight reel Rashaad Penny closely, the #27 overall draft pick comes as no surprise.
The Seattle Seahawks were prepared to pick former Aztec running back Rashaad Penny as #18, had they not been able to strike a deal with the Green Bay Packers to trade down. That’s how badly Coach Pete Carroll wanted Penny in a blue, silver and bright green uniform.
Amazing as it is: this move shocks many sportscasters and fans around the country. There are some who still cling onto the notion that Penny, a Group of Five running back is not worthy of his placement in the 2018 NFL draft. Some, however, still believe he is underrated.
Pete Prisco, Jamey Eisenberg, R.J. White and Chris Trapasso over at CBS Sports co-authored an article where they graded the Seahawks a “D” for choosing the prolific Penny. CBS Sports is known to employ wonky sportscasters known to sleep on West Coast football, but even for CBS this article shows the authors did not do their homework.
In addition, Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report did a quick piece noting “Twitter was Stunned” over the Rashaad Penny pick, and highlighted a few less-than-enthusiastic tweets.
Nonetheless, Pete Carroll said “I don’t mind telling you, this pick fired me up. He’ll be a three-down back for us. The guy can do everything. He has to work on his pass protection he was not asked to do a lot of, but he’ll give us the ability to play him on all downs and that versatility is really big.”
Penny’s week at the Senior Bowl was a pivotal moment for Seahawks General Manager John Schneider. Penny rushed nine times for 64 yards and had a 73-yard touchdown reception.
Schneider added, “People were concerned about the level of competition but he absolutely ripped up the whole week down there. He acted like it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
The Seahawks are sure that Rashaad Penny is their man. In addition to gifted ball handling, hard hitting and incredible vision, they’ve pointed out over and over that Rashaad Penny has a quality they value tremendously. He is humble.
Several other teams had set their sites on Penny, but they did not expect him to come at a premium. Perhaps they thought he’d be the standout of Round 2. Unfortunately, they have miscalculated.
It has also been reported that right after Penny was selected, another team (presumably the New England Patriots) immediately attempted to engage in a trade. Flattered, the Seahawks took a hard pass.
Some of Rashaad Penny’s accolades include: 2017 NCAA Rushing Leader; 2017 Mountain West Offensive AND Special Teams Player of the Year; 7 Career Kickoff Returns for Touchdown (tied for the all-time NCAA record) and San Diego State all-time single season rushing leader (passing Donnel Pumphrey and Marshall Faulk).
“I can do whatever it takes to win a game, that’s for sure. That’s what I am going to bring to Seattle. I want to thank everyone in that organization for trusting me,” Penny said.
Congratulations to Seattle Seahawks Running Back Rashaad Penny.