RB Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks

HT: 5-10, WT: 223, Born: 4-22-1986, College: California, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 12

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: D Martin (3), R Rice (4), Marshawn Lynch (5), C Johnson (6), T Richardson (7)
Position: D Martin (3-RB3), R Rice (4-RB4), Marshawn Lynch (5 - RB5), T Richardson (7-RB6), J Charles (8-RB7)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: L McCoy (9), A Green (10), Marshawn Lynch (11), B Marshall (12), J Jones (13)
Position: C Spiller (8-RB7), L McCoy (9-RB8), Marshawn Lynch (11 - RB9), A Morris (16-RB10), M Forte (17-RB11)
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Back spasms didn’t slow Lynch down, but early on the Arizona front seven sure did. The Cardinal had eight in the box on nearly every play as Lynch totaled seven yards on his first three carries. On the second series he finally found a hole and then trucked a linebacker six yards downfield before falling forward for a gain of ten. Lynch started the second quarter with good burst through the hole for a six yard gain and was clearly running angry again. A nine yard run to start the second half was vintage Lynch busting through tackles and fighting for every inch. He fumbled at the end of the run but was saved by Russell Wilson’s great hustle to recover it. A seven yard run from the eighteen set the Seahawks up with 1st and goal from the 10 later in the quarter but they called three straight passes so Lynch didn’t see a scoring opportunity. Lynch didn’t see very many holes open up in the 4th quarter, other than an 11 yard run on 3rd and 26. It was the kind of day where you were surprised to see he ended up with 85 yards but it was a testament to his effort and Pete Carroll’s refusal to give up on the running game.

Week 2 - After a rather uneventful 22-yard performance in the first half, Lynch made sure he set the tone on his first carry of the 2nd half. Entering a pile at the line of scrimmage, it appeared Dallas had Lynch bottled up, but as we have all learned with Lynch, the play is never dead. Lynch squirmed his way to the outside, planted a stiff arm on Ware and rumbled for 16 yards. The drive ultimately stalled, but the tone was set. The next drive saw Lynch’s longest carry of the game at 36 yards. After starting at their own 10-yard line, Seattle hit the Dallas defense with four consecutive runs, the last being a 36-yard rumble for Lynch through a gaping hole in the right side of the line, leading to the teams first offensive TD. The success of the rushing game helped kick off the next drive, as a play action fake to Lynch had Ware chasing Lynch leaving Wilson to operate on the edge. Lynch continued to gobble up yards on the drive, accumulating 25 yards and culminating with Lynch walking in from three-yards out. The 2nd half was Beast Mode time, as Lynch gained hit the century mark in the 2nd half alone, breaking the will of the Dallas defense along with way. Even in two and three-yard gains, Lynch consistently delivered punishment with initiated contact and the effects certainly showed in the 2nd half as Dallas wore down.

Week 3 - Marshawn Lynch was a hammer and incredibly useful tool for Seattle to have and to help QB Wilson win this game. Lynch was used very effectively with good run blocking, that pushed back defenders often and gave some running room despite the defense looking to stop the run and not respecting the passing game much. He was featured heavily and trusted with the ball on all but one rushing attempt. Lynch was used mostly in inside zone runs up the middle or stretch plays to the outside, allowing him to pick the correct hole and try to exploit the weakness of the defense. Lynch was excellent on 3rd / 4th and short plays to convert for first downs. Lynch crucially converted a 4th and 2 play on the final drive, showing excellent power and sheer determination not to be denied. Lynch is a perfect fit for this offense and kept the Seahawks in very manageable down and distance situations despite the lack of threat of a legitimate passing attack. His role was very specific, rarely being involved in the passing game and simply asked him to get as many yards as possible on simple runs up the gut of the packer defense.

Week 4 - The lone bright spot for the Seahawks offense was none other than Marshawn Lynch. He ran violently between the tackles and showed burst off tackle taking a few runs wide for big gains. He broke an 18 yard touchdown run early in the first quarter which set the stage for the day as he continued to bowl over defenders and anyone in his way. The power running game the Seahawks deploy is executed perfectly by their offensive line and allows Lynch to blow up would be tacklers as he hits the hole. Even the instances he is met before the line of scrimmage, Lynch was often fighting through two to three defenders and gaining positive yardage. What makes Lynch’s final stat line (20 carries, 118 yards, 1TD & 4 catches, 37 yards) is he had no support from the passing game. Lynch was often facing eight men in the box and was still able to rip off just shy of 6 YPC. Lynch is a willing and ferocious pass blocker, has improved his hands and was just 4 yards shy of WR Sidney Rice’s team leading 41 yards. Lynch continues to be the best player on this team and is beginning to solidify his status as a top RB in the NFL.

Week 5 - Marshawn Lynch, despite not having an impressive day statistically speaking, made a huge impact on the outcome of the game. Lynch’s tough, no-nonsense running style bore little fruit early on, but the Panthers’ defense began to tire later and Lynch took advantage, rushing for 10 yards on the game’s decisive play, a 3rd-and-10 inside Seattle’s 20-yard line. Lynch broke tackles and looked decisive with his cutbacks. Overall, it was a typical Lynch display. His only blunder was a pass that was bobbled into the air and intercepted – a pass he should have held on to. Lynch had a nice 15 yard burst called back by penalty early on.

Week 6 - As his counterpart on the Patriots, Marshawn Lynch found himself struggling to get anything going on the ground gaining just 41 yards on 15 carries to go along with 1 reception for 11 yards giving him his lowest yardage total of the season. The Patriots defensive line got pressure seemingly at will and broke up a number of runs in the backfield. Lynch didn’t show his typical power or explosiveness on many of his runs, and one may question the wear and tear on the physical runner thus far with the volume of carries he’s received. A bye week will do him well.

Week 7 - Frank Gore, rightfully, received a lot of praise after this game, but Marshawn Lynch proved himself to be the better runner. Gore's two big runs on the day gave him a better stat line, but those runs, like most of his on the day, came from superb blocking. While Lynch wasn't exactly getting no help, he was turning short gains into bigger chunks on a consistent basis with his power. Lynch had multiple 15 yard runs for his longest of the day. Both plays were well blocked, but Lynch broke arm tackles and found space to extend them even further. Where Gore did prove to be a better player than Lynch on the day, although it must be said he received many more opportunities also, was as a receiver. Lynch's only reception came off play action when Russell Wilson checked the ball down to him in the flat. Lynch ran forward before hesitating and powering through the defender for a first down and five extra yards.`His only other target of the day was a key drop late in the game when he had the opportunity to turn a well blocked screen pass into a big gain.

Week 8 - Despite a career long 77-yard TD run to the open the 2nd quarter, Marshawn Lynch did not look his bruising self against the Detroit Lions. Not one to usually go down on first contact or behind the line of scrimmage, Lynch was dropped in the backfield for negative runs on one third of his carries. At one point in the 3rd quarter, Lynch took the carry off left tackle into a gaping hole. Safety Louis Delmas was all that stood between Lynch and another gigantic run. Rarely on the losing end of one on ones, especially against a defensive back, Lynch went down way too easy and was only able to pick up three yards. Lynch’s best run may have been a ten-yard scamper on what appeared to be game winning drive in the 4th quarter. Running again off left tackle, Lynch was able to use a stiff arm at contact on the line of scrimmage in order to get the edge and pick up 10. We’d be remiss to not discuss Lynch’s burst on his TD run, but it was not your prototypical Beast Mode run. Taking the toss right, Lynch used one cut into a massive hole and ran untouched for 77 yards. The blocking was pristine, especially downfield as Lynch only had to outrun a trailing Kyle Vanden Bosch. Lynch was also targeted three times in the passing game, but had only one catch for one yard. A nicely set up screen, Lynch was again bested by Delmas, whom was able to get a hand on his foot and bring Lynch down fairly easily after the short gain.

Week 9 - At the end of every run, there was a defender getting hit by Marshawn Lynch as opposed to the defender doing the hitting. Lynch ran with such power and strength that defenders were often caught beneath his churning legs. When the offensive line opened a large hole, Lynch was able to burst through with good speed and drag defenders for extended gains. When the offensive line could only open gaps, Lynch ran with great patience, following blockers until an opportunity arose for him to rush through an opening. There were plays where defenders wrapped their arms around Lynch’s hips, yet Lynch continued to rumble forward. Harrison Smith tried to lower his shoulder and take Lynch’s legs out head on, only to bounce right off. Lynch’s touchdown run came on a 3 yard run, where Minnesota called a play that actually moved defenders away from where Seattle’s run was directed. With only the defensive line to get past, Lynch followed his blocker, lowered his head and drove through the line for the short touchdown. On a screen in the second half, Lynch caught the pass and displayed incredible vision to see where tacklers were coming from and where the holes were, and then executed great cuts to elude defenders. The only thing that stopped Lynch was when he was met in the backfield. With a limited amount of acceleration, Lynch needed enough ground to gain a head of steam. Without that space, Lynch was often taken down immediately.

Week 10 - It was the tale of two halves for Lynch. During the first half, Lynch rushed for just 39 yards on 14 carries and caught one pass for 27 yards. The Jet defense was very physical, attacking Lynch at the line of scrimmage and punishing him with aggressive gang tackles. During his team’s third drive, Lynch lazily fumbled away a 3rd-and-3 carry on the New York 40-yard line. Lynch did not press the ball against his rib cage, allowing Muhammad Wilkerson to punch the ball out. However, Lynch would atone for this mistake. During his team’s sixth drive, Lynch grabbed a screen pass and ran down the right sideline for a 27-yard gain. Lynch made the first tackler miss before getting behind his blockers and accelerating into the open field. Later in the drive, Lynch took advantage of Jeremy Kerley special teams blunder by cashing in on a one-yard touchdown plunge. The Jet defense stopped Lynch at the line of the scrimmage, but Lynch’s second effort propelled him in for the score.

During the second half, Lynch unlocked his inner ‘beast mode’ as he wore down the battered Jet defense. Lynch ran for 51, third quarter yards and routinely attacked the line of scrimmage. During his team’s ninth drive, Lynch took a 2nd-and-10 carry up the middle. At first glance, it appeared Lynch was stopped for a one-yard gain, but he kept his legs moving, broke away from one tackler to earn a nine-yard gain. During the fourth quarter, Lynch cashed in on his longest run of the day. On a 2nd-and-13 play, Lynch ran up the middle, cut right, hurdled a rookie tackler, and ran through two arm tackles for an 18-yard gain. With his team holding a second half lead, Lynch could smell the finish line and had no problem punishing defenders.

Week 12 - The Dolphins stopped Lynch in his tracks in Miami, limiting the third-leading rusher in the league to a mere forty-six yards on nineteen carries. Lynch had absolutely nowhere to go against a Dolphins run defense that often met him behind the line of scrimmage for negative yardage. The Seahawks opted to use Robert Turbin in passing situations, and, coupled with getting only three offensive possessions in the second half, the game flow left Lynch the odd man out. This is not to say Lynch did not hit the hole hard or attempt to bounce to the outside to find room to run – which he did, ripping one sixteen yard run off the left end of the offensive line – but Miami routinely stacked the box to prevent Lynch from getting multiple big runs, even as its defense wore down. 


Week 13 - Chicago came into the game as one of the top rushing defenses in the league. It definitely impacted Lynch at the start of the game, where he racked up 38 yards on his first three carries, but fumbled the second one and the Bears drove down and scored after making the recovery. After that, Lynch was pretty much held in check, and was used as more of a decoy for Russell Wilson, especially late in the game and in overtime. Lynch had two key carries on the final drive of regulation – a six yard catch and run where Charles Tillman punched the ball out at the end but it went out of bounds, and a 12 yard off tackle run on the next play to keep the ball moving down the field. After that, Wilson used play action to Lynch to buy himself time and either roll out and throw the ball or continue running to pick up the first down. In overtime, Wilson opened up with a fake like that, and broke the run for 11 yards. He handed off to Lynch on the next play, and Lynch powered ahead for 14 yards, putting the Bears on their heels right from the opening play. Two plays later on 3rd and 2, Wilson again faked to Lynch and took off for a gain of five and another key first down. Lynch had a few more carries up the gut, but it was the play action fake that led to the TD pass to Sidney Rice and the win. Lynch’s TD run was also out of the shotgun – an inside handoff and Lynch was able to pick his way through the line for the score. For the day, Lynch only finished with 87 yards rushing, but more than half of Russell Wilson’s rushing totals were the direct result of the Bears over-committing when trying to stop Lynch.

Week 14 - Lynch brought his Beast Mode mentality this week against Arizona. He needed just 11 carries to break 120 rushing yards and collect three touchdowns. The Seattle offensive line dominated Arizona’s front seven on nearly every snap. Lynch was cutting well and seemed to make the right read on every defender he encountered. In the second half, Lynch had a few carries before Robert Turbin and Leon Washington handled the remainder of the attempts. The Arizona defense looked like it wanted no part of tackling the physical Lynch more and more with each successive carry. With a 38-0 lead, Lynch made his final big run of the game, hurdling some congestion at the line of scrimmage before finding daylight at the second level. There was no one there in the secondary and Lynch galloped for the touchdown. Reminiscent of 2011, Lynch has now strung together seven touchdowns in his last six games after just two scores in the first seven weeks. With the Bills on the schedule in Week 15, Lynch could be a major factor in fantasy football playoff matchups next week.

Week 15 - Facing his former team for the first time since his trade, Lynch (in only ten carries) stomped all over the Buffalo defense. The true antithesis to C.J. Spiller was vicious through the hole, using minimal cuts and punishing potential tacklers. Using the success of the read option (namely the defenses shift in attention), Lynch was able to break off a game high 54-yard run through the middle of the defense. With the defense set on the edges and the interior compensating, a gaping hole opened for Lynch as he ran straight ahead. Not even needing to cut or shift, Lynch wasn’t touched until he was tackled just short of the goal line. With the game quickly out of hand, Lynch only received one carry in the 2nd half, but he made sure to make it count. Running left, Lynch easily got the edge and ran untouched into the end zone for the 14-yard TD run. Lynch also caught one pass on a designed screen for 14 yards and used a nice cut just after he caught the low pass to avoid a tackle and get up field. It’s easy to see there was much more out there for Lynch, but there was just no sense is walking him out there with such a massive lead.

Week 16 - The loss of Justin Smith in the middle of the 49er defense allowed the offensive line of Seattle to block open more holes than last game, and the exceptional level that Russell Wilson ran the zone read allowed Lynch to consistently run through space. On his first carry, Lynch ran through a large hole than cut behind a blocker in the second level. As he approached the goal line, Lynch lowered his shoulder and barreled through a tackler to get in to the end zone for a touchdown. The power and quickness of Lynch was incredibly impressive in its own right, but his vision was what allowed the running back to use these skills to full effect. When the intended hole filled, Lynch was able to see new gaps open and cut through, slipping through gaps with tight lateral moves. When all gaps were filled, Lynch lowered his pads and attacked the tackler, slamming the defense and pushing the wall backwards. Lynch possessed both the patience to wait for holes to open and the judgment of when to lower the shoulder and create space by attacking. Lynch also contributed a great deal in the passing game, as his receiving touchdown was the result of a well designed play to open space underneath. With the receivers clearing out the defense by crossing away from the left side, Lynch was able to slip out from behind the line to catch the ball in space and walk in to the end zone. All game long, the running back attacked open holes and gaps to keep the San Francisco defense reeling. As Seattle’s lead became insurmountable, the running back was used as a battering ram to drain the clock, and Lynch looked as powerful in the 4th quarter as he did in the 1st.

Week 17 - If it wasn’t for the machine that is Adrian Peterson, it’s hard to imagine another RB who’d be talked about more than Lynch for his 2012 campaign. Lynch again put together another spectacular performance, averaging 5.6 yards a carry on 18 carries. Lynch found lots of space early, especially on his two longest carries of the day, the first going for 24 yards and the next, 19. Running through a gaping hole to open the Seahawks 3rd drive of the game, Lynch was faced with a dilemma as he was running down the sideline. Having worked to get to this point, he had essentially been untouched for the duration of the run and could easily slip out of bounds without any contact whilst still amassing a 20+ yard run. Of course, Lynch didn’t disappoint and made sure to attack S Craig Dahl with everything he had before being gang tackled to the ground. The following drive’s opening play looked very similar, with Lynch running essentially untouched downfield before attacking another DB before getting shoved out of bounds after picking up 19 yards. There are plenty of exciting players in the NFL, but no one is quite like Marshawn Lynch. Each carry on Sunday brought back fond memories of Lynch’s days at Cal, specifically his ghost riding the medical cart after a victory against Washington. Just as Lynch wildly maneuvered through traffic with absolute abandonment that sunny Saturday afternoon, so too did he “drive” through traffic against the Rams, bouncing off potential tacklers while maintaining a balance that is unmatched in the league. Forget the Mike Vick Experience, I want to take the Marshawn Lynch Joy Ride. Lynch just missed scoring a TD on Seattle’s final drive. After it was initially ruled a TD on the four-yard run, replay overturned the call as it showed Lynch just barely stepping out before getting into the end zone. Lynch also caught two passes for 14 yards, with a long of eight yards coming after Wilson frantically scrambled on the play. Lynch did have one fumble on the game winning drive, but was saved by Golden Tate who recovered it.

Week 18 - Lynch stole the show as Seattle’s biggest offensive weapon, carrying the ball twenty times for one hundred and thirty-one rushing yards. The always-entertaining halfback proved challenging for the Washington defense to bring down, even when the Redskins stacked the box with eight defenders to stop him. Lynch had some difficult getting going early in the game, but managed to wear down Washington’s defensive line as the game progressed. Lynch got going early in the second quarter when quarterback Russell Wilson fumbled a read-option handoff, which Lynch recovered and took eighteen yards down the field. The veteran halfback ripped off runs of fifteen and twenty-six yards, respectively, in the third quarter, exhibiting a shiftiness befitting of much-smaller ball carriers. However, soon after he brought the Seahawks to the Washington two-yard-line in the third quarter, Lynch fumbled the ball at the goal line and gave possession of the football back to Washington. The poster child for Skittles as a performance-enhancing supplement earned his keep in the end, however, chewing up eighteen yards on a fourth-quarter scamper before blazing a trail into the Washington red zone from twenty-seven yards out, carrying multiple Washington defenders with him until he broke the plane for a Seahawks touchdown. Lynch’s change-of-direction on the fourth-quarter touchdown run was jaw-dropping, as he completely stopped in his tracks while running left, shuffled his feet, and sprinted toward the right side of the field. Lynch came close to hitting paydirt a second time, later in the fourth quarter, but Redskins linebacker Rob Jackson stopped him four yards short of the stripe. Against the Falcons’ less-than-stellar run defense, Lynch should dazzle once again, when Atlanta and Seattle meet in the Divisional round.

Week 19 - The unofficial Skittles pitchman had a forgettable day in the Georgia Dome. Lynch turned in one of his worst efforts of the season, carrying the ball sixteen times for a mere forty-six yards rushing, while adding thirty-seven yards receiving on three catches. His long run of the day was an eleven-yard jaunt that ended with a fumble and a lost ball, setting up a first quarter drive by the Falcons that ended in a touchdown. Lynch had a tough road to hoe all afternoon against Atlanta, a team that other squads ran on with ease in the regular season. The California product still gave his maximum effort, though, routinely moving piles of defenders and making something out of nothing with a powerful, churning leg drive. Still, with his Seahawks down by twenty points at the half, Lynch found his number called with less frequency as Seattle had to take to the air to make up its deficit. 

Regardless of game flow, the Seahawks’ usage of Lynch in short-yardage situations was puzzling indeed. On third and then fourth-and-one in the second quarter, Seattle called on Robert Turbin and then fullback Michael Robinson to move the chains at the Atlanta eleven yard line, and neither had any success. In the fourth quarter on first-and-goal, the Seahawks dialed up Lynch, who got stopped short of the stripe, and opted for a pass play on second-and-goal. Lynch still had time for heroics, however. Later in the fourth quarter, with Seattle driving, Lynch took a dump-off pass from Russell Wilson twenty-four yards before being pushed out of bounds by Falcons safety Chris Hope at the Atlanta three yard line. Lynch would slash through the Falcons goal line package on the next play from scrimmage – and fumble, though replay showed that he broke the plane first – and put six more points on the board for Seattle, giving his team a narrow lead with under a minute to go in the Georgia Dome.