Chris Carson (RB, SEA) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: Entering the 2017 season, the Seattle Seahawks didn’t have a clear number one option in the backfield for starting running back. While Thomas Rawls was envisioned as the leader of the running game, CJ Prosise, veteran Eddie Lacy and rookie Chris Carson were all candidates. Last week against the Green Bay Packers, it was the rookie Carson who led the way, but with only six carries. This week, however, the 23-year-old established himself as the clear leader in the race. Racking up 93 yards on 20 carries and seven on one catch, Carson was only behind starting quarterback Russell Wilson in total yards amassed on the team.

While he hasn’t officially earned the starting job yet, he seems poised to take it for good in his rookie season. Carson came up especially big in the fourth quarter, recording 58 yards on seven carries as the Seahawks dealt with the surprising San Francisco 49ers at home. Eddie Lacy already seems to be in an unfavorable position, being one of seven inactive players this week. Perhaps the one point that may cool the momentum Carson has at the moment is coach Pete Carroll’s comments about Thomas Rawls. According to Carroll, the plan was to limit Rawls the first month of the season, as demonstrated with his total of five carries in Week 2.

Still, even if the plan was for Rawls to be given a higher number of carries as the season progressed, it’s hard to ignore the results thus far. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, some Seahawks believed Carson should’ve been the man all along heading into the season. Behind team support and results like these, Carson is the must-add running back of the week.