Is Penny A Bust?

[AROS]

Simple yes or no. Expand if you wish.

 

[seabowl]

If he’s not a bust at this point then I don’t know what is. Like many, hated the pick the moment it was announced.

 

[chris98251]

Said in the other thread get a Christine Michael vibe these days from him, seems to have issues when there is real competition and goes into pouty mode, his body language last night sucked, every other back was hustling. When Collins scored all the other backs were congratulating I seen no Penny there, no bounce in his step. The end of the game the rest of the guys were in groups laughing and showing some comradery with each other, Penny was by himself walking.

 

[Lagartixa]

Yes, a bust.

Even if Penny has a great season this year and manages to contribute a lot on the field, his overall four-year performance on his rookie contract will be disappointing.

Picking running backs in the first round is generally not a good idea, one reason being that it ends up guaranteeing them a lot of money. The team is locked into paying the player for four years, and at a pretty hefty salary for a rookie-contract RB. First-round picks are better used on players that impact the team's results more or traded for more picks. So I was unhappy with Penny being the Seahawks' first-round pick in 2018, but since his money is guaranteed, I've been hoping ever since then for him to stay healthy and contribute.

So not only a bust, but an unsurprising bust.

But...

• Even though the Seahawks got terrible value for a first-round draft pick, Penny can still be a useful part of the offense this year. As those who defend him point out, he's been pretty good when he's played in real games, but the problem is that he has had major injury issues. I'm hoping for Penny to have a healthy and productive season, to help the Hawks win games and polish his résumé for when he hits the free-agent market after this season is over.
  
  
• I don't think it's a good idea to take a running back in the first round, but I think the criteria the Seahawks used in choosing Penny as the running back they wanted were good. Specifically, it was widely known that one thing they liked about Penny over, for example, Chubb and Michel, was that Penny had fewer injuries in college than those two. He ended up having way more injury problems in the NFL than those two, but he was probably the better bet coming out of college. Penny also looked like he could be pretty versatile, contributing to the offense in multiple ways and complementing Carson's very different skill set. Penny was a decent choice among the RBs available (without the 20-20 hindsight we have, knowing that Chubb performed great and didn't have the kind of major injury problems he could very reasonably have been expected to have, and that Penny has spent much of his career so far injured and unable to play), even though he was not a good choice for a first-round pick, and even though we know it was not a successful pick now that we know how his first three rookie-contract years went.

 

[keasley45]

Inconclusive but trending toward a bust.

I personally think he has no use here. So for our purposes, yeah, he was a wasted pick. But more so in the sense that we didn't ever really need him.

He was only ever drafted as 'insurance' against No. 32 not coming back fully mended. Carson did come back and came back arguably better than he was before his injury. Penny has never received premier back treatment here and for some guys, it takes being fully engaged in the offense to start to get the wheels going consistently. At best, he only ever saw sporadic use and then he himself suffered a catastrophic injury.

He shows flashes. How much more there is above that remains to be seen.

 

[Northwest Seahawk]

Yes as of right now he's a bust. He can also change the narrative if he plays great this year but i would not put money on that. Will he make the team yes were stuck with him for now. I'm not sure Dallas makes the team i can't believe i'm saying that but it's odd if i'm not mistaken he didn't play a down against the Chargers this means either he's a lock or he's getting cut. I'm leaning towards lock but i've seen Pete make cuts that were incomprehensible before.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I don't think you can call Penny anything other than a bust.

From the start Penny had troubles. He marched into training camp 20 pounds overweight, and had the expectation that he would be handed the job. His conditioning was a problem for much of the time he was here. I suspect this may be where some of his injury woes may have come from. The next offseason he came into camp overweight yet again.

Along with this, he seemed to have issues picking up the playbook. I saw Wilson out there having to direct him where to line up on numerous occasions.

Most of the time Penny just seemed like he didn't want it more than the next guy. Whenever an obstacle fell in his path he'd pout and fall of the beaten path.

As a player, Penny never really fixed his main flaws. He's largely the same kind of guy we saw in college. He looks very uncomfortable in traffic, but is really good in space where he can use his deceptive speed and wicked cutback to cause havoc. In the open field he was deceptively slippery. Penny wouldn't look like he was moving fast, but then you'd see cornerbacks trailing behind him. Defenders would look befuddled as he just disappeared. The man had immense natural talent that he never fully cashed in on.

The injuries were the next part of the story. He couldn't stay healthy. I think his injury problems were a mix of bad luck, and poor conditioning. He wasted two of his off seasons in the league. He came in overweight and under prepared twice. You can't do that and expect to be better than last time. Along with this he just couldn't stay healthy to save his life. He is essentially CJ Procise at this point.

At the end of the day, looking back on things I could see why Pete was enamored. Penny screamed untapped potential. Some of the talents he displayed in the open field aren't things you see everyday. Running a 4.4 at his size was also very impressive. Along with that I think he slayed all of his other drills. Penny just needed to get better running in traffic, but he never could do that on a consistent basis. Penny also folded at any sign of adversity, not a good sign for any NFL player. I'm not happy with this pick, nor have I ever been -- but I get why Pete was curious about Penny and what he could become.

 

[seabowl]

Yes as of right now he's a bust. He can also change the narrative if he plays great this year but i would not put money on that. Will he make the team yes were stuck with him for now. I'm not sure Dallas makes the team i can't believe i'm saying that but it's odd if i'm not mistaken he didn't play a down against the Chargers this means either he's a lock or he's getting cut. I'm leaning towards lock but i've seen Pete make cuts that were incomprehensible before.

Dallas is a lock to make the team.

 

[Northwest Seahawk]

Yes as of right now he's a bust. He can also change the narrative if he plays great this year but i would not put money on that. Will he make the team yes were stuck with him for now. I'm not sure Dallas makes the team i can't believe i'm saying that but it's odd if i'm not mistaken he didn't play a down against the Chargers this means either he's a lock or he's getting cut. I'm leaning towards lock but i've seen Pete make cuts that were incomprehensible before.

Dallas is a lock to make the team.

Glad to hear it because i really like what i've seen this preseason. Someone's getting cut though and it won't be Penny though it should be. My money would be on Homer but like i said Pete has made incomprehensible cuts before.

 

[HawkinNY]

Yes. He’s gotta be. First round pick and might not even make the roster. Pete and John never are allowed to pick in the first round anymore. Just trade that pick going forward. Lol


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[Maelstrom787]

As it stands, he most certainly is. He has untapped talent, obviously. He's at his best when he's fed the ball, and he's never healthy enough to feed the ball to. Supremely disappointing pick, mostly due to health, which is insane considering how healthy he was throughout college.

 

[James in PA]

I think why some people still cling to hope is that it looked like he was finally starting to get it before he got injured towards the end of the 2019 season. Last year was a throwaway.


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[Jerhawk]

Yes.
Injuries have contributed to his slow start.

But even when healthy he really only produced at one point, the last half of the 2018 season.

When we take into account that we passed on Nick Chubb, it hurts even more

 

[Maelstrom787]

Yes.
Injuries have contributed to his slow start.

But even when healthy he really only produced at one point, the last half of the 2018 season.

When we take into account that we passed on Nick Chubb, it hurts even more

Honestly, I can't bring myself to care about the Chubb part. It would have been just horrific process to take a guy who had his knee implode in college with that high of a pick.

 

[jammerhawk]

When he is fully healthy he’s a good RB with a limited repetoire; unfortunately he’s never been healthy. For the team this is a real disappointment b/c in college he was very healthy and looked to be a solid draft pick albeit perhaps a slightly later pick than the 1sr round. The team needed a RB then though, so the pick was understandable

He could easily be on the bubble as others have outplayed him. For a RB availability and durability are key necessary factors to success in the NFL.

 

[sc85sis]

Yes as of right now he's a bust. He can also change the narrative if he plays great this year but i would not put money on that. Will he make the team yes were stuck with him for now. I'm not sure Dallas makes the team i can't believe i'm saying that but it's odd if i'm not mistaken he didn't play a down against the Chargers this means either he's a lock or he's getting cut. I'm leaning towards lock but i've seen Pete make cuts that were incomprehensible before.

Dallas had some soreness or some such. He wanted to play, but Pete held him out to be on the safe side.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

How could he not be considered a bust at this point in his career?

Dude's on the bubble of getting cut three years in with how well Collins played Saturday. Penny probably won't get cut, but if he wasn't a 1st round pick I'd say he had a higher chance of it. He just hasn't done anything this camp or pre-season to make you think he's a dependable #2 RB.

 

[billyberu]

Absolutely a bust.

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[iigakusei]

100%. He will be out of the league in a couple of years.

 

[Own The West]

He's a bust, just based on the fact that he's a first rounder and not a 5th.

His stats are first-roundesque except that he's only had 161 rushing attempts in three years. His average YPC (5.1) and reception yardage (9.3) compare favorably to Derrick Henry (5.0 / 9.1).

This is his contract year, so if he can't stay on the field, it will probably be his last in Seattle. On the other hand if he CAN stay on the field I'll take: 322 CAR, 1646 YDS, 5.1 YPC, 10 TDs, 34 REC, 316 YDS, and 2 TDS -- which is what a full season at his career production levels would look like.