by Vincent Verhei

The NFL's statistical star of Week 11 wasn't anyone you would have expected to see in this space just a few months ago, or whom many of you would have even heard of before 2015. It wasn't one of the half-dozen or so Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks active in the league these days, nor one of the great receivers who have hit the pro ranks in recent years. It wasn't a high-round draft pick who was expected to carry a moribund team's offense this year. No, it was an undrafted free agent running back who joined a two-time Super Bowl team, a team that seemed loaded with rushing talent even before the draft. As recently as August, it was no sure thing that he would even make the team, let alone take on a starting or starring role.

Thomas Rawls spent the first three years of his collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines, seeing very little action. That's partly because Brady Hoke's offense featured the rushing of quarterbacks Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner, and partly because Rawls couldn't take the starting role from Fitzgerald Toussaint. As time went on, though, Rawls' role in the offense didn't grow, it shrank. As a junior in 2013, he carried the ball only three times. Seven of his teammates got more carries that season, including two quarterbacks and current Carolina Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess.

By that time Rawls had already earned his degree, so he was able to transfer to Central Michigan and play right away without sitting out a year. And he starred for the Chippewas, rushing 210 times for 1,103 yards and ten touchdowns despite missing three games. There were some red flags -- those missed games weren't due to injury, they were due to suspensions for off-field behavior. Rawls missed the first two games of the season after being charged with a variety of felonies related to credit card theft, and then sat out the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl due to "an academic issue."

Rawls had on-field issues going into the draft, too. At the scouting combine, he measured in at 5-foot-9, 215 pounds, about the same height and weight as Frank Gore or LeSean McCoy. It was noted, though, that this wasn't all good weight, and Rawls' ideal size would be even smaller. Then he ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash. That worked out to a speed score of just 92.0, a very poor grade -- and one that would look even worse if Rawls did lose weight. Rawls ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at Central Michigan's pro day, but by then the damage to his draft stock had been done.

Rawls' tape, though, showed that he had potential as a bruising, tackle-breaking power back. Here's some of what Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com wrote in his 2015 NFL Draft Guide:

STRENGTHS: Heavy, powerful body mass with compact build to absorb hits…balanced with low pad level to deliver hits of his own and run through contact while defenders slide off him -- looks to initiate contact and barrel through bodies, making it a chore for defenders to bring him down…heavy shoulder and runs angry, punishing tacklers and running with urgency…presses the hole before cutting back and getting north-south, showing strong inside vision to dart through creases…agile footwork with strong plant-and-go quickness, shifting his weight well in his cuts to sidestep bodies…physically durable and can withstand a pounding -- workhorse who averaged 23 rushes per game at Central Michigan in 2014, including two 40-carry performances.

Well that certainly sounds an awful lot like Marshawn Lynch, doesn't it? Apparently the Seahawks saw the same similarities. After Rawls went undrafted (which wasn't a huge surprise -- even Brugler wrote that Rawls had "mid-round ability," but called him "fringe draftable due to the baggage"), Seattle signed him, even though they seemed to have two good backups to Lynch in 2012 fourth-round draft pick Robert Turbin and 2013 second-rounder Christine Michael. With the veterans away from OTAs for various reasons, Rawls took first-team reps and impressed head coach Pete Carroll, who spoke glowingly of Rawls to reporters. Rawls continued to impress Carroll over the summer, and shortly before the season, Michael was traded to Dallas, while Turbin was waived/injured. (Turbin was later released by Cleveland and signed by Dallas, who released Michael, who went on to join Washington's practice squad.) Rawls had won the backup job behind Lynch.

Lynch, though, is starting to pay the price of 2,000-plus very violent NFL carries. Already this season he has missed time with hamstring, back, and abdomen issues. Rawls started three games earlier this year, two good ones against Chicago (16 carries for 104 yards) and Cincinnati (23-169) sandwiched around a bad one against Detroit (17-48). Lynch then returned to start four games in a row, but he was a surprise scratch for last week's game against San Francisco.

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So Rawls got his fourth start of the season -- and he delivered in a big way, rushing 30 times for 209 yards while catching three passes for 46 more yards. He had 13 total first downs on the ground, most of any runner in any game this year. (Only two others have even hit double-digits: Carlos Hyde had 11 in Week 1 against Minnesota, and Devonta Freeman had 10 in Week 5 against Washington.) Half of Rawls' carries gained 5 yards or more and seven gained 10 or more, with a long carry of 30. Meanwhile, he was hit for no gain or a loss only three times, and two of those came with Seattle up by 16 points in the last five minutes of the game when everyone on the West Coast knew the Seahawks would be rushing. His receptions included a 12-yard gain on first-and-10 and a 31-yard touchdown on second-and-5.

How good was Rawls' day? He finished among the top ten rookies since 1960 in single-game rushing yards, and became just the 15th rookie to rush for 200 yards in a game (Adrian Peterson did it twice). He was also among the top ten rookies in single-game yards from scrimmage.

His advanced stats might have been even more impressive. Rawls finished with 64 DYAR rushing and 24 DYAR receiving, a total of 88 DYAR even after a big hit from opponent adjustments. That is one of the 20 best rookie running back games we have ever measured. (Washington's Matt Jones also makes the list for his Week 10 game against New Orleans, when his three receptions gained 24, 29, and 78 yards.)