Did the Seahawks do enough to fix their run game?

Running back Thomas Rawls smiles while talking with Eddie Lacy during Seahawks minicamp on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. Running back Thomas Rawls smiles while talking with Eddie Lacy during Seahawks minicamp on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Did the Seahawks do enough to fix their run game? 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

This is the sixth of a 12-part pre-training camp series addressing key offseason questions for the Seahawks entering the 2017 season. Part 6: Did Seattle do enough in the 2017 offseason to fix its run game?

For one evening in early January, it seemed like everything returned to normal.

After struggling to run the ball for the entire 2016 season, the Seahawks got back to what they did best in Seattle's win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC's wild card round. Second-year pro Thomas Rawls toted the ball 27 times for a season-high 161 yards (including 15 carries for 107 yards in the first half) in the 26-6 victory.

Just when it looked like Rawls and Co. were hitting their stride, they hit a wall. Seattle's running backs were held to 51 yards on 14 carries in the next week's season-ending loss to the Atlanta Falcons, a fitting end to a campaign marked by the team's inability to consistently move the ball on the ground.

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Last year's struggles were well documented, but in case you needed a refresher:

The Seahawks averaged just 77.7 yards per game through the first nine contests, eclipsing the 100-yard mark only twice. Things got better after Rawls returned from a fractured leg in the second half of the campaign, but Seattle still had its worst rushing season since 2010, ranking 25th in the NFL while averaging 99.4 yards per game.

There was no single cause for the offense's inability to establish itself on the ground. Marshawn Lynch's short-lived retirement and injuries to his replacements were big factors, but so was the inexperienced, overmatched offensive line. Russell Wilson wasn't a run threat for most of the season while nursing serious ankle and knee injuries over the first three weeks of the season.

Entering the 2017 offseason, fixing the run game was a top priority, and the team certainly shuffled the deck on offense, bringing in former Green Bay Packers Pro Bowler Eddie Lacy to compete for playing time along with Rawls, who missed seven games in 2016, and second-year pro C.J. Prosise.

"I think it's an exciting group," Carroll said at the conclusion of offseason practices. "We've never been this strong with this many guys who can compete and do things. We have a variety of different guys that have different strengths that they bring."

At 26, Lacy should have something left in the tank. But injuries and weight issues wore him down the past two seasons, when he averaged just under 56 yards per game and scored three rushing touchdowns total. Rawls and Prosise haven't proven they can stay on the field. But if the trio can remain relatively healthy, Seattle's 2017 running back depth might be better than it's been in years.

After preaching the need for cohesiveness following the season the team added the likes of linemen Luke Joeckel and Oday Aboushi in free agency, as well as second-round pick Ethan Pocic in the draft. It now seems likely that the unit will be breaking in two new starters to join center Justin Britt, right guard/tackle Germain Ifedi and left tackle George Fant, who started 10 games as an undrafted rookie in 2016.

Offensive line coach Tom Cable said he expected the unit to be well ahead of where it was last year.

"Those were young kids with no experience, and in George's case, zero experience, and now they've been through it a year," Cable said. "So you can expect us to be much further along in our preparation as we get ready for camp."

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Ahead of his sixth professional season, Wilson spent the offseason slimming down (thanks to his nine-meal, 4,800 calorie diet) in order to improve his mobility, which had been his calling card before getting hurt last year.

"There were a lot of things we had to do differently last year with injuries, whether it was offensive line, whether it was running backs, whether it was (Wilson)," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "So we made a lot of adjustment, and we were able to handle it the best way we could, and I think our guys were great in that way."

The offseason additions in the backfield and on the line, plus a healthy Wilson, should mean better results for Seattle's running game after a tumultuous 2016 campaign. But given the question marks surrounding the running back group's ability to stay on the field, plus the uncertain prognosis for the new-look offensive line, it's an open question as to whether or not the Seahawks will get back to dominating on the ground.

Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle Seahawks news. Contact reporter Stephen Cohen at stephencohen@seattlepi.com or @scohenPI.