The Seattle Seahawks are one of the few teams in the NFL with a legitimate shot of winning the Lombardi Trophy. Like each championship contending team, they\u2019ll need a few breaks to go their way. One key aspect of every championship team is having breakout players that step up in key moments to help win games. Here are five potential breakout players for the Seahawks in 2017.<\/p>\n
C.J. Prosise showed some promise as a rookie, but wasn\u2019t able to stay healthy. The former third round pick was only able to rack up 172 rushing yards in six games, but averaged 5.7 yards per carry. Prosise did a lot of damage as a receiver, catching 17 of his 19 targets for 208 yards. The former college wide receiver showed promise as a third down back, but has running and receiving abilities that are unmatched by most players in the NFL not named Le\u2019Veon Bell<\/strong> and David Johnson<\/a><\/strong>. Prosise is behind newcomer Eddie Lacy<\/a> <\/strong>and incumbent starter Thomas Rawls<\/a> <\/strong>on the depth chart, but he\u2019s a very different running back than the aforementioned runners. His three down abilities and upside may help him take the starting job if both runners underperform or get injured again.<\/p>\n Paul Richardson is looking to build off of a phenomenal 2016 postseason heading into the 2017 season. He\u2019s always had the talent but hasn\u2019t been able to stay healthy. If Richardson avoids the injury bug this year, he could be Seattle\u2019s number three receiver behind Doug Baldwin<\/a> <\/strong>and Tyler Lockett<\/a><\/strong>. Richardson had multiple eye-popping catches in last year\u2019s postseason when he racked up 131 yards on seven receptions. He had only 271 receiving yards during the entire regular season. Richardson is undersized, but he\u2019s extremely fast and has improved as a route runner. This is the former second round pick\u2019s final chance to prove he has long-term staying power in the NFL.<\/p>\n Frank Clark is one of the most controversial players in the NFL. After falling to the second round of the 2015 draft because of a domestic violence incident, Clark has been trying to maximize his second chance. He recently made comments to a female reporter that he had a job for her when she gets fired for writing a piece about his domestic violence situation. Although Clark isn\u2019t a quality person, he\u2019s a quality football player that will get more opportunities after last year\u2019s ten sack season. His ability to rush from inside and outside will give him more chances to see the field and potentially have a breakout season.<\/p>\n Kevin Pierre-Louis has a chance to be Seattle\u2019s starting strongside linebacker. Although the player in that role is first to leave the field when the Seahawks go into their nickel defense, he\u2019ll still be on the field in their base defense. Seattle plays nickel more than 50 percent of the time, but they want to give their star linebackers Bobby Wagner<\/a> <\/strong>and K.J. Wright<\/a> <\/strong>more time to rest during games. Both Wagner and Wright played a lot of snaps last year, and would be fresher during the postseason if they got more breaks. This is where Pierre-Louis can come in. Wagner and Wright start at middle linebacker and weakside linebacker, respectively, but that doesn\u2019t mean that Pierre-Louis can\u2019t fill in for them. Pierre-Louis is an extremely athletic linebacker that can cover tight ends and running backs, and he\u2019s physical enough to stop the run. The 2014 fourth\u00a0round pick hasn\u2019t been given many opportunities to play, but this could be the year that Pierre-Louis has a breakout season.<\/p>\n\n
Paul Richardson<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Frank Clark<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Kevin Pierre-Louis<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n