Seahawks 30 under 30: C.J. Prosise is the "Fred Jackson" you've been looking for

The Seattle Seahawks have a very good roster, but what's especially nice and hopeful about their team is that the vast majority of current Seahawks are young and signed through 2017, at least. This series leading up to the regular season opener on September 11 will take a closer look at 30 such players, all of whom won't be turning 30 this year.

Player: C.J. Prosise, RB

Age: 22

How acquired: Third round pick (90th overall) out of Notre Dame

Free Agent: 2020

Going into the 2016 draft, the need at running back was certainly apparent for a team that had lost Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson, but it really didn't seem to be "pressing" because Thomas Rawls is amazing and under team control for three more years while Christine Michael is ... okay, well, was ... look, he got the job done a few times, at least. Anyways, they needed a running back, but make no mistake that spending the 90th overall pick on one means that they didn't just love Prosise, but that he was one of the most coveted tailback prospects of the draft this year.

He was the fourth running back off of the board overall and could have a fair shot at being the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, if only he can stay on the field and if the recent hamstring troubles haven't set him back too much.

During his junior season at Notre Dame, Prosise caught 29 passes for 516 yards, an average of 17.8 yards per catch. As a senior in 2015, he moved to the halfback position and averaged 6.6 yards per carry with 11 touchdowns while still gaining another 308 yards as a receiver. At his pro day, he ran a 4.48 at 6', 220 lbs.

His NFL.com pro comparison was Fred Jackson.

As a rookie, Prosise will be used heavily on third downs and I believe it's fair to say he'll get more touches than Michael or Alex Collins. Though his time with Seattle was brief and not entirely memorable, Jackson carried the ball 26 times and caught 32 passes for a total of 58 touches. But Prosise is 12 years younger than Jackson was last season and Russell Wilson may feel compelled to pitch it underneath more often if the offensive line -- which is made up of five new starters at each position, basically -- is giving him fewer than two seconds in the pocket frequently.

There are certainly scenarios where I could totally see Prosise being the type of back who catches 70-90 passes in a great year while still being an above-average running back. It's not unreasonable to see him having the same type of impact in 2016 that Tyler Lockett did in 2015.

See a sample of what he can do here: