Never underestimate a Hobbit

Happy Birthday to my main man Justin Forsett (b. 1985), a Seahawk from 2008-11.

Despite a stellar high school career in Florida and Texas, scouts considered the 5’8” running back too small to play for a premier NCAA team. Notre Dame and UT-Austin passed on him, but Stanford let him back up J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch. As a freshman, Forsett contributed on special teams by returning kicks, making tackles and blocking a punt. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he got lots of reps behind Beast Mode, amassing 1,625 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a senior, Forsett started; he rushed for 1,546 yards and 15 touchdowns, and won first-team All-Pac-10 Honors.

Lynch and Forsett flank Marcus O'Keith at Stanford

Most scouts still considered him too small and too slow to play in the NFL. At the combine, Forsett ran the 40-yard dash in a 4.62 seconds, which is a little poky for a pro running back.

But Tim Ruskell liked undersized high-character guys, so he drafted Forsett in the 7^th round in 2008. The Stanford product impressed in preseason, but Seattle released him after Week One, hoping to stash him on the practice squad.

Instead, Indianapolis snapped him up. Forsett returned kicks and punts for three games before the Colts cut him. Seattle promptly put the little man back on the practice squad—much to Forsett’s relief--and soon promoted him to the active roster. He served as our primary punt returner for the rest of his rookie year, but fielded only a few kickoffs in relief of cornerback Josh Wilson.

One of Forsett's many happy returns

In 2009, Forsett’s role on special teams began to diminish as his role in the offense increased. He split punt returns with Nate Burleson and shared kickoff return duties with Wilson, Ben Obomanu and Louis Rankin.

Jim Mora the Younger needed Forsett on offense. Ruskell had brought in Edgerrin James to be the backup, but the aging All-Pro proved too old and slow to carry the load. Julius Jones, the starting tailback, averaged only 3.7 yards per carry compared to Forsett’s 5.4-yard clip. The difference was mostly mental: Forsett learned how to run the ball in a zone blocking scheme, and Jones never did. The little man also caught more balls for more yards than the putative starter.

Forsett looking for daylight behind fullback Owen Schmitt

In 2010, Pete Carroll and John Schneider brought in Leon Washington as a return specialist, cut ties with Jones and made Forsett the starting running back briefly, until they acquired Marshawn Lynch from Buffalo. The reunited Stanford alumni settled into their former roles, and Forsett actually outperformed Lynch that season as a receiver and on a per-carry basis. However, the Beast Quake against New Orleans in the playoffs left no doubt as to which back offered more upside.

Forsett’s role shrunk in 2011. The team leaned more heavily on Lynch. Leon Washington continued to monopolize returns on special teams, but he also carried the ball more often than Forsett on offense. After the season, Seattle did not renew his contract.

Reunited and it felt so good.

The little man wandered in the wilderness for a few years. He spent 2012 as a backup in Houston, running for 374 yards. The next year, he played 9 games at the bottom of Jacksonville’s depth chart, running for just 34 yards before hurting his foot and going on injured reserve.

It looked like the little man might be done, but last year, he caught on in Baltimore, playing behind three-time Pro Bowler Ray Rice—who got suspended for domestic violence—and Bernard Pierce, who got cut for drunk driving. Thrust into the starting role, Forsett rushed for 1,288 yards, made the Pro Bowl, helped the Ravens qualify for the playoffs and earned a 3-year, $9 million contract.

His peers voted him the 65^th-best NFL player of 2014. Pretty good for a guy experts deemed too small and too slow to play college or pro ball.

Forsett started slow this year, but he has come on strong in the last two games, racking up 420 total yards and a touchdown against Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

You're the man, Justin!