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NFC West teams loaded up on halfbacks (as opposed to pure fullbacks) during the recently completed 2013 NFL draft.

The division selected six of them, two more than any other division selected.

A quick look at how the six could figure into their teams' plans:

• Second round, 62nd overall: Christine Michael, Texas A&M. Michael heads to the Seattle Seahawks as the third back behind Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin, with a chance to challenge Turbin for the No. 2 role initially. Michael provides longer-term insurance for the position, but he could be talented enough to get carries as a rookie.
• Fourth round, 131st overall: Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina. The San Francisco 49ers plan to give Lattimore as much as one full season to complete his rehabilitation from a career-threatening knee injury. Lattimore factors into the 49ers' longer-term plans at the position, possibly as a replacement for Frank Gore down the line. There will be no rush to get him on the field in 2013.
• Fifth round, 140th overall: Stepfan Taylor, Stanford. The Arizona Cardinals already have Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Williams, but both have had injury problems. Taylor, the career rushing leader at Stanford, provides immediate insurance at the position. His credentials as a power runner could make him a candidate to handle short-yardage duties. Durability has been a strength for Taylor, differentiating him from Mendenhall and Williams. Coach Bruce Arians values three-down backs. He considers Taylor one of them.
• Fifth round, 160th overall: Zac Stacy, Vanderbilt. The St. Louis Rams plan to use Stacy in committee with Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson. Stacy is heavier and stouter than the others. He appears better suited for handling a workload on early downs and in short-yardage situations. Stacy could wind up getting more carries than any of the other rookie backs in the division.
• Sixth round, 187th overall: Andre Ellington, Clemson. The Cardinals expect to keep four running backs on the roster, giving Ellington a very good chance to stick as a change-of-pace back with big-play potential and value in the return game. The Cardinals said they weren't planning on drafting another back, but they thought the value was strong and that Ellington provided a style the other backs on the roster did not provide.
• Sixth round, 194th overall: Spencer Ware, LSU. Ware was a halfback for the Tigers, but he has also played fullback. The Seahawks expect the 230-pound Ware to push veteran fullback Michael Robinson. They value Robinson as a lead blocker and for his contributions on special teams. Ware would be the better runner of the two.

Good morning, NFC West. After spending some of Wednesday discussing the long-term future for Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, we should update the short-term future as well.

Lynch's 2012 DUI case is scheduled to continue with a May 22 motion for dismissal. The case is otherwise scheduled for trial June 21, although attorneys routinely succeed in securing continuances.

Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune has the details. Meanwhile, Danny O'Neil and Brock Huard of 710ESPN Seattle offer thoughts on the court information and Lynch's absence (so far) from voluntary offseason workouts.

The takeaway is pretty simple. There's not enough information to know whether Lynch faces additional discipline from the NFL in the form of a possible suspension, but in the bigger picture, Seattle had ample reason to consider drafting a running back as insurance.

Seattle's use of the 62nd overall choice for Texas A&M running back Christine Michael provides protection for the short and long term. It puts the team in position to remain fully committed to its ground game without being overly reliant on Lynch. Michael and second-year pro Robert Turbin could carry a full workload if necessary.

Lynch has always done things his own way, whether it's attending offseason workouts, refusing to fulfill league-mandated media obligations or engaging in risky off-field behavior.

The Seahawks can live with small inconveniences as long as Lynch remains a highly productive player. There is no way to know how long Lynch will remain a highly productive player, however. Back spasms have limited his availability for practices, threatened his availability for games and prevented him from playing once.

Jump ahead to 2015 and put yourself in John Schneider's seat as the Seattle Seahawks' general manager.

By then, you will have re-signed or lost elite players such as safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman.

Your quarterback, Russell Wilson, will be entering the final year of his rookie contract. Wilson will be eligible to sign a new one for the first time under the NFL's labor rules.

The same goes for Bobby Wagner, your starting middle linebacker, and Bruce Irvin, your highly drafted pass-rusher. All will cost much more than they're costing right now.

Your Pro Bowl left tackle, Russell Okung, will also be entering a contract year.

One receiver, Percy Harvin, will have a contract counting $12.9 million against the salary cap. Another, Sidney Rice, will have a deal counting $10.2 million.

Oh, and one other thing about this 2015 adventure: You'll have to decide whether to pay a $2 million roster bonus and $5.5 million salary for a running back entering his ninth season.

Marshawn Lynch is that running back, and right now, in 2013, he's about as good as they come, this side of Adrian Peterson. But you'll need younger, more economical alternatives for some of your best players down the line. These aren't the sort of immediate needs that show up in draft previews, but they're always lurking.

Now, thanks to one of the more surprising moves in the 2013 draft, the Seahawks have bought insurance for their future at the position most vulnerable to age.

Christine Michael, the Texas A&M running back Seattle unexpectedly selected 62nd overall Friday, must by rule sign a four-year contract through 2016. His deal will run past the contracts that Lynch and backup running back Robert Turbin signed last offseason. It will count far less against the cap than the $9 million Lynch's deal is scheduled to count in 2015.

Seattle probably did not draft Michael with the distant future in the front of its mind. One explanation trumps all others when determining why the Seahawks used a second-round draft choice for a running back with two perfectly good ones on the roster already. The team thinks Michael can be special.

"He was the highest-rated player on our board and we lost Leon Washington, so we were looking for a little bit of depth there, and he is just our kind of runner," Schneider said. "He's a tough, intense, up-field, one-cut guy, and he's just a very good football player, competitor."

Adding Michael does not imperil Lynch for the 2013 season, of course. It does provoke natural tendencies to wonder whether there's more to this story.

"I could be far-fetched here," Kevin from McKinney, Texas, wrote to the NFC West mailbag, illustrating how far the mind can wander, "but is it possible John Schneider and [coach] Pete Carroll are concerned with Lynch's future effectiveness due to the new lowering of the crown rule? It seems to me that is a big part of his game and significantly contributes to his yards after contact."

There is no way the rulebook pressured Seattle into drafting a running back.

Carroll and other coaches fear officials will struggle enforcing the new rule preventing runners from lowering their heads and delivering an aggressive blow to the opponent with the top of the helmet. The rule could affect Lynch, but league officials said they discovered only a few would-be violations per week when studying tape from last season.

The Seahawks selected Michael because they thought he was the best back in the draft and well-suited to their offense. They wanted additional depth for their running game, which will remain the focus of their offense. They have to realize that Lynch's back spasms, while manageable to this point, could become more problematic with additional wear and tear. And they surely realize that Lynch's occasional off-field troubles dating to his time with the Buffalo Bills could recur, inviting sanctions.

Adding Michael doesn't mean the team thinks less of Lynch or Turbin, a 2012 fourth-round choice. There are no indications the team is anticipating a Lynch suspension in relation to his DUI arrest last offseason.

Still, I would bet against Lynch playing out the final year of his deal when Michael and Turbin figure to be available at a significant discount.

Seattle was fortunate in 2010 to have a running back of Lynch's caliber and young age (then 24) become available by trade at reasonable cost. The team was wise to re-sign Lynch one year ago to a four-year deal featuring $17 million in guaranteed money.

This marriage should be good for both parties for the next couple of seasons.

Lynch's deal pays him $7 million in salary with an $8.5 million salary-cap charge in 2013. It carries a $5 million salary and $7 million cap number in 2014. The team will have a decision to make at that point because Lynch's deal includes a $5.5 million salary and a $2 million roster bonus with a $9 million cap figure for 2015, the contract's final year.

Michael, a luxury buy at present, should be much more than that by then.

Matt Williamson, NFL scout for ESPN.com, is back with post-draft thoughts regarding the recently published NFC West positional rankings.

We won't cover every position. Some haven't changed enough. But with the four NFC West teams combining to draft six running backs, Matt and I will begin the discussion there.

Sando: We figured the St. Louis Rams would draft a running back. They ranked fourth at the position in your pre-draft rankings. I was not expecting the Seattle Seahawks to pad their top-ranked backfield with second-round choice Christine Michael and sixth-rounder Spencer Ware. No one can say they reached for need.

Williamson: I really like Michael. He and [San Francisco 49ers fourth-round pick] Marcus Lattimore were the best backs in the draft, I thought. They just have massive red flags.

Sando: To review, Michael was suspended for violating team rules, supposedly overslept at the NFL scouting combine and fell out of favor with the new coaching staff at Texas A&M. Lattimore remains perhaps a year away from playing after suffering a gruesome knee injury while at South Carolina.

Williamson: I thought it was odd for Seattle to draft a back that early. My first thought was that they must think Marshawn Lynch is starting to break down. But he certainly isn't showing it. Look at the Seahawks at this point. It's like my dad. What do you buy him for Christmas? He has everything. Just take what is available.

Sando: And then Seattle followed that up with another back. The Seahawks are saying Ware can project as a fullback and special-teams contributor. Perhaps he replaces Michael Robinson some day.

Williamson: Ware is a very good runner, though. Those LSU backs are hard to gauge because nobody gets enough carries. Stevan Ridley was a third-round pick and everyone was like, "Who?" Ware is a banger. He reminds me a lot of Chris Ivory moreso than a fullback.

Sando: So, I take it the rankings aren't changing for running backs, at least at the top.

Williamson: The Seahawks are still No. 1 and the 49ers are No. 2. Arizona stays third and St. Louis fourth. San Francisco is the perfect team for Lattimore. Nobody is shocked he went there. They've got three guys ahead of him. There is no rush. But Frank Gore is not long for the league. They don't have a lot of other needs.

Sando: We haven't covered Zac Stacy yet. He could wind up playing more than Michael and certainly more than Lattimore this coming season. The Rams needed a power back.

Williamson: I liked Stacy too. Everyone thinks of him as a little guy because he's 5-foot-8, but he is powerful, he gets downhill, he doesn't screw around. It wouldn't blow me away if he led the team in carries. He looks every bit of 215 pounds.

Sando: In Arizona, I'm not taking anything for granted as to how the team plans to play its backs. Mendenhall and Williams have to show they can stay healthy. The Cardinals drafted Stepfan Taylor at No. 140, 20 spots before the Rams took Stacy. But I'm not sure how much they'll ask him to play as a rookie. Arizona also added Andre Ellington in the sixth round. The overall depth appears much improved, at least.

Williamson: It's interesting that Arizona added two backs. They lost two and added three this offseason. With Mendenhall and Williams, you are happy if one of these two is always healthy. The Cardinals are going to be a lot better on their offensive line, which should help all the backs.

Sando: We'll revisit the lines and other positions as the week progresses.

The St. Louis Rams had a long list of needs heading into the 2013 NFL draft.

They have addressed most of them by selecting receiver Tavon Austin, linebacker Alec Ogletree, safety T.J. McDonald, receiver Stedman Bailey, center/guard Barrett Jones and now, in the fifth round, cornerback Brandon McGee.

Running back is still one position where the Rams could use help. They have wanted to add a bigger back to play with Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson. The team still has two picks in the sixth round.

Giovani Bernard, Le'Veon Bell, Montee Ball, Eddie Lacy, Christine Michael, Knile Davis, Johnathan Franklin, Marcus Lattimore, Denard Robinson, Stepfan Taylor, Joseph Randle and Chris Thompson are among the running backs selected to this point in the draft.

Update: Just like that, the Rams selected Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy with the 160th overall choice. He goes 5-foot-8 and 216 pounds. Stacy is known for his excellent strength and power.

RENTON, Wash. -- The more the Seattle Seahawks watched game tape on Tavon Austin, the more they realized the West Virginia receiver would not last long in the 2013 NFL draft.

Back in mid-March, the Seahawks could not know Austin would land with the NFC West-rival St. Louis Rams. They had recently traded the 25th overall choice to the Minnesota Vikings to acquire another multidimensional wideout, Percy Harvin.

John Schneider, the Seahawks' general manager, felt relief Thursday when the Rams traded up eight spots in the first round to make Austin the first skill-position player selected.

It's not that Schneider was happy to see such an elite talent land in St. Louis. Quite the opposite. Even the Seahawks' suffocating secondary could have its troubles against a receiver as gifted as Austin. It's just that the way the first round played out affirmed the Seahawks' decision to acquire Harvin. They could not have secured another wideout with as much playmaking potential had they held onto the 25th overall pick.

Austin wasn't going to be there for them.

Once the Rams moved up from 16th to eighth for Austin, no NFL teams selected a wideout until the Houston Texans drafted Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins at No. 27. Cordarrelle Patterson went to the Vikings two picks later.

"Quite honestly, it made me feel at peace just because of where we were with the Percy deal when it started," Schneider said following the third round Friday night.

Both Hopkins and Patterson are obviously talented, but if they had struck evaluators as fitting into the Austin/Harvin mold, teams would have been tripping over one another in a rush to draft them earlier.

Schneider's thinking came into clearer focus in the weeks since Seattle made the move for Harvin before free agency opened March 12.

"I really wasn't quite sure, didn't feel really strongly about the difference makers at the receiver position at that level of the first round [in the 25th-pick range]," Schneider reflected. "And then the closer we got to the draft, the tape on Austin, it just kind of became obvious that he was going to be an extremely high pick."

That commentary should please Rams fans and Seahawks fans alike. Each team's leadership thought Austin was special. The Seahawks knew they had to deal for Harvin if they hoped to land a similar player. Not that Austin and Harvin are interchangeable. While both threaten the end zone as receivers, runners and returners, Harvin has a much sturdier build. He's part running back and part receiver in a much fuller sense. But touchdowns are touchdowns, and both teams expect their new wideouts to supply them multiple ways.

"We really do think Percy is our No. 1 pick," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "He is part of this class."

Acquiring Harvin and addressing other areas of the roster during free agency left Seattle without significant needs entering this draft. That allowed the Seahawks, already loaded in the backfield with Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin, to indulge in Texas A&M running back Christine Michael.

This was a luxury pick and arguably a nonsensical one. It's also the sort of move smart organizations make. Seattle didn't have a need at quarterback when the team used a third-round draft choice for Russell Wilson last season. That move worked out pretty well.

The Seahawks could realistically be in the market for a new back two years down the line if Lynch's bruising style shortens his career. Having Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter on the roster didn't stop the San Francisco 49ers from using a second-round choice for LaMichael James last year. The 49ers took some heat when their 2012 draft class failed to produce much, but such is life for contending teams.

"We'll let these guys go at it, make sure everybody is aware of the competitive opportunity and hopefully that continues to make them elevate," Carroll said. "Sometimes there is a subtle way they help us by making other guys play well."

Not that Seattle was without needs entirely.

"Defensive tackle was definitely a need for us -- adding depth to the position," Schneider said. "That was the one spot that quite honestly, when you're putting it together, you are nervous you are maybe pushing players because of the need."

Seattle used its third-round choice (87th overall) for Penn State defensive tackle Jordan Hill. He'll probably contribute more as a pass-rusher than a run stuffer, differentiating him clearly from Alan Branch, who left in free agency. The Seahawks felt the talent at defensive tackle was about to drop off quickly as the third round gave way to the fourth. That gave them additional incentive to grab Hill.

The Seahawks hold 10 picks in the fourth through seventh rounds. Schneider and Carroll previously found K.J. Wright, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor in that range. Others such as Turbin, Walter Thurmond, Jeremy Lane, Anthony McCoy, J.R. Sweezy and Malcolm Smith came to Seattle in those rounds.

There might not be a Tavon Austin or Percy Harvin out there, but as the Seahawks and Rams discovered, that was the case eight picks into the draft.

The second day of the 2013 NFL draft has come and gone. The chart below recaps picks for NFC West teams. I'll have more as the night progresses, of course.

The Seattle Seahawks have selected a running back, Christine Michael of Texas A&M, with the final pick of the second round after trading back.

This one should catch everyone off-guard.

Seattle appears stacked at running back with Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin. The team could use a defensive tackle, an outside linebacker, a tight end and possibly depth for the offensive line.

NFL teams drafted no running backs in the first round. Michael was the fifth and final one taken in the second round.

I'll be interested in hearing the Seahawks' explanation for this pick. I'm guessing we'll hear the team talk about taking the best player available.

Seattle had no first-round pick after trading it to Minnesota for Percy Harvin. Now, it's looking like the team's second-round choice won't play much right away, assuming Lynch and Turbin are on course to be the primary backs, as expected. Perhaps Seattle has a specific role in mind.