Who the Heck Is Thomas Rawls?

If you had conducted a preseason poll asking fans across the nation who the most important member of the Seattle Seahawks was, I'm betting Marshawn Lynch would have won, not Thomas Rawls.

Yes, Russell Wilson is the quarterback and Richard Sherman leads that world-famous defense. But the reality is Lynch has always been viewed as the key cog on a team that has gone to back-to-back Super Bowls. 

He's the Skittles guy. He's the dude they ever-so-obviously (but actually not that obviously) should have given the ball to on the final play of Super Bowl XLIX. He's a five-time Pro Bowler, and in 2013 and 2014, he scored more rushing touchdowns than anyone else in football. 

In those years, Lynch was the man. 

This year, though, he hasn't been himself. The 29-year-old was plagued by a hamstring injury earlier this year and now is being checked for a sports hernia after missing his third game of the season. 

Even when he's been healthy enough to play, Lynch hasn't been effective. He's averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and he's gone over 100 yards just once, which indicates wear-and-tear could be catching up with him. 

And yet Lynch's struggles have almost nothing to do with the fact the Seahawks are only 5-5. 

In fact, Seattle still leads the NFL in rushing and ranks third with a team yards-per-attempt average of 4.8. And in games in which Lynch has either not played or has rushed for fewer than 40 yards, the Seahawks are 3-1. 

The Seahawks are off to a 5-5 start not because they haven't had a healthy and effective Lynch. They're 5-5 despite the fact that, according to Football Outsiders, Lynch has a negative Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) rating. 

They're surviving in spite of Lynch, thanks mainly to Thomas Rawls. 

"Who?" asked the month of August. 

The undrafted rookie out of Central Michigan wasn't known to most Seahawks fans until he was forced to start in place of the banged-up Lynch three weeks and just 11 snaps into his NFL career. But he surfaced on the national fantasy football radar with a 104-yard performance that week, proved it wasn't a fluke with a 169-yard effort in Week 5 and then won over Seattle fans forever with a 209-yard game Sunday against San Francisco. 

That's three 100-yard games in four prominent appearances, with some stellar complementary performances in between. Bring it all together, and Rawls finds himself leading all qualified players with a yards-per-attempt average of 6.0. 

Back	YPA
1. Thomas Rawls, Seahawks	6.0
2. Ryan Mathews, Eagles	5.7
3. Giovani Bernard, Bengals	5.4
4. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs	5.3
5. Doug Martin, Bucs	5.1

He had 255 yards from scrimmage in Seattle's Week 11 victory over the 49ers, which is the highest total from a running back since 2012. And he's now on pace to become only the third undrafted running back in modern NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards as a rookie, joining Dominic Rhodes (2001) and LeGarrette Blount (2010). 

Thirty-two backs have carried the ball more than Rawls has, but only 12 have more rushing yards. He's rushed for 10 or more yards on 16 percent of his attempts and has been stopped behind the line of scrimmage only five times all season. 

Back	Attempts	10-yard gains	Rate
1. Giovani Bernard	105	18	17.1%
2. LeSean McCoy*	113	19	16.8%
3. Thomas Rawls	101	16	15.8%
4. Adrian Peterson	208	31	14.9%
5. Devonta Freeman	167	23	13.8%

Back	Attempts	Lost yards	Rate
1. Thomas Rawls	101	5	5.0%
2. LeGarrette Blount*	117	6	5.1%
3. Giovani Bernard	105	6	5.7%
4. Latavius Murray	157	9	5.7%
5. Matt Forte	136	9	6.6%

This truly goes to show just how volatile and erratic the running back position is. Guys like Arian Foster, Alfred Morris and Rawls continue to prove that it's not necessary to take backs early in the draft, while busts like Darren McFadden and Trent Richardson continue to embody the risks associated with doing so.

At no other position are stars as easily and seamlessly replaced, which is why backs rarely go early in the draft and hardly ever earn lucrative second contracts.

Has Rawls received better-than-expected blocking at times? Sure. But by no means is the Seattle offensive line considered to be in the upper echelon, and tight end Jimmy Graham isn't exactly known for his ability as a blocker.

Rawls has actually done a lot of the work himself. He was a tackle-breaking machine Sunday, constantly dragging defenders with him for extra yardage. And when he laid wood on 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock early, it was hard not to immediately draw comparisons to the hard-nosed Lynch. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Rawls is averaging 3.3 yards per carry after contact, which ranks tied for second in the NFL behind only Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who is on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Last year in that category, Lynch led all backs who had at least 50 attempts. 

"I have never run out of bounds," Rawls told ESPN.com. "It's just my makeup. It's my whole mentality. I think I would feel less of a person just running out of bounds instead of being physical, showing toughness and [having] a different mentality at the running back position."

That gives you a feel for the type of player Rawls is, but he's still so fresh that we're yet to learn much about where he came from.

Six facts:

1. In high school in Flint, Michigan, he was called "The Train." Rawls was a tough-as-nails, two-player player at Flint Northern High, where he had a ridiculous 1,585 yards (on only 150 carries) and 19 touchdowns as a senior, according to MLive.com.

2. Rawls rushed for 344 yards in Week 4 of his senior season, breaking Mark Ingram's Flint-area single game rushing record. The next week, he broke his own record with 396 yards. 

3. He originally went to Michigan, where he carried the ball just 73 times in three seasons under Brady Hoke and Al Borges. But then he transferred to Central Michigan, where he ran for 120-plus yards in four of his first five games. 

4. He was suspended two games after being charged with three felonies (he eventually pleaded guilty to attempted larceny in a building), he missed time later in the year with a knee injury and he was held out of the Chippewas' bowl game for academic reasons, all of which might at least partially explain why he was passed on 256 times in the 2015 draft. 

5. While noting that "his character must be vetted carefully," Lance Zierlein of NFL.com concluded in the lead-up to the draft that Rawls is "more than capable of handling a starter's workload in the NFL." And yet he wasn't one of the 22 running backs selected. 

6. At various points, Rawls was buried behind Lynch, Fred Jackson, Christine Michael and Robert Turbin on the Seattle depth chart. But Lynch and Turbin both suffered injuries, Michael was traded and Jackson wasn't effective enough to get regular reps. As a result, Rawls earned a shot. 

And just like that, he's become one of the most important cogs on a team that may be primed to make another championship run. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad Gagnon