The Seattle Seahawks used a first-round draft pick on Jadarian Price, but the reigning NFL champions may not lean heavily on the Notre Dame running back out of the gate.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday on SportsCenter the Seahawks feel Price “doesn’t have to be a bell cow right away” and can grow into that role:
“They know he’s got tremendous skills but they want to bring him along. They have Zach Charbonnet, who’s coming back from an ACL, but he’ll be a big part of their plans in 2026. They have some veterans like Emanuel Wilson out of free agency, George Holani. So, they know Price can develop on his own time this offseason. They’re not going to throw him in where he needs 35 carries his first game. They like for Mike Macdonald to run at least two backs. We’ve seen that the last two years with Kenneth Walker and Charbonnet, so that will probably be the game plan eventually. He will take over as a top guy, they believe that. They just want him to develop on his own time. Also, just 15 catches out of the backfield in three years at Notre Dame, so they’re going to be working on that a lot the next few days at minicamp.”
In his four years with Seattle, Walker averaged 14.2 carries per game.
By comparison, Jonathan Taylor carried the ball 19 times a game en route to leading the NFL in the category (323). Derrick Henry is sitting 17.4 carries per contest across his 10 years in the league.
Four or five fewer touches each week may not seem like much but can add up over a full season.
First with Pete Carroll and then once Macdonald took over as the coach, Seattle tried to set the tone with the running game but didn’t place a heavy burden on Walker.
It sounds like it could be more of the same with Price, who wasn’t the No. 1 option in Notre Dame’s backfield while sitting behind Audric Estime and then Jeremiyah Love in the depth chart.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski gave Seattle a B-plus grade for the pick.
“Seattle’s offense is built upon establishing the run game,” he wrote. “The Seahawks staff may like Emanuel Wilson and George Holani, but the team needed a new lead back and got one in Jadarian Price, who wasn’t one in college.”
Macdonald’s system worked to perfection with Walker and Charbonnet in 2025.
The Seahawks tied for 10th in rushing yards during the regular season, and Walker had more than enough left in the tank when called upon to carry the offense in Super Bowl LV.
Four words fantasy football managers hate to hear every offseason are “running back by committee.”
Price is a great target in dynasty formats, and he’ll presumably become the lead option at some point in his rookie year. As with Walker, though, his usage could put a ceiling on his weekly production.
