The Seattle Seahawks didn’t exactly surprise with their selection of a running back early in the 2026 NFL Draft, and it wasn’t like Jadarian Price wasn’t considered the option for the Seahawks at No. 32. It’s still nevertheless interesting that the Seahawks opted to use a first-rounder on a running back for the first time since Rashaad Penny in 2018, and unlike Penny, Price was second billing to the outstanding Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame. At no point in Price’s career did he start for the Fighting Irish, and he’s never even had a game with at least 15 carries.
This stat from Scott Barrett is absolutely crazy to think about: no running back drafted this early has ever had fewer single-season touches than Jadarian Price.
Jadarian Price is the first RB in NFL Draft history to be drafted in Round 1 or Round 2 and never reach 125 touches in a single CFB season.
If you’re unfamiliar with Price’s history, he tore his Achilles and redshirted his freshman year, had 52 touches the following season, then worked his way up to 120 carries + 4 receptions in 2024, then 113 carries + 6 receptions last season. That’s only 295 offensive touches over the three seasons in which he was healthy enough to play. Keep in mind that Notre Dame played 16 games in 2024 on their way to an appearance in the national title game against Ohio State.
It should be noted that Price had 22 kick returns (with three touchdowns), but that ain’t enough to really tack on meaningful mileage. To say that Price has very little tread on the tires is putting it mildly. The fact that he’s one of the top running backs in this year’s class on a comparatively small sample size does somewhat underscore how impressive he’s been when he’s had the ball, but there’s a big adjustment to be had for the wear-and-tear of an increased workload in the NFL.
We’ll see if this pick of potential over extensive production pays off in the long run for John Schneider and the Super Bowl champion Seahawks. They let their Super Bowl MVP walk in free agency for a big price, and now they’ve got Price as a replacement.