If the Arizona Cardinals wanted dirt on Seattle Seahawks rookie Jadarian Price, they went to the right person.
Finding much dirt was the problem.
Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love, Price’s teammate for three seasons at Notre Dame, said Arizona defenders have been asking him for an inside scouting report ahead of Sunday’s matchup with Seattle.
Specifically, they wanted to know Price’s weaknesses.
Love did not give them much to work with.
“They’ve been asking me stuff like, What are some of his weaknesses? Stuff like that,” Love said, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “J doesn’t have many weaknesses.”
Then came the actual advice.
“If you can get him you got to get him,” Love said. “Once he gets the ball, he gets rolling. It’s hard to stop him.”
That is about as blunt as scouting reports get.
Jeremiyah Love Gives Cardinals the Book on Jadarian Price
Love knows Price better than almost anyone Arizona could ask.
The two shared Notre Dame’s backfield for three seasons before both became first-round NFL draft picks and landed with NFC West rivals.
So when Cardinals defenders started looking for clues, Love became the obvious source.
His message was simple: do not let Price build momentum.
“You’ve got to get him early,” Love said. “I think very highly of JD, so I don’t really know what to say. Got to get him. Get him before he gets rolling.”
That assessment fits what Seattle has already seen from Price.
The rookie carried 10 times for 52 yards in his NFL debut, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt. His first professional carry went for 13 yards.
Price later credited Seattle’s offensive line for repeatedly getting him clean to the second level.
That is exactly where Love’s warning becomes relevant.
Price’s speed becomes considerably harder to deal with once he gets through the first wave. Arizona now knows it. Knowing it and stopping it are different matters.
Seahawks Could Give Price a Bigger Role Against Cardinals
The Cardinals may also see more of Price than New England did.
Seattle deliberately limited the rookie’s workload in his debut after holding him out of preseason action. Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said afterward that Price had earned additional opportunities.
“He, obviously, earned more reps moving forward,” Fleury said.
That gives Sunday’s reunion another layer.
Arizona has one of the best possible sources on Price in its own locker room. Seattle, meanwhile, appears ready to put more on Price’s plate.
Love has no problem helping his current team prepare.
He called Price his “brother” and made it clear their relationship extends beyond football. Once Sunday arrives, however, the distinction becomes simple.
“He’s not going to be my teammate this upcoming game,” Love said. “He’s still my brother at the end of the day, but we’re preparing to go to war.”
Asked where his loyalty sits, Love did not hedge.
“My team,” he said.
That means Arizona gets every detail Love is willing to provide.
The Cardinals just may not like the scouting report.
Price, according to the former teammate who spent three years watching him up close, does not offer many obvious weaknesses.
And the one instruction Love could give Arizona came down to four words:
Get him before he gets rolling.
Seahawks’ Jadarian Price Gets Blunt Scouting Report From Former Teammate