The Seattle Seahawks have officially wrapped up their preseason, and next up is their Week 1 Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots to kick off the regular season. Things have changed since their last battle a few months ago. The Seahawks no longer have their Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, and a rookie running back is trying to fill his shoes.
Jadarian Price, the Seahawks’ first-round pick this season, will be thrown into the mix immediately. Without Walker and Zach Charbonnet still on the mend, Price will have the opportunity to establish himself immediately, even without playing a down this preseason.
Ready for the Fire
Despite not playing in any of the Seahawks preseason games, head coach Mike Macdonald is confident rookie running back Jadarian Price will be ready to carry his weight when the regular season begins.
Stacy Rost of Seattle Sports, in her August 28 article, wrote about Macdonald’s praise of Price in the lead-up to the season.
“He’s done a great job, he really has,” Macdonald said to reporters Thursday about Price. “All three downs. I mean, he’s a rookie in terms of there’s going to be things that we’re going to need to attack in his game that will show itself in games. We haven’t been afforded the luxury of having the bodies right now at running back to give him the reps maybe in a game that we’d normally give to a rookie runner. But he’s shown that we’re really confident in him going into Week 1.”
Even with seeing no time in the preseason, training camp has been more than enough for teammates to recognize that Price can be a contributor right away.
Special Player
Jadarian Price will immediately be an important piece of the Seahawks offense when the season begins, but his teammates aren’t sweating the rookie getting so much on his plate early.
Throughout training camp, Price has impressed them with his abilities and mind, including Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.
In ESPN’s Brady Henderson’s August 31 article, Darnold discussed his confidence in Price.
“He’s a special player,” Darnold said after the Seahawks’ August 21 joint practice in Nashville, Tennessee. “He’s a really special player. He brings a different facet to the offense that only a guy like him can bring. Whether it’s catching passes out of the backfield, catching screens, running in between the tackles, outside the tackles. He can really do it all, and I know he’s just going to continue to get better and learn.”
The Seahawks expect Price to hit the ground running, and while they would prefer rookies to get preseason exposure in most cases, Price has shown enough to earn their trust that he’ll be ready when the games actually count.
Mike Macdonald Confident in Seahawks Rookie RB Despite No Preseason Action