The Seattle Seahawks used their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Jadarian Price, with running back a major need for the Super Bowl champions. As a result, selecting Price made sense.
With the departure of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet going to miss the start of the 2026 NFL season as he recovers from his torn ACL, Price will have a chance to be the featured back for Seattle.
In his final season at Notre Dame, Price played 242 total snaps, leading to a 78.6 overall PFF grade. He also carried the ball 113 times for 674 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 6.0 yards per attempt on the ground.
Moreover, Price forced 32 missed tackles as a runner while averaging 3.9 yards after contact per attempt. As a receiver, he caught six passes on seven targets for 87 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Ahead of his rookie season, former Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander shared a big prediction regarding Price.
“I think [Price is] going to be the only [rookie RB to rush for 1,000 yards],” Alexander told Kay Adams on the May 27 edition of “Up & Adams.”
Nonetheless, Alexander did put a variable on his prediction, noting that Charbonnet will take carries away from Price once he comes back, which could impact the rookie’s quest for 1,000 rushing yards.
“That only depends on how Charb comes back, too, because he’s going to come back, and that takes carries away,” Alexander added. “But if he comes out blazing at the beginning of the year, he’ll be one for sure. And I think he’s going to be the only rookie that does that.”
Why Shaun Alexander Has High Hopes for Seahawks Rookie
Moreover, Alexander went into detail about why he has high hopes that Price will take advantage of this opportunity to hit the ground running as the Seahawks’ lead back to start the 2026 season.
“When you’re playing in the NFL, the first thing you want to see is who can explode in the holes, that in-between-the-tackles thing, and he ran that stretch run at Notre Dame really well,” Alexander said. “So there are things in him that we just haven’t seen because they had another great running back. And that’s never a problem for running backs, low reps for your body.
“He was coached by a great college. It would clearly be coached great here in Seattle. We know how to run the ball. That’s part of our history. So I think he’s going to play great. I think that this offensive system is going to be really great for him. So he’s going to be in a good place.”
Jadarian Price Outlook for 2026 Season
It will be a golden opportunity for Price to be the go-to guy for Seattle in the early part of the season. As Alexander mentioned, if he gets off to a good start, the Seahawks rookie could put himself in a position to not just hit 1,000 rushing yards but also put himself in the Rookie of the Year award conversation.
Moreover, if Price shows that he can carry the running game early on until Charbonnet gets back, it will allow the Seahawks to feel more at ease with their decision to let Walker walk in free agency.
Shaun Alexander Makes Big Prediction on Seahawks’ Jadarian Price