Seattle turns to Notre Dame standout Jadarian Price to spearhead a versatile offensive attack, banking on the rookie's multi-dimensional skill set to replace Kenneth Walker III's production.
Handing starting running backs premium contracts has quite a low success rate in the modern NFL.
The Los Angeles Rams paid Todd Gurley ... and then he got hurt.
The Dallas Cowboys paid Ezekiel Elliott ... who was released less than four years later.
The Arizona Cardinals paid David Johnson ... a former All-Pro that never returned to form.
The blueprint rarely works out for the franchise handing out the money — and it's exactly why the Seattle Seahawks opted to replace Kenneth Walker III with Jadarian Price.
Walker enjoyed an outstanding three-year run in Seattle, rushing for more than 1,000 yards in his final season while helping the Seahawks capture Super Bowl LX en route to winning Super Bowl MVP.
But after signing a lucrative three-year, $43.05 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, Seattle smartly resisted the temptation to match the market.
Instead, general manager John Schneider turned to the 2026 NFL Draft, selecting Price out of Notre Dame in hopes that another young, cost-controlled running back can keep the offense operating at a high level.
The rookie will still have to earn his opportunities in a backfield that features Zach Charbonnet, but as the first-year guys have already started training camp, head coach Mike Macdonald already envisions Price making an impact in multiple facets of the offense.
"We're going to run wide zone and he's going to run wide zone," Macdonald said courtesy of Seahawks.com. "We're going to run some gap scheme. He's going to run some of that too and then the pass game he can come alive, too. I think that's part of our offense in general, that we can take another step in including our halfbacks in the pass game. Then, he's a great special teams player as well. The kick return stuff, we'll see how it shakes out in other phases, but he's going to come in and compete with the rest of the guys."
Those comments suggest Seattle isn't simply viewing Price as Walker's replacement but as a versatile offensive weapon capable of contributing in the running game, passing attack and on special teams.
If Price proves capable of handling that workload, the Seahawks may have once again found a productive running back on a rookie contract while avoiding the financial risk that has derailed so many teams after investing heavily at the position.
