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# ‘That’s My Bread and Butter’: Jadarian Price Eager to Bring Dynamic Skill Set to Seahawks’ Backfield
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/bread-and-butter-jadarian-price-seattle-seahawks-dynamic-skillset-backfield/
- Published: 2026-04-24T05:41:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:35:47.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Features, Seahawks, Jadarian Price, Thomas Hammock, 2026 NFL Draft

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3259"\]

![  Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jadarian Price (24) runs the ball against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27367083-format-original.jpg)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jadarian Price (24) runs the ball against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images \[/caption\]

RENTON, Wash. - Like any incoming NFL hopeful, with consensus No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza being the exception to the rule, Jadarian Price didn’t know where he would land once the 2026 NFL Draft kicked off on Thursday night.

But throughout the pre-draft process, the Seattle Seahawks stood out as an interested suitor for his talents, sending several coaches and scouts to South Bend for an extended look at Price’s pro day workout. Among those who met with him, Thomas Hammock, who had recently left his head coaching post at Northern Illinois to join Mike Macdonald’s staff as the new running back coach, hit it off with the explosive prospect.

Their conversation continued a few weeks later via Zoom, with Hammock making sure to remind Price of when his Huskies came into Notre Dame Stadium and pulled off the upset in 2024, joking with the young back that he would have given him the ball more to avoid the defeat.

At that point, even with Price acknowledging that he has tried to drown out the noise coming from various media outlets leading up to draft weekend, he knew Hammock and the Seahawks had him squarely on their radar. Now, after receiving the call from general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald on Thursday night in the waning moments of the opening round, he will begin his NFL journey with the defending champions, coming on board as the 32nd overall pick and soaking in the moment with family, friends, and former coaches from his home in Denison, Texas.

"It was wild because I was walking around the whole room and so Seattle was up. I was like, ‘all right, this is the last one. I'm gonna sit down.’” Price told reporters moments after fielding the life-changing call. “As I was going to sit down, I get the call and emotions just hit. I thought I would be a little bit more calm. But that phone call is a little different. It's just immediate tears and joy.”

Making the jump to the NFL, Price isn’t the prototypical first round running back. He didn’t garner All-American honors or earn a seat at the table as a Heisman Trophy finalist. In fact, he wasn’t even a starter for the Fighting Irish, with Jeremiyah Love carrying that distinction as the one who finished as a Heisman finalist and landed with the Cardinals as the third overall pick on Thursday.

But when Price had his opportunities in the shadows of Love’s brilliance, he shined ever so brightly. Averaging a gaudy six yards per carry as a junior, he rushed for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns, posting a breakaway run rate of 45% and turning north of 20% of his rushes into 10-plus yard gains. Beyond being a scintillating home run threat with theatrics for the big play, he averaged nearly four yards per carry after contact and forced 32 missed tackles, proving himself to be more than just a speed threat and emerging as a viable NFL prospect in his own right.

Looking at his fit in coordinator Brian Fleury’s zone-centric offense filling the massive shoes left behind by Super Bowl MVP Ken Walker III, who signed with the Chiefs in free agency last month, Price believes his running style and strengths with the ball in his hands will make him the perfect candidate to pick up where he predecessor left off in Santa Clara back in February.

"The stretch game, outside zone, that's my bread and butter,” Love remarked. “So just being able to make one decisive move and get vertical."

When asked what he enjoys most about running the ball on zone concepts, Price indicated that he craves a “smooth cutback” opportunity created by the offensive line, presenting the chance for him to make one defender miss in space and be off for the races. At Notre Dame, he could be seen doing that frequently on Saturdays, running with decisiveness as a one-cut runner and winning those one-on-one battles against linebackers and safeties to generate explosive rushes in bunches.

But Price also has plenty of confidence in his all-around skill set, which he has worked diligently at improving upon over the past three years in South Bend. As Schneider noted following the first round, the running back wisely heeded the advice of his agent to attack his pass catching game two years ago, spending extra time with the receivers coach at Notre Dame in his final two seasons on campus to sharpen up his hands and become a more well-rounded asset out of the backfield in the passing game.

Though he didn’t get a lot of chances to show off his refinement as a receiver thanks in large part to Love’s large role in the Fighting Irish’s passing attack, Price made his targets count. He caught 15 of his 18 career targets without a single drop, averaging 10.8 yards per reception and turning 20% of those receptions into touchdowns.

Schneider and Seattle’s scouting staff saw his smooth pass catching talents up close and personal at Price’s '“outstanding” pro day workout, which helped cement his status as one of the team’s top targets at the back of the first round.

"That was the biggest thing to show combine and pro day was just my ability to catch the ball at the backfield because I didn't show that as much on film,” Price explained. “But they saw what I could do. They saw my route running got smoother at the pro day. So just my knowledge about the game and what it commands on stuff like that, I showed what I can do at the combine as far as passing goes.”

In addition, while Love understandably received the majority of the hype as the engine of Notre Dame’s offense, Price also made a name for himself as one of the nation’s most dangerous kick return specialists. As a junior, he returned two kicks back to the house for touchdowns, once again demonstrating a propensity for living in the end zone.

Putting his penchant for scoring in perspective, Price managed to turn nearly 9% of his collegiate touches on offense and special teams into touchdowns. In other words, he found paydirt on close to one out of every 10 times he had the ball in his hands at Notre Dame, thriving in the background even if Love got most of the headlines.

As a rare running back selected in the first round, expectations will be sky high for Price upon arrival in Seattle, especially with Walker gone and Zach Charbonnet likely to miss at least part of the 2026 season recovering from a torn ACL. At a position with a limited shelf life, after not being the bell cow in three years with the Irish, he will come onboard with the defending champs with an opportunity to finally be the guy on one of the NFL’s best teams, which can create plenty of pressure.

But to avoid putting too much burden on the young man’s shoulders, Macdonald and Schneider understandably weren’t ready to declare Price as the starter on Thursday night, suggesting that he will get reps with the starters as well as second and third-team offenses early on competing against incumbents George Holani, Kenny McIntosh, and Jacardia Wright as well as free agent signee Emmanuel Wilson to see how things shake out.

While brimming with confidence and thrilled with the landing spot in an ideal scheme for his talents, the player isn’t putting the wagon in front of the horse either. He understands it’s time to get to work and that every opportunity he receives in Seattle will have to be earned, ready to start battling for reps once he lands in the Pacific Northwest in coming days.

“Coming to the right offense, an offense that prides itself in being balanced, running and throwing the ball, but just their emphasis on running the ball first and how important that is. You see Ken Walker III getting the Super Bowl MVP. I think it's important. I'm glad to be in the situation.”