With Kenneth Walker III in Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet coming off a torn ACL, the Super Bowl-champion Seahawks took Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price with the final pick of the first round. Price should assume lead-back duties right away with Charbonnet recovering. Let’s look into what to expect from the rookie in fantasy leagues.
JADARIAN PRICE
- Price’s production is tame compared to other highly-drafted running backs, but he’s got a solid excuse: He played alongside top-10 pick Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame. Price never had more than 120 carries or 746 rushing yards in a single college season, but he averaged 6.0 yards per carry across three seasons in South Bend, and scouts point to his elite vision and balance as justification for strong draft capital despite mediocre production. Josh Jacobs also had meager numbers in a crowded backfield at Alabama, but he has turned into a successful pro running back, so there is precedent for the NFL seeing past the numbers to identify high-level rushing talent. Pundits believe he has reliable hands and competency as a pass protector, but that part of his game is untapped as of now because Love handled the majority of pass-down duties at Notre Dame.
- There’s one big question surrounding Price’s outlook: When will Zach Charbonnet be back, and how much will he contribute in 2026? Charbonnet tore his ACL on Jan. 17. A nine-month recovery timeline would put him back in mid-October. It’s unclear whether he’ll be back in nine months, and it’s also unclear how long it’ll take him to get back to 100% once he’s available to play. Charbonnet has been a thorn in the side of Kenneth Walker III managers for years, so it seems unlikely he goes away completely if healthy, but the Seahawks’ decision to spend a Round 1 pick on Price could indicate what they expect (or, perhaps, what they don’t expect) from him for this upcoming season. First-round draft capital should cement Price into a big role to begin the season with Emanuel Wilson as his only carry competition, but fantasy drafters will have to monitor Charbonnet news all summer to gauge whether the rookie will still be a near-workhorse in December. Plus, George Holani likely doesn’t have a big role on early downs, but he did play pass downs over Walker once Charbonnet went down and could hold the third-down role again with Price having pass protection questions coming in.
- Regardless, teams don’t spend a first-round pick on a running back for a half-season of usage, and it should be assumed that Price plays a big role in Seattle all season long. It’s merely a question of whether he gets the vast majority of early-down carries for the majority of the year or if Charbonnet returns to form a true committee here, as was the case with Walker.
OTHER SEAHAWKS RUNNING BACKS
- Charbonnet becomes a difficult click coming off a January torn ACL with a first-round pick to contend with once he’s healthy enough to play. He was the Seahawks’ primary goal-line option last year and could regain that role once healthy, but first-round draft capital is a serious investment for a running back, and there’s a good chance Price is simply the lead back here now with Charbonnet just mixing in behind him, as he did with Walker.
- Wilson falls from a potentially interesting September option to being mere Price insurance early in the season, and likely obsolete once Charbonnet returns.
