Seahawks Select Running Back Jadarian Price With 32nd Overall Pick

Seattle is signaling a deliberate shift toward a more explosive, efficiency-driven run game rather than a pure volume or pass-catching backfield. That matters because a zone-heavy, big-play profile tends to compress touches across the room: the best runner can produce outsized EPA on relatively few carries, which raises the odds that this becomes a committee with one high-leverage name rather than a bellcow setup. The immediate winner is the offense’s early-down efficiency outlook; the likely loser is any incumbent whose value depended on a stable rushing workload rather than a differentiated skill set.

The second-order effect is on game script and quarterback optionality. If the run game becomes more variance-positive, Seattle can protect against negative pass rate situations and stay out of obvious dropback mode, which should modestly support offensive consistency but may cap spike usage for ancillary receivers. The downside case is also clear: if the new back’s limited third-down profile shows up early, his draft capital can still translate into a split workload and frustrate the market’s tendency to treat Round 1 RBs as instant fantasy/workhorse assets.

Consensus may be overestimating immediate volume and underestimating role-specific efficiency. The more durable edge here is not “feature back” upside, but that Seattle likely bought an explosive-play engine at a position where marginal gains in explosives can disproportionately lift scoring chances over a 6-12 month horizon. If camp reports confirm he’s earning the high-leverage touches, this can re-rate the entire offense; if not, the market will quickly rotate back toward the incumbent committee structure.

From a risk standpoint, the key reversal catalyst is health and pass-protection trust over the next 4-8 weeks of camp/preseason. Any early softness versus NFL fronts, or a cleaner-than-expected return timeline for competing backs, would blunt the upside and keep usage fragmented. The setup is best viewed as a medium-term team-offense positive with a much higher ceiling than floor until workload clarity emerges.