In his first-ever NFL game, former Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price showed exactly why he was a first-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks.
Seahawks fans and the media were impressed by Price’s 10 carries for 52 yards and 2 catches for 6 yards. The coaching staff, though, didn’t seem as impressed, given that he had just 4 second-half carries. That left fans and media confused about why Seattle kept splitting his touches with George Holani, who wasn’t nearly as effective despite nearly as many touches.
Seattle’s careful approach to Price was surprising, given how explosive he looked when he did touch the ball. Before winning the season opener 13-10, the team signaled it would split carries, and people were baffled that the coaching staff seemed unwilling to ride the hot hand in such a low-scoring, close game.
“Jadarian Price: averaging 7 YPC, Seattle coaches: let’s keep running Holani,” one fan wrote in the first half, before the rookie running back’s touches dropped nearly off the table after halftime.
Seattle Seahawks should make Notre Dame football alum Jadarian Price their lead running back
“Seahawks know they can use Price at some point inside the 20, right?” wrote another.
When the game was over, Price finished with 24 snaps. Holani had 23 snaps, and Emmanuel Wilson had 3. That gap reflected how much better Price played than the other running backs: Pro Football Focus gave the former Notre Dame star a 66.7 overall grade, better than Holani (46.6) and Wilson (50.2). The other two backs were two of the three worst-graded offensive players on Wednesday night.
Despite Price clearly outplaying his backfield counterparts, Holani was the only back to play on 3rd down, and Price never got a short-yardage carry. Holani is in his third year in the NFL, and Wilson is in his fourth. The carry split made it feel like seniority was winning out over talent.
To Jadarian Price’s credit, sharing snaps is nothing new. He routinely ran in the shadow of Heisman finalist Jeremiyah Love the last two years with Notre Dame. He made the most of his playing time, averaging 6.0 yards per carry and running for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025, and 6.2 yards per carry while running for 742 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2024. However, the Seattle Seahawks don’t have the equivalent of Love on their roster.
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