Seattle Seahawks select Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price in first round of NFL Draft

Jadarian Price never let his situation define him. As a result, he’s a first-round pick.

The Seattle Seahawks selected Price with the 32nd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night, closing out the first round with Notre Dame’s second running back. The Irish are the first team in the common draft era to produce the first two running backs taken in a given draft, and they’re the first team to produce two first-round running backs since Arkansas (Darren McFadden and Felix Jones) in 2008.

Price followed Jeremiyah Love, who went third overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

In Seattle, Price will replace Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III as the Seahawks’ primary early-down back. Walker signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, so the Seahawks needed a running back to work in tandem with incumbent Zach Charbonnet — who handles most of the third-down and short-yardage duties — and hold down the fort until Charbonnet returns from his late-season torn ACL.

At least until Charbonnet returns, Price will get his shot to be Seattle’s No. 1 running back from the moment he steps in the building.

Despite playing behind Love for most of his three seasons active at Notre Dame, Price emerged as one of the top backfield playmakers in college football. In three seasons, he totaled 280 carries for 1,692 yards (6.0 YPC) and 21 touchdowns on the ground, as well as 15 receptions for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air.

Price wasn’t on early-round radars entering his redshirt junior season, but that changed with elite early-season performances against Texas A&M, Purdue, Arkansas and Boise State. The Denison, Texas product impressed scouts with his improved physicality and contact balance, shiftiness, vision and nose for the end zone — leading some to believe he might be a better “pure runner” than Love himself.

On special teams, Price excels as a kickoff returner. He had 3 kickoff return touchdowns in just 22 attempts at Notre Dame, including 2 in wins over rival USC. He enters the NFL at a time when kickoff returning is more valuable than it’s been in over a decade, with new kickoff rules de-incentivizing touchbacks and opening the door for more returns.

“I’ll take advantage of any opportunity I have on the field,” Price said at Notre Dame’s Pro Day. “If I’m limited to just offense, then you’re not getting all you have out of me. Just getting out there on special teams and showing what I can do with the ball in my hands is fun, and it’s special.”

Particularly after his redshirt sophomore season, Price had lucrative offers to enter the transfer portal and become the No. 1 running back at a different school. He turned them all down, which prompted Irish head coach Marcus Freeman to call him “the most unselfish individual” on Notre Dame.

“I’m going to create generational wealth later down the line,” Price said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “It’s not all about money right now. I wanted to make sure I had the tangibles to get into the league and make sure that I made real money, and that’s going to carry me and help my family out.”

In other words, Price bet on himself. On Thursday night, that bet paid off.