Jadarian Price Sets the Pace in Seahawks Debut

The turf at Lumen Field still held the chill of the evening when Jadarian Price took the ball for the first time. Thirteen yards. The distance was modest on the scoreboard, but the impact was immediate. He did not hesitate. He did not look back. In that single burst, the rookie first-round pick from Notre Dame announced himself not as a tentative newcomer, but as a force ready to break open the defense.

It was a fitting start for a player who had waited his turn. With Kenneth Walker III gone to Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet sidelined by injury, the burden of the ground game fell squarely on Price’s shoulders. He carried the weight without flinching, finding the lanes and punishing the Patriots’ front line with a precision that looked rehearsed, even if the game itself was still finding its rhythm.

Finding Rhythm in the Chaos

The offensive flow was jagged. Seattle struggled to sustain drives, a reality that limited the number of opportunities Price could exploit. Yet, in the fragments of time he had, he was efficient. Six carries in the first half yielded 42 yards, an average of seven yards per trip. By the end of the night, he had accumulated 52 rushing yards on ten attempts and added six more through the air. The numbers were not record-breaking, but the quality of the touches suggested something more substantial was brewing.

Price was unbothered by the lack of volume. He saw the game as a puzzle, and he solved the pieces given to him. “Kind of the way the game was flowing,” he said, noting that the offensive line felt comfortable enough to open up the passing game. That comfort was key. It allowed Jaxon Smith-Njigba to make the plays that sealed the victory, with Price providing the foundation that made the passing threats credible.

Linemen See the Power

From the other side of the ball, the assessment was blunt and admiring. Right guard Anthony Bradford watched the rookie hit the holes with a confidence that erased the label of “rookie.” “He’s not missing a beat,” Bradford said. “It don’t even feel like he’s a rookie out there.” The observation carried weight. In the NFL, instinct is currency, and Price spent it wisely, moving downhill with a power that required no explanation.

Left guard Gray Zabel, who admitted his own blocking was not at its peak, still found himself impressed. He described Price as a runner who hits behind his pads, a physical trait that separates a good back from a great one. “Played his ass off,” Zabel said. For a lineman, that phrase is the highest praise. It means the runner is doing the work that the line cannot always cover, absorbing hits and creating separation through sheer will.

A Glimpse of Explosiveness

The 13-yard run on the opening carry was not an accident. It was a preview. Price believes that the bursts of speed and vision he displayed are the baseline, not the ceiling. “That shows you more explosive runs are coming,” he said. The confidence was not arrogance; it was a statement of intent. He knows the pro game is different, but not so different that it requires a new identity. It requires a sharper edge.

As the Seahawks look ahead, the presence of Price changes the equation. The team gained just 97 yards on the ground collectively, a modest total, but the individual spark was undeniable. With George Holani splitting the carries, Price established his place as the primary option. The debut was not a finale. It was a prologue, written in yards gained and holes hit, promising a season where the ground game becomes a weapon rather than a fallback. The seeds are planted. Now, the growth begins.