Seahawks introduce first-round pick Jadarian Price to Seattle
RENTON - A delayed flight meant Jadarian Price had to wait 30 minutes or so to conduct one of the happy rituals for first-round NFL draft picks - holding up his new jersey flanked by Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider during an introductory news conference.
No matter.
This was a moment long in the making.
Price is a native of Denison, Texas, a town of about 25,000 on the Oklahoma border that historians may remember mostly as the birthplace of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But when it comes to sports there, football reigns supreme. And the way Price tells it, there was never any question that someday he'd also strap on helmet and pads for Denison High.
"My cousins put a football in my hands before I could talk, Price said Thursday.
Thus began a road that led to the last week, when he was taken by the Seahawks with the 32nd overall pick of the NFL draft. He enjoyed a few days of celebrating with family and friends and flew to Seattle on Thursday to meet coaches and teammates. He'll step on the field at the VMAC for the first time Friday to begin the team's two-day rookie minicamp.
Price's arrival comes with the high expectation to replace the reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, who signed a three-year free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Seahawks sent a strong signal that they planned to replace Walker in the draft. Price was generally considered the second-best running back in the draft behind his Notre Dame teammate, Jeremiyah Love, who went third overall to the Arizona Cardinals.
That didn't mean everyone thought Price was also a first-rounder.
A lot of analysts figured Price was more of a mid-to-late second-round value.
The Seahawks may have hoped to get him somewhere in that second-round range, as well. But when they were unable to pull off a trade for the 32nd pick and move down to get him in the middle of the second round - and acquire another pick or two in the process - they took no chances and drafted Price.
That made him only the fourth running back they have taken in the first round behind two players who are in the team's Ring of Honor - Curt Warner (1983) and Shaun Alexander (2000) - and Rashaad Penny (2018).
Going in the first round means Price gets a fully guaranteed four-year contract worth $17.783 million.
If any of that might seem daunting, Price didn't let on during his initial news conference Thursday.
"I'm just blessed to be here in Seattle and part of a winning program, a winning culture," said Price, listed by the Seahawks at 5-foot-11, 203 pounds.
That comment seems to typify a player Schneider said continually impressed the team during the pre-draft process with his maturity and demeanor.
Schneider pulled out a description for Price he said one of his mentors - longtime Green Bay Packers executive Ted Thompson - would often use for players.
"This is a class act, like a classy pro," Schneider said of Price. "That just really stood out."
Those traits were honed during some periods of trial for Price on his way to the NFL.
The most serious arrived when he was 12 and his mother, Jessica Butler, was diagnosed with breast cancer and endured 16 rounds of chemotherapy before being declared cancer-free in 2017. While there was a large extended family to help, Price was thrust at times into helping take care of two younger sisters, along with navigating the emotions of dealing with his mother's illness.
"Obviously she overcame breast cancer when I was pretty young, so I had to mature and take care of my younger sisters," Price recalled. "But watching her go through that, chemotherapy and all that, and still overcome that I feel like I can overcome anything, like there's nothing that can set me back that I can't overcome."
He proved that to himself when he faced an obstacle of his own in 2022 during his freshman year at Notre Dame.
Price enrolled early, skipping the last half of his senior year of high school to go through spring practice at Notre Dame, looking like a future star when he accounted for 116 yards of total offense in the team's spring game.
But that June, during a simple conditioning drill, he planted his left foot and emerged with a torn Achilles tendon, causing him to miss the 2022 season.
"I just had to figure out to find a new passion outside of football, even though I wasn't on the field as much, and just stared lifting weights. I got bigger and toned up my frame," he said.
By the time he recovered, Love was on the team and Price was relegated to sharing time for the next three seasons, officially never starting a game.
After Notre Dame advanced to the national title game in 2024 - with Price averaging 6.2 yards per carry but forced to take something of a back seat to Love - more than a few schools floated healthy NLI offers to transfer.
But Price stayed put, even knowing he'd still likely be a backup to Love. While Love rushed for 1,372 rushing yards on 199 carries (6.9 ypc) in 2025, Price complemented him with 674 on 113 carries (6.0), his loyalty and performance making a mark with NFL scouts.
"It was in my heart to stay at Notre Dame,'' he said on draft night. "… Also I made a challenge to myself to split reps with the best player in college football and I did that, and I showed that I can do it at the highest level. Sitting here now, it's the greatest decision I could have made."
It looked even better when he finally got to Seattle on Thursday, even if a half-hour or so behind schedule.
But despite a year that has already included being a first-round pick and having a day in his honor in Denison last Jan. 20, Price insisted becoming a first-round pick is hardly a reason to rest.
"The person I am, as soon as something good happens, I'm like, OK, on to the next, how can I get better from this point on?'" he said of being drafted. "It didn't sink in until a couple days after I had the draft parties and that stuff. When I'm sitting down and meeting with (running backs) Coach (Thomas Hammock) and going over the playbook, it's like, ‘OK, it's the real deal now.'
Seahawks sign six picks
The Seahawks announced the signing of six of their draft picks to their four-year rookie contracts, all of which are standard four -year deals with dollar amounts determined by where they were taken in the draft. The six to sign were all of the players taken in rounds three through seven - cornerback Julian Neal (third round), guard Beau Stephens (fifth), receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (sixth), cornerback Andre Fuller (seventh), nose tackle Deven Eastern (seventh) and cornerback Michael Dansby (seventh). That leaves only Price and second-round safety Bud Clark still to sign.
Notes
* The Seahawks announced jersey numbers for all their draft picks and undrafted rookie free agents: Price (8), Clark (9), Neal (1), Stephens (60), Henderson (84), Fuller (35), Eastern (97) and Dansby (37). The Seahawks announced that second-year player Tyrone Broden, who last year was a receiver, is switching to cornerback and now wearing No. 31.
* The Seahawks said there will be 68 players on hand for on-field practices Friday and Saturday for rookie minicamp. That includes the eight draft picks, seven reported UDFA signees, a few second-year players who are still eligible and a number of tryout players.
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 11:41 PM.