Why Seahawks fans should have faith with risky pick in Jadarian Price
RENTON - After answering questions for four minutes and 10 seconds straight at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Monday, Seahawks general manager John Schneider pointed to the man sitting beside him.
"Mike's here too," he said with a smile, "if you guys have got any questions for Mike."
It says something when Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks' 38-year-old Super Bowl champion wunderkind coach, is the forgotten man in a football conversation.
It says that Schneider's the star of the show this week.
For good reason.
After all, Schneider - the NFL's reigning executive of the year - is the league's lone general manager to win two Super Bowls with completely separate rosters and coaches, while staying in the same organization. Both times, he built championship warships with draft picks, each adding armor and heavy artillery.
Earl Thomas. Kam Chancellor. K.J. Wright. Richard Sherman. Bobby Wagner. Russell Wilson.
Then …
Charles Cross. Kenneth Walker III. Devon Witherspoon. Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Byron Murphy II. AJ Barner. Grey Zabel. Nick Emmanwori.
That list has gotten longer. On Thursday, the Seahawks drafted Walker's apparent replacement, selecting Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price with the 32nd overall pick.
"He kind of stood alone," Schneider said Thursday. "Great player. The person is outstanding. The competitor … he's a Seahawk. It's really cool."
Cool? Sure. But there are questions. Schneider indicated Monday they would prefer to trade back, adding draft capital to a class that included only four picks. It's inherently risky to draft a running back in the opening round, and Price (who split carries with No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love) was not the best back on his own roster. He had just 15 career catches in three seasons and fumbled three times in 2025. Cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Avieon Terrell and edges Zion Young and Cashius Howell were all available at positions of need as well.
This was not a slam dunk. Schneider admitted that "I thought we were going (to trade) back for sure," but options eroded when five of six picks before the Seahawks were subsequently traded. Seattle has just three more picks - No. 64 (second round), No. 96 (third) and No. 188 (sixth) - and limited opportunities to add to that list.
Plus, Rashaad Penny, who the Seahawks picked in the first round in 2018 and retired at 28 amid mounting injuries, is proof that potential - at that position - can be bludgeoned by tackles and time.
But (and it's a big but):
Schneider has earned the benefit of the doubt.
The 54-year-old future Hall of Fame general manager's judgment is easy to trust, considering his résumé - and the Seahawks' roster. Even after bidding farewell to Walker, Riq Woolen, Boye Mafe and Coby Bryant in free agency, Seattle is positioned to contend for years to come.
Consider the signal-caller. Schneider rightly upgraded from Geno Smith to a younger, cheaper franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold.
Or the wide receiver room - where Smith-Njigba (the reigning Offensive Player of the Year), Rashid Shaheed, Cooper Kupp and Tory Horton will continue to complement each other. Or the offensive line, a longtime question mark, which returns intact.
Or the league's most dominant defense - a line where Murphy, Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall and Jarran Reed still roam; a second level where linebacker Ernest Jones IV's leadership shines; a secondary where Witherspoon and Emmanwori are dual torpedoes.
Speaking of Emmanwori: Don't forget how he got here. Schneider shipped embattled wide receiver DK Metcalf to Pittsburgh (in part) for a second-round pick, which he used to trade up for Emmanwori. Schneider transformed a problem into a franchise-altering pick.
Macdonald is the captain.
But Schneider built the ship.
"The great part about our team right now is you can go position by position and you can rattle off the great competitions that we're going to have really throughout the (offseason) process," Macdonald said Monday. "It's not always that case. So I think that speaks really to the depth of our team right now, which is really exciting."
The running back room, we know, needed to get deeper. Walker is currently a Kansas City Chief, while Zach Charbonnet continues to recover from a torn ACL. The Seahawks' other options include George Holani (a former undrafted free agent with 83 rushing yards in 16 career games), free agent signing Emanuel Wilson (who spent the last two seasons as Josh Jacobs' backup in Green Bay), Kenny McIntosh (who missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL) and Cam Akers (who hasn't started more than two games since 2022).
From that perspective, Price was a logical - perhaps critical? - pick. Schneider confirmed that "we weren't going to force it, but it was important" to draft a running back. He touted the 5-foot-11, 203-pound Texan's instant acceleration, vision, cutback ability and contact balance as well. And with 1,692 rushing yards, 6.0 yards per carry and 27 total touchdowns in three seasons at Notre Dame, Price's upside is significant.
The downside? The Seahawks still need to get deeper, with precious few picks to play with. On Thursday, Schneider agreed that "there's concern" surrounding Seattle's disparity of picks. He added that, while they were interested in trading back, "sometimes these things just don't work out."
Big picture, Price is a risky pick. But this is still Schneider's ship, and show.
And there's no active general manager you should trust more.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 11:41 PM.