Jadarian Price went from Notre Dame backfield spark to first-round NFL pick on Thursday night, and the Seattle Seahawks made him the 32nd overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. Price said the call from Seattle brought “immediate tears and joy” after a night he admitted he did not know how it would end.
Price said Seattle had shown clear interest before the draft and that he tried to ignore the noise around him. When the Seahawks were on the clock, he said he stood up, then sat back down just as the call came through. “I thought I would be a little bit more calm, but that phone call is a little different,” he said.
The pick gives Seattle a running back who did much more than carry the ball last season for Notre Dame football. Price averaged 6.0 yards per carry, ran for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns on 113 carries, and added two receiving touchdowns and two scores as a kick returner. He also averaged 37.5 yards per return and was named a third-team All-American as an all-purpose player.
Notre Dame leaned on Price in a crowded backfield that also included Jeremiyah Love, who went third overall to the Cardinals. Seattle is taking him after losing 2024 starter Kenneth Walker III in free agency, and team general manager John Schneider said Price brings “instant acceleration, vision, cut back ability,” along with contact balance and home run speed. Schneider also pointed to Price’s three kickoff returns for touchdowns in his career, including two this season, and called the USC game “ridiculous.”
Price said the fit makes sense because outside zone is his “bread and butter,” a style that lets him make one decisive move and get vertical. For the Seahawks, the appeal is obvious: they needed a runner, and they took one whose Notre Dame football tape showed speed, patience and a knack for turning ordinary touches into long gains. That is the kind of player teams do not usually find at the very back of the first round.