Sportsnaut
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald revealed plans to use first-round pick Jadarian Price in a risky way during his rookie season.
To quite a few NFL analysts, the Seahawks landing the Notre Dame star with the 32nd and final selection in Round 1 of April’s NFL Draft was a steal. Despite being the No. 2 back to Heisman candidate Jeremiyah Love, the Junior posted 674 yards on the ground and an impressive 11 rushing touchdowns. Many around the sport believe he has serious upside at the next level.
McDonald spoke to that possibility when he revealed the various ways the team plans to use him in his debut season. “We’re going to run wide zone, and he’s going to run wide zone,” Macdonald told Seahawks.com. “We’re going to run some gap scheme. He’s going to run some of that too, and then the pass game he can come alive, too. I think that’s part of our offense in general: that we can take another step in including our halfbacks in the pass game.”
However, that wasn’t all of the ways he will be used in Seattle’s offense this season. “Then, he’s a great special teams player as well. The kick return stuff, we’ll see how it shakes out in other phases,” he said.
Price doing kick returns? That could be a big risk.
You can now play as Jadarian Price in Madden NFL 27 Arcade Edition
McDonald isn’t wrong about Price’s capabilities as a kick returner. To get the most out of him since he was behind Love on the depth chart, he returned 12 kicks for Notre Dame last season. Tallying 450 yards and two touchdowns. However, he was used that way to get him on the field because he was stuck behind the best running back in the country.
While Zach Charbonnet is penciled in as the RB1 at the start of camp, that position is wide open and can be taken by Price. Even if he doesn’t win the starting job before Week 1, the Seahawks used their top pick this year on him to be the long-term replacement for Kenneth Walker III.
With plans to use Price in a variety of ways, is it really necessary to have him do kick returns as well? Part of why the NFL adjusted the kick return setup was to avoid injuries because it is a violent part of the game. Seattle is investing good money and high hopes in Price. It is a big risk to put a player like that into a dangerous situation when the hope is that he plays a big role on their offense in 2026.
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