This article series will look at the top fantasy football rookies of 2026 and break down their fantasy football upside.
By examining the full scope of their talent level and their projected opportunity, the player's merit is weighed against their draft ADP to determine their cost-adjusted value to fantasy drafters.
This entry will look at Jadarian Price, who was drafted by Seattle in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft (32nd overall). As of May 30 the fantasy football ADP for Price is 57.8 in Underdog best ball drafts and 61.83 in NFFC Best Ball Championship drafts.
You can read prior entries on Mike Washington (here), Kaelon Black (here) and Emmett Johnson (here).
SKILL SET
Despite his lack of experience, Price is clearly a natural and developed pure runner. His big-play production at Notre Dame is not necessarily driven by speed – Price's lean is ideal for charging forward and he seems to have a Golden Man-like ability to effortlessly find the fastest escape route.
Even with his billing as a big-play back and despite his otherwise light frame (5-11, 203), Price generates plenty of functional power in part because his low forward lean lends to setting a better anchor than if he had more of an upright gait. Price probably shouldn't test his raw power too much – it's not clear whether he can withstand volume in general, let alone power-oriented volume – but Price should be able to break tackles at the NFL level.
When you combine his adequate speed, functional power and prescient vision it's easy to see why Price's big-play production in college should translate to the NFL level. Perhaps he won't truly outrun many defenses or bowl over many defenders, but Price doesn't go down easy and if the defense leaves a gap he will find it. His ability to hunt for the big play while staying squared up at all times might be somewhat memorable, actually.
Aside from the volume question, the other unanswered part of Price's profile is his ability to factor in on passing downs. Price's bankable running ability alone could make him a good player for the Seahawks and fantasy investors, but if he can draw something like 70 targets annually at average or better efficiency then it would take Price's fantasy upside to another level.
There's no obvious reason why Price shouldn't catch more passes in the NFL than he did in college. It makes enough sense that the relatively few pass-catching opportunities in the Notre Dame backfield would primarily go to Jeremiyah Love – it's not like Price failed after getting an opportunity for more schemed targets. In the meantime, of course, Price's box score of 15 receptions for 162 yards and three touchdowns on 22 targets (68.2 percent catch rate, 7.4 YPT) is inconclusive.
ATHLETICISM
Price's size-adjusted athletic testing is merely decent. At 5-foot-11, 203 pounds Price was rather light at the Combine and his 4.49-second 40 would have been much more reassuring at 10 pounds heavier.
This is a tiny bit concerning because Price's big-play game at the college level involved regularly outrunning the pursuit, and if he doesn't prove fast enough to outrun NFL pursuit to the same degree then some of those same big plays won't be there at the NFL level. As mentioned in the Skill Set section, Price's big plays at the collegiate level were driven by his vision and spatial processing as much as his raw speed, but Price's margins might get pressed a little bit by the game getting faster.
Price's 4.49 is above-average by general running back standards, but for running backs under 205 pounds it doesn't stand out. If the speed differential presses his margins at all then he might need more usage to offset the decrease in efficiency, but at 203 pounds and with no history of extended usage it's not clear whether Price can offer that.
In other words, there might be a fundamental tension between Price's explosiveness (speed) and longevity (density). To be as fast as he wants to be Price might have to play at a light weight where he burns fast from scrimmage and never withstands big volume. To withstand more volume Price might need to sacrifice some speed to add weight.
Athletic testing is not everything and almost always matters less than production. Price's production is clearly good. Production mostly measures skill, however, and a player's skill will always carry them less at the next level. We want running back prospects to demonstrate sufficient athleticism for their games to translate at weights dense enough to withstand prolonged punishment. If Price can withstand volume at 203 then this is a moot point. If Price can make enough big plays to provide value without volume then that also would make this a moot point. It stands otherwise, though.
COMPARISON AND 2026 PROJECTION
Price will almost certainly be a useful player in the NFL. He has clear standout functions that any offense can use. The main question is how much the premise can scale upward – Price will be explosive but how explosive, and on how much volume? Also, how much of this will occur in the form of fantasy-friendly PPR-spamming targets? If these questions were clarified the specific NFL application for Price would become fully outlined at that point.
At worst, though, Price should be a consistently explosive pure runner who offers league-leading kick-returning ability.
COMPARISON: The Felix Jones comparison is almost unavoidable here. The profiles match to an almost suspicious extent. This is not a negative comparison.
Jones was a good player who broke down due to persistent injuries. Jones was an automatic big-play firecracker for Dallas before the injuries piled up. If Price avoids injuries in the NFL then he might largely be a case study on what Jones might have done if not for injuries. Otherwise, I think Jacory Croskey-Merritt might be a similarly-applied player, though Price is a lot less chaotic as a runner.
Jones was a little faster (4.44-second 40 at 207 pounds) than Price, though, and was a more proven pass catcher than Price is out of Notre Dame. The margin-press from the faster NFL game did bite Jones a little bit, so Price too will likely find himself getting caught by defenders in situations where he never did previously. Price will need to lean more on power and better yet, volume from scrimmage to offset the reduction in big plays from Notre Dame to the NFL.
2026 Projection and ADP:
57.8 Underdog best ball, 61.83 NFFC Best Ball Championship
For projecting Price's 2026 season specifically we'll need to consider the other parts of the Seattle backfield.
Zach Charbonnet (knee) would normally be the likely starter between himself and Price, with Charbonnet likely trending toward the short-yardage running and the blitz-pickup reps. That Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL on Jan. 17 complicates things, to the point that Charbonnet's availability or/and effectiveness at any particular point in 2026 seems up to some question. The Seahawks mostly hint at a mid-year return or Charbonnet, but nothing is assured whichever way.
For any slack Charbonnet's absence or/and limited effectiveness might leave, Price is by far the best candidate to pick up any from-scrimmage functions between himself, George Holani, Emanuel Wilson and Kenny McIntosh (knee). It's still not clear how much that point is worth, because the Seattle backfield could be a two- or three-part committee presumably between Price, Holani (passing downs) and Wilson (rushing downs).
Holani gives the Seahawks a trusted passing-down option, including and especially in blitz pickup. Wilson was an effective spot starter in Green Bay yet the Packers made no meaningful effort to re-sign him, presumably over blitz pickup issues. Between Holani and Wilson the Seahawks might have enough viable running back reps to staff a game plan, but they would presumably prefer to see Price step up to take work from either or both veterans. McIntosh is likely the best pass catcher of the group, though he's returning from a torn ACL from July 26. Basically, Wilson looks like a power running specialist, Holani looks like the closest Charbonnet analog, and McIntosh looks like a receiving specialist.
The Seahawks can probably get by for some amount of time with Holani, Wilson and McIntosh if need be. The better those three look, the less urgently the Seahawks might push Price onto the field.
It's common for teams to implement rookie running backs slowly to begin their rookie seasons, so between that fact and Price's lack of experience it wouldn't be shocking if the combination of Holani, Wilson and McIntosh played to some extent annoying to Price's fantasy investors. That might be particularly true if the Seahawks decide to feature Price on kick returns, which would be a way to let Price affect the game while otherwise rationalizing a rotational role for him on offense.
Price will almost certainly have some initial notable role in the Seattle offense, perhaps potentially even as a starter. Price is the heavy favorite to lead the Seattle backfield in from-scrimmage production in 2026, and he's a fine bet to increase his workload as the season moves along. At the very least Price is clearly Seattle's best big-play threat at running back. Wilson can exceed Price for power functions, but if Seattle is looking for quick yardage it's almost certainly Price who will come to mind.
To select Price at his current ADP (57.8 UD, 61.83 NFFC) you'd usually need to take him earlier than the likes of Bhayshul Tuten (60.6 UD, 58.83 NFFC), Chuba Hubbard (68.8 UD, 71.33 NFFC) and Rhamondre Stevenson (75.1 UD, 85.5 NFFC).
Some running backs who tend to go just before Price include TreVeyon Henderson (48.8 UD, 50.67 NFFC), David Montgomery (49.1 UD, 49.5 NFFC), Bucky Irving (49.3 UD, 43.5 NFFC), D'Andre Swift (52.2 UD, 55.67 NFFC) and Quinshon Judkins (54.7 UD, 51.0 NFFC).
To me the current ADP on Price is reasonable if it doesn't get much higher. Even if we take it as a given that Tuten, Hubbard and Stevenson are worthwhile picks at their ADP, it's worth rotating between each of them if you've drafted something more than like five teams. If you only have one bullet I probably prefer Tuten and Hubbard at price in best ball leagues, but if I'm drafting multiple times in this range then I'd want to hedge a bit between each of them.
I suspect Price's ADP will only rise from here, though, and if so I would be less likely to buy at a higher price. To me the immediately prior options in the order (Henderson, Montgomery, Irving, Swift and Judkins) are all worth ranking in the tier ahead of Price. I therefore would be unlikely to take Price over any of them unless I was cornered into diluting overexposure by picking Price instead of going 35 percent exposure by selecting Swift, Montgomery, etc. again.
Each of the five running backs going immediately ahead of Price have greater playing time security -- even Henderson. The runners going immediately after Price, on the other hand, have most of the same concerns that Price might, inexperience aside. If you're at a range of the ADP where all the remaining options have playing time concerns, then you might as well bet on talent and Price probably has that.
With everything considered, for 2026 Price is likely a low-floor option for his range of the ADP, but with considerable upside that justifies the risk to some extent of exposure. If you need floor from the selection specifically then maybe Price isn't your ideal selection, but in best ball in particular there should be enough explosive weeks for Price to come through if he stays healthy and pushes two of Holani, Wilson and McIntosh to the bench for good. Given the absence of floor, though, I'll probably try to keep my Price exposure beneath 20 percent assuming nothing changes from here.
For the long term Price eventually projects as a starting-caliber running back, which is an opportunity he might or might not receive while Charbonnet is still on the team. Charbonnet is a free agent after the 2026 season, so it's possible Price could be the clear starter for Seattle as soon as 2027. My personal guess is Charbonnet will re-sign for a cheap, short-term figure after mostly losing the 2026 season, but if Charbonnet is gone in 2027 then what's left is not likely to keep Price on the bench.
