Seahawks' 1st-round pick Jadarian Price hopes to prove his worth

SEATTLE (AP) — When Jadarian Price went back home to Denison, Texas, this offseason, the Seattle Seahawks’ first-round pick sought to put his first paycheck to good use.

Price is fueled on the football field by his mother, Jessica Butler, who was diagnosed with cancer before he went to college. Butler eventually recovered, and demonstrated to Price that no amount of adversity is insurmountable.

“I truly believe that in order to grow, you have to go through pain and adversity,” Price said in April. “Watching my mom go through that, it made me believe there’s nothing that could stop me getting to achieve my dreams. She went through the worst. So, what’s one more bad day of adversity for me? I can always get through it.”

So, after his first big payday, the 22-year-old Price bought his family a new house.

“That was the biggest goal of mine since I made it to the NFL,” Price said. “I already did that, so checked that off the list.”

Next up for Price is acclimating to life in the league after splitting time in the Fighting Irish’s backfield last season with Jeremiyah Love, who was selected with the No. 3 overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals .

At Notre Dame, Price saw limited action on third downs and seldom caught passes out of the backfield. Across three seasons with the Fighting Irish, Price had 15 catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns.

In addition to seeking to become a better pass blocker, Price hopes to be a reliable receiving option for Sam Darnold .

“That’s one thing I have worked on since high school,” Price said of his pass catching. “I’ve continuously gotten better at it throughout college, and that’s one thing people questioned (about me) going into the pros. So, I worked on it and continue to work on it and understand the space and catching abilities.”

Among the more helpful teammates for getting Price up to speed going back to OTAs has been fellow running back George Holani. Price said Holani sets the standard for a running back room that hopes to adequately replace Kenneth Walker, who after being the Super Bowl MVP left for the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.

Emanuel Wilson, who signed in free agency after three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, is also on the scene. Zach Charbonnet was placed on the physically unable to perform list before camp, but is expected to return at some point during the 2026 season.

“I think honestly, the competition right now is really positive,” Holani said, “as in a lot of guys cheering each other on and making sure when there’s a play made, we all celebrate as a team. We feel like there’s no individual success, it’s always team success.”

Price, though, has impressed Holani with plenty of individual success during the first week of training camp. Whether it’s pass protections, catching passes out of the backfield or run plays, Price has demonstrated to Holani an ability to rise to the challenges that NFL defenses present.

Of course, the 5-foot-11, 203-pound Price has also stood out as a downhill runner who can bounce carries to the outside to make good use of his speed and quickness.

“He has great contact balance, great feet, great hands in the pass game,” Holani said. “He’s really explosive with his cuts. So, he’d be making like two cuts in one play. And, it’s crazy how he can get vertical and find that crease and then make another cut to get open and just get a lot of yards from that.”

The defending Super Bowl champions are optimistic Price can quickly become a key part in their offense. Early in camp, coach Mike Macdonald said there is a “lot of opportunity” with Price, and that there isn’t much he can't do on the field.

Price hopes to make good use of his skill set in first-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury’s scheme, one which presents many similarities to that of current Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak .

“I’m really starting to finally understand the offense,” Price said. “The things that we do, I didn’t do too much in college. So now that I am opening my game up a little bit, I’m really excited for the season.”

Before Saturday afternoon’s practice, the Seahawks signed linebacker Joseph Vaughn. Linebacker Ja’Markis Weston was waived to make room for Vaughn on the 90-man roster.

Vaughn signed with Indianapolis as an undrafted free agent and spent training camp with the Colts before being waived prior to the start of the season. He was a two-time All-Ivy League selection during three seasons at Yale before appearing in 12 games for UCLA in 2024.

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