The Seattle Seahawks won't have running back Kenneth Walker III anymore, as he is now with the Kansas City Chiefs. The team also likely won't have Zach Charbonnet until late in the season due to a knee injury he suffered in the playoffs last season. This means Seattle needs 2026 first-round pick Jadarian Price to be productive right away.
Price could have used a mentor to help him adapt to the NFL quickly, one who has some of the same skill set he has. A good candidate to be the role model might have been the New Orleans Saints' Alvin Kamara, who Seattle would have needed to trade for. That definitely isn't happening now.
On Wednesday, Kamara restructured his contract with the Saints to keep him with the team for at least one more year. New Orleans also signed Travis Etienne Jr. this past offseason, and Kamara might have more of an RB2 role in 2026, but he wanted to stay with the team that chose him in the 2017 draft, and he will probably retire as a member of the Saints.
Seattle Seahawks have no chance to potentially acquire Alvin Kamara now
The back's best skill is his versatility. He can run effectively, of course, but he is also an elite receiver and pass-protects well. These are all traits that Price will need to display quickly with the Seahawks. If Price cannot protect quarterback Sam Darnold, his reps will need to be limited.
Obviously, coaching is going to help the rookie be better, but having a veteran presence to bounce ideas off of would also be immeasurably valuable. Charbonnet may help, but he is a different kind of running back than Price, as the former is bigger and more powerful but lacks the quickness and straightforward speed of the latter.
Price is more Kenneth Walker than Zach Charbonnet, but of course, Walker will be trying to help a different team win games.
After Price and Charbonnet are less proven players, such as George Holani and Emanuel Wilson. Wilson was signed in free agency from the Green Bay Packers and is Charbonnet-like. So is Holani, who is entering his third season in Seattle but has been too often injured, and his impact has been lessened because of that.
Plus, the addition of Kamara would have been a perfect fit in the kind of system new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury runs, a bit like how Fleury's previous team, the San Francisco 49ers, use Christian McCaffrey. Now, though, envisioning Alvin Kamara in a Seattle Seahawks and Brian Fleury scheme is simply a dream that will never be.
Jadarian Price will make mistakes either way. All rookies do. But let's hope he can stay healthy and be the kind of back that Kenneth Walker was at the end of last season. If he is, Price could eventually be one of the better running backs in Seahawks history.
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