The Seahawks Are Getting Their Money’s Worth With Jadarian Price

If you find yourself watching Ken Walker and wondering what could have been, consider these advanced numbers on Seattle Seahawks rookie Jadarian Price.

NFL Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Let’s get one thing out of the way at the very start here. Ken Walker is a better football player than Seattle Seahawks rookie Jadarian Price right now. By a fairly significant amount. And no one should have ever expected otherwise.

Walker is a fifth-year veteran at the peak of his powers, fresh off a Super Bowl MVP. Price is a rookie who didn’t even start in college.

Drilling Down to the Real Discussion

The Seahawks didn’t choose Price over Walker because they thought Price was better. Rather, Price was younger, Price was cheaper, and Price had far less wear and tear on his body. This team wants to have a running back rotation, and it’s bad business to play a rotational running back big money, no matter how good. It just makes sense.

Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) runs with the ball in the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That being said, it’s hard to ignore Walker’s start with the Chiefs, where he’s been the best running back in football by a wide margin. He’s got 369 yards from scrimmage. Putting the numbers to the side for a moment, watching him play reveals a uniquely talented running back, elusive and slippery. But let’s bring the numbers back into the conversation there.

Turning to the Chart

‘Stat Acccount’, one of my favorite accounts on X, posted a chart a couple days ago that tries to quantify which running backs are creating extra yards the most successfully. The X-axis is yards after contact per rush, and the Y-axis is avoided tackles per rush. Essentially, it provides an estimation of which running backs are creating yards the best.

Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) runs with the ball in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Obviously, Ken Walker is king right now. He’s averaging around 0.46 avoided tackles per rush, which is so far ahead of second place Jahmyr Gibbs (~0.33) that it feels like he’s playing a different sport. He’s also elite at yards after contact, at around 4.4, behind only Saquon Barkley and Kyle Monangai. But where is Jadarian Price in all this?

The Price Has Been Right So Far

By this data, Price has been one of the best backs in football. 0.33 avoided tackles per rush puts him right with the elite backs, with Walker occupying a tier all his own above them. And the chart only has five running backs averaging more than Price’s 3.9 yards after contact per rush. On both counts, Price is among the best in the league. All that’s missing is volume.

Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) runs against the New England Patriots during the 1st quarter at Lumen Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That volume may not be arriving anytime soon, but I don’t consider this to be a bad thing. The Seahawks want to feature multiple running backs. They want to allow Price to slowly acclimate himself to the NFL instead of getting tossed into the deep end. All he needs to do is be effective and efficient with the touches he gets. And so far, the data bears out that he has been.

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