Brock: What separated Price from Seahawks’ other RB draft options

With a Kenneth Walker III-sized hole in their backfield, the Seattle Seahawks didn’t wait to address one of their biggest needs in the NFL Draft.

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The reigning Super Bowl champions selected Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price with the No. 32 overall pick on Thursday night, giving their backfield some much-needed firepower after Kenneth Walker III’s free agency departure and Zach Charbonnet’s torn ACL in the playoffs.

The Seahawks could have focused on another need with their first-round pick – especially with nearly every top cornerback still on the board – and then grabbed a running back on Day 2.

But as many experts have emphasized, this year’s running back class is particularly thin aside from Price and fellow Notre Dame product Jeremiyah Love, who went No. 3 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

Just how thin?

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah ranked Love as the draft’s No. 2 overall prospect and Price as the 34th. After that, the only other running backs in Jeremiah’s top 150 were Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr. at No. 79, Penn State’s Nick Singleton at No. 117 and Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson at No. 123.

So, from a Seahawks perspective, what differentiated Price from those other Day 2 or Day 3 running back options? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard pointed to Price’s horizontal quickness and jump-cut ability, which is critical for the Seahawks’ wide-zone rushing attack.

“There’s kind of a baseline skill set to play running back in this system – that ability to read and jump cut,” Huard said while reacting to the pick as part of Seattle Sports’ draft coverage. “… It’s not just straight-line speed, and that’s where there was a massive drop-off.”

Draft Reaction: Seahawks’ pick of RB Price a merge of talent, need

Washington led all running backs at the NFL combine with a blazing 4.33-second 40-yard dash. That was 0.16 seconds ahead of Price’s 4.49-second time.

But as Huard explained, there’s a difference between Washington’s straight-line speed and the type of jump-cut burst, explosiveness and change of direction that Price showcased at Notre Dame.

Despite serving as Love’s backup, Price still rushed for a combined 1,420 yards, 18 touchdowns and 6.1 yards per carry over the past two seasons with the Fighting Irish. And according to Pro Football Focus, he particularly shined with 326 yards, five touchdowns and a whopping 7.1 yards per carry on outside-zone runs during his college career.

“Mike Washington from Arkansas is very athletic and even faster in a (40-yard) straight line, but not side to side – not in that vision and that feel and then that one cut that’s just like, well, that’s just different,” Huard said. “These two running backs (from Notre Dame) were different (from the rest).”

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