Jeremiyah Love went No. 3 overall to Arizona. His Notre Dame teammate Jadarian Price waited until No. 32, the final pick of the first round, to hear Seattle call his name. Draft capital says Love won the night. Opportunity in 2026 says Price won the situation.
PFSN’s Football Debate Club put the two landing spots head to head. Jacob Infante took Love. Ian Cummings took Price. The split comes down to which backfield actually clears a path to carries.
Why Jadarian Price’s Seahawks Landing Spot Beats Jeremiyah Love’s
Cummings made the case for Price, and the roster math backs him up.
“I’m going to go with Jadarian Price to the Seahawks,” Cummings said.
“I know the competition argument is compelling, but Zach Charbonnet had just a 52.6 PFSN RB impact last year, which is 39th in the entire league. So I think he’s more of a spell back who can take some change-of-pace carries. But I think Price is going to get the largest share of the volume. And in that offense, you have an OL that stays entirely intact, all five starters coming back. And then the new offensive coordinator, Brian Fleury, was with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco from 2019 to 2025. And he’s already said he’s going to respect the wide-zone principles that [Klint] Kubiak was so successful with. So I think Price has the stability, and he has the role.”
Two things make Price’s runway even wider than Cummings laid out. Seattle let Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl LX MVP, walk to Kansas City on the richest free-agent running back deal in league history. And Charbonnet, the back Infante flagged as Price’s competition, tore his ACL in the divisional-round win over San Francisco. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported that Seattle drafted Price knowing Charbonnet would miss much of 2026.
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So Price does not just project as the volume leader by grade. He walks into a backfield with its Super Bowl MVP gone and its other lead back rehabbing a major knee injury, with career backups behind him. The runway is the widest of any rookie back outside the top of the draft.
The scheme helps too. New coordinator Brian Fleury spent seven seasons on Kyle Shanahan’s San Francisco staff and runs the wide-zone system Klint Kubiak used to score the most points in franchise history last season. The line that paved those lanes returns largely intact, with Seattle bringing back 10 of 11 offensive starters from the Super Bowl win.
Jeremiyah Love’s Path to RB1 Got More Crowded in Arizona
Infante’s argument for Love leaned on the same logic, just pointed at a different room.
“I’m going to go with Love to Arizona,” Infante said.
“A lot of that comes down to who’s in the running back room. They brought in Tyler Allgeier, but he ranked just 43rd among all running backs in RB impact scoring. James Conner has been a productive player, but he’s nearing the end of his career. At this stage for the running back position, he’s 31 years old, and the injuries have loaded up. Love’s going to have an opportunity to be the RB1. Whereas in Seattle, Price is going to be sharing those carries with Zach Charbonnet. I think Love’s going to have a much easier path to be the true RB1.”
He is right about Conner. The veteran turns 31 in May and is coming off a season-ending injury that ended his 2025 after three games. Counting on him for a full workload is a gamble.
The problem is what Arizona did this offseason. The Cardinals signed Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million deal, with Trey Benson, the 2024 third-rounder, due back from a knee injury and Bam Knight re-signed. That is three or four bodies competing for touches around Love, not a clear lane. His draft slot all but guarantees the lead role, because teams do not spend the No. 3 pick on a committee back. But RB1 in a crowded room is a tougher Year 1 setup than RB1 in a room that just lost its MVP and its other starter to injury.
That is why the verdict tilts to Price. Host Cam Mellor scored the round 3-2 for Cummings, and the months since have only firmed it up. Love is the better prospect and the better long-term bet. For a clean shot at rookie-year volume, though, Price landed in the better spot.
