As the first round of the 2026 draft wound down on Thursday night, two things were clear to Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider.

The first was that Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price was top player left on Seattle's draft board—Price "stood alone" is how Schneider put it—and the second was that, as more and more trades happened, it was going to be difficult for the Seahawks to trade back and acquire more picks.

Heading into the draft, Schneider made no secret of the fact that he wouldn't mind moving back from the 32nd overall pick in order to acquire more picks, especially because the Seahawks came into the 2026 draft with only four picks.

But making a trade happen requires finding the right trade partner, and that became a challenge for Seattle after five of six picks from No. 26-31 were traded on Thursday night.

"Great player, great person," Schneider said of Price, one of two running backs selected in the first round along with his Notre Dame teammate, Jeremiyah Love, who went third overall to Arizona. "We thought he had some (trade) opportunities for a minute, they fell apart. A lot of trading going on right ahead of us, but I mean, he kind of stood alone. Great player. The person's outstanding, the competitor, he's a Seahawk. It's really cool. We were kind of concerned people were going to go ahead of us because we felt like he was so out there in terms of mock drafts and what have you."

Had the Seahawks moved back to an early second-round pick, they would have done so hoping to still "have a shot at (Price)," Schneider said, but in the end, not finding a trade partner allowed the Seahawks to turn in the card and select the player who stood alone on the board late in the first round.

In Price, the Seahawks get a big-play threat who was a dynamic runner and kick returner for the Irish, and they also get a player that head coach Mike Macdonald and Schneider both expect to be a great fit with the team.

"I think the great thing that we have done in the three years we worked together, especially the first round, the guys we brought onto our team we're really confident about the type of person they were and the Seahawk way of doing business around here," Macdonald said. "That, in addition of being a great player and being dynamic, and our vision for him and our offense, just can't help but be really excited about it. I think it's a great fit.

"You learn about the person, about the leadership, the resiliency, the humility, just the commitment to Notre Dame by staying there… Loyalty. The family story. All these things. It's a great, cool story. Something to get excited about. You love talking to and you can envision him just sticking out here. You can feel him in the building and feel like he's one of us."

As for Price as a player and his fit in the offense, he will come in with a great opportunity to compete for a big role with the Seahawks needing to replace the production of Kenneth Walker III, who left in free agency. Zach Charbonnet, who split time with Walker for most of last season, is coming back from an ACL injury suffered in the postseason, so the timing of his return is not yet known. The Seahawks also have George Holani, Kenny McIntosh, Cam Akers, Jacardia Wright and free-agent addition Emanuel Wilson, so there is a lot of talent and depth already on the team, but Price will be a big factor in that competition.

"We weren't going to completely force it, but it was important," Schneider said of adding a running back at some point in the draft.

"There's still some darn good running backs left. We just lost a really good runner in Ken Walker."

And though Price and Walker are unique backs in their own ways, one thing they have in common is big-play ability.

"Instant acceleration, vision, cut back ability, but his ability to work it back, not just completely bouncing all the time, working it back inside," Schneider said. "And then probably his contact balance... One of his super talents is his ability to cut back and crease it. He has home run speed; he has a lot of explosive runs. He has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in his career, two this year. That's such a unique feel. The USC game was ridiculous. Just that instant acceleration."