If the Rookie of the Year race comes down to two former Notre Dame teammates, Jadarian Price has the cleaner path.
That’s the basic truth hanging over this matchup with Jeremiyah Love. Love was the first running back off the board in this year’s NFL draft, going third overall to the Cardinals.
Price followed all the way at No. 32, landing with the Seahawks. Same college pipeline, same position, same division now - but very different situations.
And that difference matters.
Arizona is not exactly walking into this season with momentum. The Cardinals, as the source makes clear, are a lost team, and their offensive line sits at the bottom of the league.
That’s a brutal setup for any rookie back, even one as gifted as Love. He may be the more talented runner of the two, and the draft slot says as much.
But talent alone doesn’t always win these awards. Situation does a lot of the heavy lifting.
Seattle, on the other hand, looks like the better landing spot by a mile. Price joins an offense that is already described as great across the board, which means he doesn’t have to carry the whole thing.
He just has to settle in and do his part. For a rookie, that’s a huge advantage.
It’s also why falling to the Seahawks may end up being the best thing for his career.
The Rookie of the Year race hasn’t been kind to running backs lately. Saquon Barkley was the last one to win it, back in 2018 with the Giants.
Since then, the award has gone to Kyler Murray in 2019, Justin Herbert in 2020, Ja’Marr Chase in 2021, Garrett Wilson in 2022, C.J. Stroud in 2023, Jayden Daniels in 2024, and Tetairoa McMillan in 2025.
That stretch says plenty about where the league has gone: quarterbacks and wide receivers have owned the spotlight.
There is at least a little opening for rookies who aren’t quarterbacks this season, though, because the quarterback class wasn’t especially highly regarded and there aren’t any sure-fire future stars in that group. That shifts the attention toward other positions, especially running back and receiver.
Even with that opening, Love’s path is rougher. Price doesn’t have to battle the same uphill climb. If this turns into a head-to-head contest between the two ex-Notre Dame backs, the Seahawks rookie has the advantage simply because of where he landed.
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