After two weeks of seeing Seattle Seahawks rookies gradually take on larger roles, Week 3 was a much different story. Jadarian Price remained the rookie with the biggest opportunity, but a costly fumble limited him to just 19 snaps, while Beau Stephens continued to rotate at right guard and played another 27 snaps. Julian Neal did not play a defensive snap, while Bud Clark remains on injured reserve and Avery Smith was inactive.
That makes this week’s rookie review a little shorter than the previous
one. There is still plenty to discuss with Price and Stephens, especially with Price’s fumble leading to a significant reduction in his workload and Stephens continuing to get valuable NFL reps. As for the rest of the class, there just wasn’t enough action to draw major conclusions.
Jadarian Price, Running Back — 19 snaps
There isn’t really a way around starting with the fumble.
Price had just three carries before putting the ball on the ground with 11:06 remaining in the first quarter. The rookie had already ripped off an 11-yard run on Seattle’s opening play of the game, one of the few genuinely good snaps from the offensive line in the running game. Price also deserves credit here for his read, cutting inside and picking up the first down in the process.
He then lost four yards on his second carry, but his third attempt ended with Amik Robertson punching the ball loose and Washington recovering at the Seahawks’ 21-yard line.
This is another example of poor ball-security technique. You’re in the NFL now; you have to protect the football better, especially when contact is coming. Price already lost a fumble against Arizona, so having it happen again two weeks in a row makes this much harder to dismiss as an isolated mistake.
The response from Seattle was pretty clear.
Price didn’t get another carry until the second half. More specifically, his next rushing attempt came with 12:48 remaining in the third quarter — meaning, nearly 28 minutes of game clock passed between the fumble and his next carry. Mike Macdonald confirmed after the game that the Seahawks intentionally decided to “calm it down” and bring Price back after halftime.
That is a pretty significant amount of time to spend on the sideline for a player who entered the game as Seattle’s starting running back. Especially when you’re sitting there watching Emanuel Wilson average less than two yards per carry.
There is too much potential in Jadarian Price for him to spend extended periods on the bench. A first-round pick needs to play, but before anything else, he needs to stop fumbling.
Price also needs to improve in pass protection if he is going to be considered a true three-down option. This play against Sonny Styles is almost unfair to Price because Styles makes an excellent play, and once again, there is no lack of effort from the rookie. The technique just isn’t where it needs to be yet.
Price runs a good route here and shows off his speed, while Sam Darnold puts the ball in a good spot. The problem is that Price shows his hands too early, giving Styles a chance to get his hand in and make an outstanding play on the football.
There are still plenty of reasons to like what Price can become. His burst and ability to make something happen when he gets downhill are evident, and Seattle clearly wants him to be part of the offense. But right now, ball security has to come first.
Bud Clark, Safety — 0 snaps, Injured Reserve
Seattle entered the game already dealing with significant problems at safety, with Julian Love and Ty Okada unavailable. The Seahawks ultimately had AJ Finley and Rodney Thomas II play every defensive snap, while Nick Emmanwori also returned to a larger role.
A healthy Clark would have been very welcome in this situation.
Julian Neal, Cornerback — 0 defensive snaps
Neal did not play a defensive snap against Washington, so there isn’t any defensive tape to analyze from this game.
He did get an opportunity on special teams, though, and didn’t exactly make the most of it. Neal was beaten fairly consistently in his special teams reps, including this play.
Here, Neal loses at the line of scrimmage and never really manages to recover. That forces Rashid Shaheed to call for a fair catch, but the bigger issue is how easily Neal gets beaten off the snap. That’s not the kind of performance that will help him earn more opportunities, especially with the Seahawks already having a crowded group of defensive backs competing for limited snaps.
Beau Stephens, Guard — 27 snaps
Stephens once again split the right guard snaps with Christian Haynes, playing 27 of Seattle’s 67 offensive snaps. That gave him the exact same number of snaps he played against Arizona, and the Seahawks continued using the rookie as part of the rotation with Bradford unavailable.
The important thing here is that Stephens is getting legitimate NFL reps.
This is a pretty ugly snap from Stephens. He gets knocked to the ground and, in the process, exposes the limitations of his arm length. Once the defender gets into his frame, Stephens has a difficult time recovering.
Here, Stephens fails to establish contact and gets beaten by a swipe-and-rip move. He gets bailed out by Jalen Sundell, who is able to clean up the play before the pressure can become a problem.
This next rep is more encouraging. Stephens tries an advanced snatch-and-trap technique and almost pulls it off. Unfortunately, he gives up a little too much of his chest and allows the defender to push him backward. It’s still an interesting rep because you can see what Stephens is trying to do. The technique is there; the execution just isn’t consistent yet.
This snap might go unnoticed, but I really like what Stephens does here. He fights to establish good leverage and eventually gets himself into position to execute the block. This is exactly the kind of rep you want to see from a rookie offensive lineman: strength, technique and, most importantly, the willingness to keep working through the block.
Stephens is obviously still a work in progress. There are snaps where his lack of experience shows, but that’s expected from a fifth-round rookie getting his first meaningful NFL action. The encouraging part is that Seattle continues to trust him enough to put him into the rotation.
Avery Smith, Cornerback — 0 snaps, Inactive
Smith was inactive against Washington despite Seattle entering the game with significant issues in the secondary. Julian Love and Ty Okada were unavailable, and the Seahawks were forced to rely heavily on Witherspoon and Jobe, with AJ Finley and Rodney Thomas playing every defensive snap at safety.
Obviously, being inactive doesn’t necessarily mean the coaching staff doesn’t trust a player. There are only 48 active spots on game day, and Seattle had other considerations across the roster and special teams.
Still, considering the circumstances, it was at least somewhat curious not to see Smith active. Seattle was already dealing with injuries in the secondary, and Smith ultimately lost his spot on the active gameday roster to Velus Jones Jr. That doesn’t necessarily tell us much about how the Seahawks view Smith long term, but it was certainly an interesting decision given the circumstances.
Smith had already seen special teams work earlier in the season, so this was a missed opportunity to get more experience in a game where Seattle could have used additional depth in the secondary.
Final thoughts
Week 3 was a frustrating one for Jadarian Price, whose second consecutive lost fumble essentially shut down his role for most of the first half. The talent is still obvious, but ball security has to improve quickly if Seattle wants to keep giving its first-round pick a significant workload. Beau Stephens, meanwhile, continued to get valuable reps at right guard and showed both the rookie mistakes and flashes of technique that make his development worth watching.
The rest of the rookie class didn’t have much of an opportunity to make an impact. Bud Clark would have been particularly useful with all the injuries in the secondary, Julian Neal couldn’t turn his special teams reps into a bigger role, and Avery Smith being inactive was at least a curious decision given Seattle’s lack of depth at corner. For now, Price and Stephens remain the two rookies with the clearest path to meaningful roles.
