Last week, we talked about how Jadarian Price was essentially the only rookie worth focusing on in this series. Somehow, that changed pretty quickly.
Against the Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks went from 24 rookie snaps in Week 1 to 53 in Week 2, with Price continuing to see a significant role while fifth-round guard Beau Stephens made his NFL debut. Julian Neal also saw a couple of defensive snaps late in the game, while Avery Smith continued to contribute on special teams.
Let’s analyze some
of the key plays from this game!
All data used in this article was taken from PFF.
Jadarian Price, Running Back (24 snaps)
Price left the game with a chest injury that, at least initially, did not appear to be serious. Had he stayed healthy, there’s a good chance he would have surpassed his career-high on Notre Dame of 15 touches. Instead, he finished with 14: 13 carries for 52 yards and one reception for eight yards.
The numbers were solid, especially considering he also had a 25-yard run, but the tape showed both why Seattle was willing to give him a significant workload and why there is still plenty for him to clean up.
Let’s start with the obvious one.
A lot of the pre-draft discussion around Price’s fumbles seemed to downplay the issue, but it was a real concern during his time at Notre Dame. Price has a tendency to carry the ball relatively high when he enters contact, leaving it exposed and giving defenders an opportunity to attack it.
That’s exactly what happens here. And if you watch the snap immediately before the fumble, you can see a similar issue with ball security. The technique hasn’t disappeared just because he got to the NFL. This is something Seattle will need to continue emphasizing with him, particularly as his workload increases.
I really liked this snap coming immediately after the fumble.
Price wasn’t put in the doghouse after the mistake. Instead, Seattle went right back to him, and he immediately showed that the turnover wasn’t going to change how he approached the game.
He makes his cut, doesn’t try to avoid contact, lowers his shoulder and still manages to squeeze out a few extra yards. For a rookie coming directly off his first NFL fumble, there is something to be said about responding this way.
Here’s another area where Price has room to improve.
Seattle runs a long trap here, with Grey Zabel pulling. I believe Price’s aiming point should be the left shoulder of the guard. Instead, Price sees that the initial path isn’t completely clean, hesitates and briefly considers bouncing the run outside before cutting back inside.
Those extra steps cost him some of his initial burst.
This snap makes the issue even clearer.
Price takes one additional lateral step before making his cut. He still gets positive yardage because of his acceleration, but the wasted movement is noticeable. This is the kind of thing that can be easy to overlook because the play still gains positive yardage, but at the NFL level, those hesitation steps can be the difference between a four-yard gain and a much bigger run. And, again, this is not unusual for a rookie. Price is still learning how quickly he needs to commit to his reads at this level.
Once he becomes more decisive with his initial read and gets north faster, there’s a good chance these runs start producing significantly more yardage.
Here, Price is much more decisive.
He makes his read, cuts outside with clean tech and immediately puts his speed and explosiveness on display as he attacks the edge. This probably ends up as a touchdown if he doesn’t slip.
This was probably Price’s best play until now.
It’s a 25-yard run, but what stands out isn’t simply the final result. Price does a good job reading the development of the blocks from the fullback and right tackle, allowing the blocks to develop instead of immediately committing to the first available gap. He waits for the right moment, see that RT is losing inside then explodes through the opening and attacks the edge.
He also shows good balance after the first tackle attempt, keeping himself upright and continuing to gain yards staying on the field. This is the version of Price Seattle wants to see more consistently. The explosiveness is already there. The next step is making the reads and decisions that allow him to access that explosiveness more often.
And, as a quick aside: excellent block by JSN here.
Bud Clark, Defensive Back (0 snaps)
IR.
Julian Neal, Cornerback (2 snaps)
Neal finally got onto the field, although only during garbage time on Arizona’s final drive.
He played two defensive snaps and recorded his first defensive tackle as a Seahawk. There isn’t much to evaluate from such a small sample, but getting those first regular-season snaps out of the way is still part of the process for a rookie who has spent most of his time only on special teams.
Beau Stephens, Guard (27 snaps)
This was the surprise of the rookie class from a playing-time perspective.
Stephens played 27 snaps in his NFL debut, while Christian Haynes handled 43. Mike Macdonald clarified that this wasn’t necessarily a planned rotation between the two guards, but Seattle still found a way to get Stephens meaningful playing time. With Anthony Bradford now on injured reserve, those 27 snaps could prove especially important as the Seahawks figure out what they have in the rookie.
With Anthony Bradford now on injured reserve and expected to miss at least four games, those snaps could become extremely important for Stephens.
This was a pressure allowed by Beau. He lines up against EDGE Josh Sweat and loses the initial hand battle, failing to establish himself in the rep. His feet also need to move quicker here. The positive is that Stephens doesn’t quit on the rep. Even after losing early, he continues fighting, and that effort ends up helping Drew Lock escape the pressure.
Also, good lord, what a terrible drop by Rashid Shaheed.
This is a much better rep.
Stephens needs to take a big lateral step to account for the 1-technique, but the Cardinals defensive lineman slants toward the inside gap. Stephens recognizes it quickly and adjusts his position, getting himself into position to protect the backside. That’s textbook adjustment from an offensive lineman blocking in the backside.
The initial assignment changes after the snap, and Stephens doesn’t get caught chasing the original picture. He sees the movement, reacts and puts himself in position to prevent the defender from creating an inside lane.
Okay, this one is against LJ Collier, but…
Stephens initially sets to defend the outside gap, then adjusts very quickly to the inside after Collier first step aiming the A gap. He uses leverage and delivers a really good punch to neutralize the defender. That’s the kind of rep that gives you a better idea of what Stephens can eventually become than simply looking at whether he gave up a pressure or not.
This was a rough snap for the offensive line as a whole, but Stephens once again stood out.
Collier is the opponent again, and Stephens finishes the rep by putting him on the ground. Good technique, good mentality and, perhaps most importantly, good strength. Byron Murphy even mentioned Stephens’ strength during his interviews this week, and you can see why when you watch some of these reps.
Avery Smith, Cornerback (0 defensive snaps)
Smith didn’t play a defensive snap, but he led the team with 14 special teams snaps.
He continues to contribute in that phase of the game and once again made an impact with a nice tackle on a return. For a player still learning Seattle’s system after arriving via trade right before roster cuts, those special teams reps remain an important part of his path onto the field.
Final Thoughts
The rookie story changed quite a bit in Week 2.
Jadarian Price remains the headliner, and there is still a lot to like about his first two games. The explosiveness is real, his ability to create after contact is evident, and when he commits to a read, he can hit a crease extremely quickly. At the same time, the fumble and some of the hesitation on his reads are exactly the kinds of details that will determine how quickly he turns those flashes into consistent production.
The good news is that Seattle is clearly willing to keep putting him on the field. He had 13 carries in a game where and the team went right back to Price after the fumble. That’s an important sign for a rookie who is still developing.
Stephens might actually be the more interesting storyline going forward, though.
His 27 snaps weren’t perfect, but there were enough technically sound reps to make his debut encouraging. His ability to recognize movement after the snap, adjust his leverage and continue fighting through imperfect reps stood out. Stephens should have more opportunities to show whether he can turn those flashes into a larger role.
That’s ultimately what makes this week’s rookie review interesting. We didn’t just get more snaps from Price. We got our first real look at another rookie who could become part of Seattle’s plans much sooner than expected. And with the Seahawks entering Week 3 at 2-0, the best part is that neither Price nor Stephens needs to be elite right now. They just need to keep turning these early opportunities into evidence that they belong.
