A ho-hum first round at least ended with an exclamation point. A second running back made it into day one, and he’s going to play for the Super Bowl champs. Jadarian Price will have his suitors when fantasy drafts begin.
It’s the ninth time that the final pick of the first round has been used by the defending Super Bowl champions to select a running back. But only one of those previous eight guys ever really did anything at the pro level.
Most recently, there was a lot excitement about Clyde Edwards-Helaire going to Kansas City in 2020. He was an undersized but dynamic back at LSU. But he fizzled as a pro, running for 803 yards as a rookie but not more than 517 in any other season.
The Rams drafted Trung Canidate back in 2000, but his insane speed never translated to the NFL. Giants selected David Wilson in 2012, but he suffered a career-ending neck injury in his second season. Others that have faded into obscurity: Bill Thomas and Greg Hawthorne in the ‘70s, and Dexter Carter by the 49ers.
The Giants in 1991 picked Jarrod Bunch. He at least was a fullback – never expected to be a big force as a runner – but his career lasted only three years.
The one big hit was Neal Anderson in 1986, going to the Bears. He backed up Walter Payton as a rookie, but Anderson finished with top-7 numbers (PPR scoring) four times and 11th and 14th in other years. He had three 1,000-yard seasons and four years with double-digit touchdowns.
It's an underwhelming track record. Among backs going to Super Bowl champs, only one (CEH) ranked higher than 47th as a rookie (using PPR scoring).
| RUNNING BACKS DRAFTED BY SUPER BOWL CHAMPS (first year) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | Run | Rec | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 1972 | Bill Thomas, Dall. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- |
| 1979 | Greg Hawthorne, Pitt. | 15 | 123 | 47 | 1 | 31.0 | 112 |
| 1986 | Neal Anderson, Chi. | 14 | 146 | 80 | 1 | 32.6 | 99 |
| 1990 | Dexter Carter, S.F. | 16 | 460 | 217 | 1 | 98.7 | 47 |
| 1991 | Jarrod Bunch, NYG | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2.8 | 130 |
| 2000 | Trung Canidate, St.L. | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2.0 | 146 |
| 2012 | David Wilson, NYG | 16 | 358 | 34 | 6 | 79.2 | 51 |
| 2020 | • Clyde Edwards-Helaire, K.C. | 13 | 803 | 297 | 5 | 176.0 | 22 |
| 2026 | Jadarian Price, Sea. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Setting aside that one season by Edwards-Helaire and setting aside Neal Anderson, none of those other running backs every ranked higher than 39th among running backs in a season, and none ever ran for more than 501 yards.
| RUNNING BACKS DRAFTED BY SUPER BOWL CHAMPS (best year) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | Run | Rec | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 1973 | Bill Thomas, Hou. | 6 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 5.3 | 123 |
| 1980 | Greg Hawthorne, Pitt. | 15 | 226 | 158 | 4 | 74.4 | 76 |
| 1989 | • Neal Anderson, Chi. | 16 | 1,275 | 434 | 15 | 310.9 | 3 |
| 1991 | Dexter Carter, S.F. | 16 | 379 | 253 | 4 | 110.2 | 39 |
| 1992 | Jarrod Bunch, NYG | 16 | 501 | 50 | 4 | 90.1 | 51 |
| 2001 | Trung Canidate, St.L. | 16 | 441 | 154 | 6 | 112.5 | 39 |
| 2012 | David Wilson, NYG | 16 | 358 | 34 | 6 | 79.2 | 51 |
| 2020 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire, K.C. | 13 | 803 | 297 | 5 | 176.0 | 22 |
Jadarian Price, of course, is completely different in that the Seahawks didn’t re-sign Kenneth Walker. They’ll be looking to give Price every opportunity to be a big part of their offense. In that sense, those other eight backs don’t really have anything to do with Price.
I will guess that Price will have a season better than 39th during his career, and a season higher than 47th as a rookie. But I expect there will be many drafters who are more excited about him than I am. (Using big-picture numbers, I trend more pessimistic than most on these kind of situations.)
—Ian Allan
