Gabe Jacas reportedly runs well — but where’s this on tape?
There are a few reports suggesting the Illinois pass rusher ran a 1.59 10-yard split at his personal pro-day today — which is the range you need to be if you want to be considered as having top-level burst. Anything in the 1.5’s is really good.
I don’t know what the ‘pro-day’ tax would be on a split. For a forty you can typically add 0.08-0.10 seconds to a time — but maybe you can do the same at the combine these days, given how fast everyone ran this year?
Given Seattle’s need for more quick wins off the edge, having another player with great burst is good news. It’s not a surprise of course — we’ve been saying for weeks that he was the second fastest defensive lineman at the Senior Bowl (18.19mph). The only player who beat him, Quintayvious Hutchins, is 30lbs lighter. His max speed over 10 yards during the 2025 college season was 15.6mph — only beaten by Malachi Lawrence (16.1mph) and Cashius Howell (16mph).
The issue here is why don’t we see more evidence of this on tape? Jacas typically wants to run through everyone instead of around. His pressure percentage of 14.9% is nothing to write home about. He collected late-season sacks in 2025 against weaker opponents after several weeks of not noticing he was on the field.
For a bigger player, his run defense isn’t very good either.
Maybe he just needs unlocking? Perhaps the speed is something you can work with to make him into a more rounded player?
For me though it’s a tough to sell to take him in the top-35. If you’re as quick as he is and in college you aren’t consistently hitting that outside shoulder, getting to the point first and then turning and straightening to the quarterback, I want to know why.
Why you’ve got to remember shelves
The draft is often a puzzle. You’re working out how to piece everything together.
In a class you will have certain positions where there is depth but for others, not so much. Working out the order to address certain positions within a specific draft is always important.
I get the sense this is being lost a little bit in the discourse recently, with multiple people pushing back on the idea of taking a running back early.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with holding an opinion that Jadarian Price wouldn’t be good value at #32. Many respected people hold that view.
I don’t think we should outright rule it out though, or suggest it would be a mistake to consider that position early — for two key reasons.
Firstly, although there are people who think Price is very much a day-two prospect — there are others who disagree. As I noted last week, I recently spoke to a highly respected talent evaluator in the league who thinks Price is capable of outplaying Jeremiyah Love at the next level. He thinks he absolutely deserves to be taken at the top of round two (which is the range where the Seahawks are picking).
Daniel Jeremiah moved Price up one spot to 39th in his updated top-50 this week, while Lance Zierlein continues to grade him as the 30th best player.
If the Seahawks see him in this same positive light, it shouldn’t be ruled out completely. As we’ve been discussing, his explosive run rate of 21.2% is way above the rest of the class and the 16% average of players drafted in the last decade.
His yards after contact per attempt is second only to Love. His missed tackles forced per play rate is #1, just ahead of Love.
He is a good player, based on the tape and the data. It doesn’t mean the Seahawks will or should take him with their top pick. But it’s not a ridiculous proposition. They need to replace the big plays in the running game lost with Ken Walker’s departure. The numbers say Price is best placed to address this and historically, with his explosive run rate, he would be one of the best options most years.
Secondly, it comes back to the shelf issue. Let’s say you wait on the running back position. It’s totally plausible that you get to #64 and the players you were prepared to take there are gone. Then you get to #96 and the well is completely dry. This is entirely realistic because it is such a thin class.
You are highly unlikely to find answers later on. I have five running backs graded in the first three rounds. It isn’t many. My board isn’t the be-all and end-all by any stretch but I don’t think it’s untypical of how the league views things, at least based on the people I’ve gathered information from. They don’t think there are many good options.
There are a whole bunch of later round types who are worthy of the ‘flier’ tag. One of them, Chip Trayanum at Toledo, is having an official visit. He is very much a later round ‘why not?’ type pick — and you already have those types on your roster. Clemson’s converted receiver Adam Randall has some interesting tape, although you don’t see many 6-3 running backs.
Other players, like Demond Claiborne, get mentioned — but there are reported character concerns there that perhaps make a pick like that unlikely for this particular team. Per Bob McGinn’s anonymous sources, Claiborne’s described as “immature mentally” and “a train wreck as a kid.” Ouch.
I don’t think the Seahawks should reach to fill a need or anything. If they think Jadarian Price’s placing in this class is a second or third rounder, as many do, then it’s totally understandable why he wouldn’t be drafted earlier than that.
If they rate him highly, they could easily look at it like this — address the running back position with a playmaker right off the bat (possibly after a small trade down) and then use the depth at positions like cornerback, defensive end and safety to your advantage later on.
The shelf at cornerback will not be anywhere near as steep at #64 and possibly even at #96. This comes back to the broader puzzle. Can you get two players you really like, and address two target positions, instead of just drafting one for the sake of not going running back early?
I’m finding it difficult to square in my own mind how they’ll view Price. I’m fairly convinced they’ll like him — it’s just a case of how much.
Increasingly I do wonder if they’ll find a way to come away from the draft with Jonah Coleman instead. His 2024 numbers are so interesting, as is the tape, that I think they possibly sense an opportunity to get a steal after an injury-plagued 2025. A reminder, his 2024 data would put him second behind Price for explosive run rate (19.8%), first by a long distance for missed tackles forced rate (34.9%) and a comfortable second behind Jeremiyah Love for yards after contact per attempt (4.34).
I know that Coleman already has a connection to members of Seattle’s roster and will find it very easy to fit into the locker-room.
It’s a similar problem though. You can’t guarantee you get him. So do you end up taking him earlier than you otherwise would, say at #64, to avoid missing out? Is he going to last to #96?
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Emmett Johnson at Nebraska but I’m not convinced he’s the answer. Nick Singleton’s disappointing 2025 season and injury situation could mean he provides value — but his star has dimmed somewhat after a decent 2024.
They’ve always had a plan at this position in the past. I don’t think their vision this year will just be to ‘see how it goes’. I think they probably have complete clarity. It could be Price early. It could be Coleman slightly later. Maybe I’m overlooking others. But I think they will know they need to do something and will be ready to act in three weeks time. This won’t be left to chance.
Fit is going to matter for this team
There are just certain players who feel like Seahawks in terms of their demeanour and personality. Kyle Louis at Pittsburgh is a great example. Gives absolutely everything on the field. Completely dedicated to his craft off the field in terms of preparation. Zakee Wheatley the Penn State safety seems completely driven, highly mature, physical and an easy fit in a NFL locker-room. Albert Regis, Keionte Scott. You can feel who fits the ‘tough, smart, reliable’ mantra.
I would include the two running backs we’ve talked about too — Jadarian Price and Jonah Coleman.
The Seahawks are back in that mode where you have an alpha, highly motivated, extremely successful locker-room who have set incredibly high standards.
You’re not going to find it easy if you’re a shrinking violet, easily intimidated, or haven’t got that bit of an edge to you.
We don’t have anywhere near enough information to say for certain who are ‘fits’. We rely on interviews, reports and intel. We can have a good guess sometimes.
Drafting during the LOB era felt like a challenge. This won’t be quite as difficult, there’s a different personality and vibe to the current group. Yet mature players, who are highly motivated themselves, possibly who’ve been around football (bloodlines) or come from teams that operate with a NFL mentality (Washington is a good example here) could be favoured.
