We’ve been digging around the analytics at running back to see if it offers any clues about what the Seahawks might do in the draft. Today I want to focus on missed tackles forced and show some clips to emphasise the points made.

Firstly, a quick recap.

Here are the explosive run rates for the 2026 draft class. An explosive run is 10 yards or more. The average of all running backs drafted in the last 10 yards is 16%.

Note, in all of these categories I am going to include Jonah Coleman’s 2024 data. I’ve spoken to sources at Washington and understand he was hampered by wearing a brace in 2025. The tape the previous year is said to be a far better reflection of what he is as a player.

Jadarian Price – 21.2%
Jonah Coleman (2024) 19.8%
Jeremiyah Love – 19.6%
Mike Washington – 18%
———————————————
Emmett Johnson – 14.3%
Kaytron Allen – 14.3%
Kaelon Black – 14%
Jonah Coleman (2025) – 12.7%
Roman Hemby – 11.3%
Nick Singleton – 9.7%
J’Mari Taylor – 9.5%

I’ve separated the four running backs at the top because they all reached an above average percentage.

All of the running backs selected by John Schneider in the first two rounds had above average explosive run rates during their final college seasons (there’s no access to data for Christine Michael):

Zach Charbonnet – 22.7%
Rashaad Penny — 20%
Ken Walker – 17.6%

Schneider talked about the importance of yards after contact on his Seattle Sports radio show last week. Here’s how the same three drafted players faired for yards after contact per play in their final college seasons:

Rashaad Penny — 4.47
Ken Walker – 4.46
Zach Charbonnet – 4.15

All three scored very highly.

Here are the averages for the 2026 class:

Jeremiyah Love – 4.50
Jonah Coleman (2024) — 4.34
Jadarian Price – 3.95
Mike Washington Jr – 3.86
Kaytron Allen – 3.77
Jonah Coleman (2025) – 3.58
Noah Whittington – 3.51
Le’Veon Moss – 3.47
Rashul Faison – 3.47
Kaelon Black – 3.47
J’Mari Taylor – 3.39
Roman Hemby – 3.36
Adam Randall – 3.13
Chip Trayanum – 3.08
Demon Claiborne – 3.04
Emmett Johnson – 2.95
Seth McGowan – 2.72
Nicholas Singleton – 2.69
Jam Miller – 2.45

Once again, it’s the same four players at the top.

It’s no surprise that the Seahawks have shown interest in Coleman, have been consistently paired with Price in mocks and have had Washington Jr in for an official visit. They are the top three players on the list above, with the exception of top-10 lock Jeremiyah Love.

I now have some new data to share and discuss. Here are the yards after contact percentages for some select runners:

Jonah Coleman (2025) — 71%
Jadarian Price — 66%
Kaytron Allen — 63%
Adam Randall — 63%
Jeremiyah Love — 60%
Mike Washington Jr — 57%
Seth McGowan — 56%
Emmett Johnson — 51%

Again, note how high Coleman and Price are on the list.

Now here’s the EPA per rush for the same players:

Jeremiyah Love — 0.30
Jonah Coleman (2025) — 0.24
Kaytron Allen — 0.22
Jadarian Price — 0.13
Mike Washington Jr — 0.13
Emmett Johnson — 0.13
Seth McGowan — 0.11
Adam Randall — 0.06

Here are ‘elusiveness ratings’ for the group. This is a PFF statistic used to measure the success and impact of a running back independent of blocking:

Jonah Coleman (2024) — 153.4
Jeremiyah Love — 127.5
Jadarian Price — 118.6
Coleman Bennett (official-30 visit) — 112.2
Kaytron Allen — 102.6
Emmett Johnson — 88.3
Jonah Coleman (2025) — 85.7
Mike Washington Jr — 73.2
Demond Claiborne — 66.1
Roman Hemby — 62.6
Adam Randall — 61.0
Kaelon Black — 58.2
Seth McGowan — 51.8
Nicholas Singleton — 47.3
Chip Trayanum (official-30 visit) — 39.4
Jam Miller — 37.8

Coleman’s 2024 mark is so far ahead of anything else in the 2026 class — and it compares favourably to Walker’s final season at Michigan State. Here’s how Seattle’s three recent draftees faired:

Ken Walker — 145.9
Rashaad Penny — 129.7
Zach Charbonnet — 115.1

Finally let’s go to the missed tackles forced rate by every running back drafted by Schneider that we have data for:

Chris Carson – 37.3%
Ken Walker – 33.6%
Deejay Dallas — 31.3%
Rashaad Penny — 29.7%
Kenny McIntosh — 29.1%
CJ Prosise – 27.6%
Damien Martinez — 26.3%
Zach Charbonnet – 25.8%
Travis Homer — 17.7%

Here’s how they compare to the 2026 draft class:

Jonah Coleman (2024) — 34.9%
Jadarian Price — 28.3%
Jeremiyah Love — 28.1%
Emmett Johnson — 27.1%
Kaytron Allen — 27.1%
J’Mari Taylor — 24.8%
Rashul Faison — 24%
Jonah Coleman (2025) — 23.6%
Seth McGowan — 21.1%
Noah Whittington — 20.9%
Demond Claiborne — 20.7%
Mike Washington Jr — 20.4%
Adam Randall — 19%
Jam Miller — 16.9%
Roman Hemby — 16.1%
Kaelon Black — 16.1%
Le’Veon Moss — 15.6%
Nicholas Singleton — 15.3%
Chip Trayanum — 12.6%

Again, the two names at the very top are Coleman and Price. There is also some separation here between the two and Washington Jr, who is some way down the list for forcing missed tackles (as he is for the elusiveness ratings).

This very much shows up on tape.

Watch this collection of clips from Jadarian Price. Notice how consistently he slips through contact and then when in space, is able to make people miss. This is particularly the case when he gets outside and is faced with one tackle to beat to reach either the corner of the end zone or to break contain to get a first down:

Price will drop a shoulder, fake-out the defender and then pivot to quickly change direction to juke away from attempted tackles. This is how you make good runs great runs. This is the difference between finding a way to score and getting tackled just short. He clearly has a knack for making people miss, eluding tackles and extending runs. The data and the tape show this.

It’s a very similar story with Jonah Coleman’s 2024 tape:

You see that same ankle-breaking ability when squared up against a defender to just shimmy away from contact, make someone miss and extend runs. There are examples on tape for both Price and Coleman where defenders are diving at thin air because the running back made them miss in a 1v1 situation.

When you’re playing outside zone and you need your running backs to get to the perimeter, reach the second level and often make someone miss this is important.

I am a fan of Mike Washington Jr. His size and speed combination is rare and he has a physical running style that can lead to some punishing finishes on tape. What he isn’t doing though is make people miss. He is far more linear. He will sprint through space and an opening, get upfield but he very rarely makes a second-level defender miss:

There is still a lot of value in this type of running style. Derrick Henry is a very linear runner who uses his 4.54 testing speed combined with a 250lbs frame to charge forward, gain momentum and then he’s difficult to stop. Washington Jr is 27lbs lighter but significantly faster (4.33 speed) and is kind of the same type of runner — big, fast and hard-charging (although obviously not at the same level as Henry, not by a stretch).

He will often make a bit of a move at the LOS to find a gap and run through it — but then when he’s at the second level he’s going to try and out-run you. There are some missed opportunities where doesn’t see the field well enough to cut back inside and he ends up being squeezed at the sideline or tackled. He doesn’t juke opponents out of their shoes like Price or Coleman.

You do see though how quickly he accelerates to get to the perimeter and when he gets there, his gliding running style enables him to sprint away from defenders and explode. When he gets going he’s difficult to stop. If he had Coleman and Price’s make-you-miss ability, he’d be a top-40 pick. It’s no coincidence that 2024 Coleman (34.9%) and 2025 Price (28.3%) have far better missed tackle forced rates than Washington Jr (20.4%).

What’s the conclusion to draw then? I think if the Seahawks are searching for big plays in their running game to replace what they’ve lost with Ken Walker, these three players are best equipped to provide it. In particular, Price and Coleman seem particularly well placed.

Coleman especially, at least with his 2024 data, seems like the man for the Seahawks.

I’m fascinated to see where Price actually lands in the draft, given the varying ranges where he’s projected. To repeat what I said a few weeks ago, I had a highly respected NFL evaluator tell me recently he thought Price was worth a high second round pick and could potentially have a better pro career than Jeremiyah Love. Others think he’s more likely to go in the #50-70 range.

Do they value him highly enough to take with their first pick, whether that’s at #32 or after trading down?

Or can they get Coleman later and actually pull off a bit of a coup here? His 2024 tape suggested second round potential. Might they be able to wait and get him at #96 at fantastic value because of a slightly disappointing injury-impacted 2025 season? His 2024 tape hints at someone more than capable of leading a NFL rushing attack. If they like him enough, is he even considered at #64?

I know Coleman has existing relationships with players in Seattle’s locker-room already so it’d be a seamless fit for him to join the Seahawks. My guess is that he or Price will probably be drafted — unless the board goes completely against them. In that instance, perhaps they pivot to Washington Jr.

I think there’s a strong chance Coleman will be their guy. Their official-30 visit list is filling up with potential targets at #32. Here’s the list of 18 reported or confirmed visits so far:

Chris Johnson (CB, San Diego State)
Andre Fuller (CB, Toledo)
Jalen Kilgore (CB/S) South Carolina
Daylen Everette (CB, Georgia)
Coleman Bennett (RB, Kennesaw State)
AJ Haulcy (S, LSU)
Chip Trayanum (RB, Toledo)
Zion Young (DE, Missouri)
Mike Washington Jr (RB, Arkansas)
Keyshawn James-Newby (EDGE, New Mexico)
Kayden McDonald (DT, Ohio State)
Keyron Crawford (EDGE, Auburn)
R Mason Thomas (EDGE, Oklahoma)
Brandon Cisse (CB, South Carolina)
Colton Hood (CB, Tennessee)
Malachi Lawrence (EDGE, UCF)
Cashius Howell (EDGE, Texas A&M)
Treydan Stukes (S, Arizona)

It suggests a possible plan to target D-line and the secondary with their first two picks. Perhaps then the ideal scenario would be to draft Coleman? Although I think it would be foolish to rule out Price.