- Jadarian Price in the Kenneth Walker role: While the first-round rookie looked great when given the opportunity, his role was limited. He didn't play on third downs, in the two-minute drill or in the red zone.
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New England Patriots @ Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks' new-look backfield: Seattle changed its backfield personnel from last season while maintaining the same overall philosophy.
Seattle utilized a two-man committee last season, with Kenneth Walker III playing on early downs and Zach Charbonnet playing on third downs, short yardage and goal-line situations. It was a nightmare for fantasy managers: Walker would get the yards, and Charbonnet would get the touchdowns, so neither was consistent in fantasy production despite playing in a high-scoring offense.
Seattle's backfield underwent a significant overhaul this offseason. Walker departed for the Kansas City Chiefs, while Charbonnet started the season on the PUP list. That turnover leaves the Seahawks with a reshaped group featuring first-round rookie Price, backup George Holani and free-agent addition Emanuel Wilson.
The general expectation was for Price to take the Walker role and Holani to take the Charbonnet role, and that's exactly what we saw. Price took a clear majority of the snaps on early downs, while Holani took all of the snaps on third downs and during two-minute drills. Once the Seahawks got within 5 yards of scoring, Wilson entered the game (though a delay of game immediately took them out of that particular territory).
Price was explosive with his opportunities, but the backfield rotation limited his fantasy production. Sam Darnold‘s health could also have a significant impact on Price's short-term fantasy value. Price should be more involved when Seattle is playing with a lead, but if Darnold misses time, less favorable game scripts could consistently leave the rookie with a smaller share of the snaps.
Fortunately, Seattle has extra time before its next game and then faces the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders over the following two weeks. Those matchups should give Price opportunities for increased production even if Drew Lock remains at quarterback.
Rashid Shaheed’s expanded role: Shaheed didn’t make an impact in the box score, but his playing time increased compared to last season.
The Seahawks traded for Rashid Shaheed midway through the 2025 season. He made his mark with a few big plays throughout the regular season and playoffs, but remained in a part-time role. In the playoffs, he played only 52.6% of the Seahawks' offensive snaps.
This offseason, there were murmurings that Shaheed could play a larger role, likely at the expense of 33-year-old Cooper Kupp.
Shaheed and Kupp both played more often than usual as the Seahawks played from behind, but we also saw more snaps with Shaheed on the field and Kupp off than we’re accustomed to. Shaheed played in only 20.2% of two-wide receiver sets during the playoffs, but that rate jumped to 46.1% in this game. Ideally, that number would climb well above 50%, but his increased usage gives Shaheed a better chance of providing fantasy value for Seattle this season compared to where he finished last season, assuming Darnold’s injury isn’t serious.
It’s worth noting that the wide receiver room will become even more complicated. Tory Horton began last season as the third receiver, but a cracked tibia ended his season early and led the Seahawks to trade for Shaheed. Horton was questionable for this game with a hamstring injury but was ultimately inactive. He will ideally be ready for next week and should eventually work his way back into the wide receiver rotation.
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Monitor A.J. Brown’s health: The Patriots' newest wide receiver left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and didn’t return.
New England had one of the most frustrating wide receiver rotations in the NFL last season. Kayshon Boutte was the starting X receiver, with Kyle Williams as his backup. Stefon Diggs played both Z and in the slot, while Mack Hollins also played Z and DeMario Douglas also played in the slot. New England moved on from both Boutte and Diggs, traded for Brown and signed Romeo Doubs in free agency.
Brown was consistently on the field in the first half, almost always lining up as the X receiver despite offseason reports that he might move around more often in this offense. This left Williams with only two first-half snaps. Doubs was expected to see more playing time than Diggs did last season, but instead, he played fewer snaps, with Hollins playing more. Doubs played 12 of 32 first-half snaps compared to 18 for Hollins. Part of that was due to the Patriots' run-first approach throughout the half. Doubs ran a route on 10 of 16 first-half pass plays, compared to four for Hollins. This makes Doubs a potential drop, as he can only be considered a fantasy option when the Patriots are underdogs, and that won’t be the case in many games.
Brown suffered an ankle injury early in the second half and was ruled out at the end of the quarter. Rather than Williams taking Brown’s place, as we often saw last season when Boutte was injured, Hollins moved to X. This allowed Doubs to see more playing time in the second half. If Brown’s injury is serious, it would be worth holding onto Doubs a little longer to see if the Patriots make him a larger part of the game plan. While Hollins will see plenty of playing time, he’s best left on the waiver wire considering how low his target rate has been throughout his career. If anything, a serious Brown injury would make it easier to put Hunter Henry in fantasy starting lineups.
New England adjusts without TreVeyon Henderson: The second-year running back hasn’t practiced in more than two weeks due to an ankle injury and was inactive.
The Patriots planned to use a two-man rotation with Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson, similar to last season. Henderson played all 17 games last season, but New England has had no problem giving Stevenson a significant role when needed. In Week 16 last season, Stevenson played 83.8% of the offensive snaps, and he had three games above 90% in 2022. New England traded for Corey Kiner from the Arizona Cardinals just before cutdown day, while Lan Larison was elevated from the practice squad to give the Patriots three running backs for this game.
Stevenson was the feature back throughout the game, with New England giving him some plays off in the middle of each half. However, he was consistently on the field on third downs. Stevenson didn’t have a great game statistically, but nearly all of his rushing yards came after contact. The Seahawks had the highest-graded run defense last season, and Stevenson similarly didn’t have a strong Super Bowl. This game is unlikely to impact Stevenson’s playing time, even when Henderson returns.
Table Notes
• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats exclude these plays.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy will be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may assign the target to the nearest receiver while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.