Running back rooms in the spotlight ahead of Patriots vs. Seahawks season opener

The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks have seen changes to their offensive backfields in the offseason. The more drastic shift overall was Seattle's, but the Patriots also have a situation with their second-year back that shouldn't be ignored.

The Seahawks are entering the year coming off a dominating Super Bowl win against the Patriots, in which Kenneth Walker III, the fourth-year rusher who started every game in 2025, was awarded Super Bowl MVP. Walker carried the ball 27 times, and picked up 135 yards on the ground. He also hauled in two receptions for 26 yards in the championship game.

Last season, Walker rushed for 1,027 yards, which was the first time he had for over 1,000 yards since his rookie year back in 2022. After his eye-popping performance in the 29-13 win over the Patriots, the star back hit free agency. Walker ended up landing with the Kansas City Chiefs on a three-year deal, worth up to $45 million.

So, where does this leave the Seahawks now? They answered that question 45 days later on Day 1 of the NFL Draft, when they used the last pick of the first round to acquire Jadarian Price. Price was a four-star recruit out of high school, and became a member of the Fighting Irish in 2022. But after suffering a season-ending ruptured achilles tendon in the offseason of what would have been his true freshman year, he began his college football career in 2023. Throughout his college tenure, he racked up 1,692 yards, and found the end zone 21 times on the ground.

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel praised Jadarian Price when asked about him.

"Jadarian's got great speed," Vrabel said. "He's a slasher. He'll test edges. He's got great patience. But, I watched him circle guys up in college fairly easily. So, the speed, I think, is real."

Price will now be the feature running back for the reigning champs in his rookie campaign, although this likely wouldn't have been the case if it weren't for an injury to Zach Charbonnet .

Charbonnet tore his ACL in the 41-6 rout of the San Francisco 49ers in last year's divisional round of the playoffs. The 25-year-old is coming off of a career high in carries and rushing yards, and he was also tied for sixth in all of the NFL with 12 touchdowns. All of which came in a secondary role behind Walker. So while Charbonnet looked as if this would have been his first year as the primary back, it will have to wait as the Seahawks look at what they have with Price. Entering Wednesday, it will be George Holani and Emanuel Wilson behind the first-round pick.

As for the Patriots, the halfback room will look mostly the same. Rhamondre Stevenson is expected to take possession of the RB1 role, with Treveyon Henderson behind him. Stevenson, entering his sixth season with the Patriots, had his lead role pressured the most last season since Ezekiel Elliott back in 2023: Henderson ended up recording 911 rushing yards to Stevenson's 603, and scoring nine touchdowns to seven for Stevenson. However, Stevenson provided a little bit more of steady option in backfield compared to Henderson, who's numbers were inflated by long, explosive runs.

Vrabel expressed that the running back room has a variety of skills sets, explaining that, "some guys have a little bit of different strengths than maybe the other guys. So, there's a little bit of everything."

However, Henderson has now been ruled out for Week 1 with an ankle injury . The 2025 second-round draft pick has been dealing with this injury since aggravating it during practice on August 24.

A trade that could become increasingly important

With Henderson unavailable, Corey Kiner , the Patriots' trade acquisition from the Arizona Cardinals , projects to play an elevated role. Kiner, like Henderson, is heading into his sophomore season in the NFL.

An undrafted free agent signing by the 49ers, he suffered a high ankle sprain in his rookie preseason that led to his release. He then was signed to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, and never touched the field while he was there. Lastly, Kiner was picked up by the Cardinals off the Vikings' practice squad, which is where he appeared in his first professional game.

While he only carried the ball 12 times for 58 yards last year, Vrabel and the Patriots saw something in him.

"He was a player that we had looked at trying to get last year coming out," conveyed Vrabel. "He's a good young runner."

The hype around the Patriots versus Seahawks rematch is real, which was defined by the running game in the Super Bowl. The Patriots will look to match the production the Seahawks got out of that position last year, and kickoff the new season with a huge win in Seattle — but doing so without the big-play threat that is Henderson could prove to be a challenge.