Zach Charbonnet

Seattle spent its 2026 first-round pick on Jadarian Price, who has been described as the clear starting back during Charbonnet's absence, leaving Charbonnet at RB5 on the depth chart and threatening his path back to a featured role even once healthy.

Charbonnet is playing out the final year of his rookie deal and is set to reach free agency after the 2026 season, raising the stakes on whatever role he can reclaim while sidelined for a chunk of the year.

His 2025 target-share trend was rising, and reporting projects him as Seattle's passing-down and short-yardage complement to Price once healthy, preserving a three-down-adjacent role rather than pure change-of-pace duty.

Team insiders have floated Charbonnet reclaiming the lead job if Price struggles, and the coaching staff has publicly praised his rehab progress, leaving a path to overtake the rookie later in the season.