Isaiah Likely or Jadarian Price: Who Should You Start?
Preliminary board2026 Week 3 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.
Verdicts sharpen as practice reports land.
Likely’s target role beats Price’s explosive upside
Likely is the better play because his pass-catching role is more bankable, even though Price carries the slightly higher raw projection. A 30% target share from a starting, red-zone-capable tight end gives Likely a sturdier path than Price’s rookie big-play profile, and he also draws the more forgiving positional matchup. Price gets the higher scoring environment, but his tougher RB matchup and shoulder concern create more ways for the play to fail (Sports Illustrated (Seahawks On SI) 2026-09-21). Likely’s actual risk is reduced routes in a two-TE deployment.
What flips it: A confirmed full-go status for Price’s shoulder.
Sources: Sports Illustrated (Seahawks On SI) · Sep 21, 2026
AI editor
Isaiah Likely
7.49.511.6 Projected Points
Jadarian Price
10.511.312.1 Projected Points
Isaiah Likely’s market
Jadarian Price’s market
Why Isaiah Likely
Start· mediumStarting TE and pass-catching mismatch. Athletic seam-stretcher with red-zone flex ability.
30% target share and 11.6 projected points make Likely a clear TE1 play despite a 49% snap rate in a two-TE room.
- His seam-stretching role can convert heavy targets into both chain-moving catches and red-zone opportunities.
- The matchup is close on paper, but his clean availability makes the volume easier to trust.
The call
- A 30% target share over two games is elite usage for a tight end — even on 49% of snaps, he's being schemed the ball when he's on the field.
- 11.6 projected points at TE14 clears the bar over a typical waiver-wire tight end in a 12-team PPR league.
- Baltimore is a 3-point favorite with a 23.8 implied total, a neutral-to-positive script that keeps the offense on schedule and Likely in the route tree.
- The Tennessee defense grades 9 of 32 versus tight ends, but that's a two-game sample with 0.00 confidence — not enough to bench a player with this target volume.
Latest on Likely
Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.
Why Jadarian Price
Toss-UpRookie RB atop the depth chart. Explosive, home-run-speed runner with no prior NFL sample.
Toss-up — RB23 consensus, projects RB24 this week: WSH is the 3rd-toughest matchup vs RBs, 25.0 implied team total.
- Price’s home-run speed gives him a path to beat the matchup with one explosive run.
- A higher-scoring game script could produce more rushing chances if Seattle controls the game.
Latest on Price
Price left the Week 2 win over Arizona in the fourth quarter with what was announced as a chest injury; X-rays came back negative and Macdonald called it 'nothing serious' after later revealing it's actually a shoulder issue.
Sports Illustrated (Seahawks On SI) · Sep 21, 2026In-Game Injury News From The Week 2 Matchup Between Seattle and Arizona
Seahawks rookie Jadarian Price is looking forward to playing against his former teammate and Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love on Sunday.
Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.
Head-to-head stats
| Metric | Isaiah Likely | Jadarian Price |
|---|---|---|
| Projected points | 7.49.511.6 | 10.511.312.1 |
| Consensus rank | TE14 | RB23 |
| Opponent vs position | TEN · 9 of 322-game sample | WSH · 3 of 322-game sample |
| Receptions | 15 of 32 | 2 of 32 |
| Receiving Yards | 1 of 32 | 2 of 32 |
| Receiving TDs | 1 of 32 | — |
| Targets | 16 of 32 | — |
| Anytime TD | 13 of 32 | 1 of 32 |
| Rushing Yards | — | 7 of 32 |
| Rushing TDs | — | 1 of 32 |
| Rushing Attempts | — | 3 of 32 |
| Target share | 30% | 8% |
| Reception share | 35% | 8% |
| Implied total · spread | 23.8-3.0 | 25.0-3.5 |
| Depth chart | TE1 | RB1 |
| Snap share | 59% | 41% |
| Injury designation | — | Questionable |
| Start/Sit record | 1–1 | 0–1+1 toss-up |
Recent form
Isaiah Likely — last 2 weeks
| Week 2 | vs LAR | 3.35.88.3 |
| Week 1 | vs DAL | 19.823.827.8 |
Jadarian Price — last 2 weeks
| Week 2 | vs ARI | 4.04.55.0 |
| Week 1 | vs NE | 5.86.87.8 |
Signal breakdown
- 11.6 vs 12.1 projected PPR pointsJadarian Price +
- Rank 14 vs 23Isaiah Likely +
- Opponent DvP rank 9 vs 3 (32 = softest)even
- Implied 23.8 vs 25.0 team pointsJadarian Price +
- no designation vs QuestionableIsaiah Likely +
- 59% vs 41% snap shareIsaiah Likely +
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