NFL camp watch: Seahawks' Price leads six rookies turning heads

Some of it comes down to opportunity or an injury elsewhere, but regardless of how they got their chance, few things excite fans more than a rookie making waves.

With the 2026 NFL season just over a month away, here are six first-year players who are already turning heads, from heralded first-rounders to overlooked late-round picks.

Watch every game of the 2026 NFL season only on DAZN

The 2026 NFL season, including nine international games, is fast approaching, and you can catch every snap on DAZN.

Enjoy an unrivalled viewing experience with an NFL Game Pass subscription, which includes incredible features such as RedZone, NFL Network, Game in 40, Sunday in 60, Multiview, and more.

With prices starting from £179.99 per year or £16.99 per month, you can catch every twist, turn, and touchdown live or on-demand, from the first preseason snap to the Super Bowl.

Sign up for Game Pass on DAZN now and get your front-row seat to the 2026 season.

Jadarian Price claims Seahawks' lead role

Jadarian Price spent two years at Notre Dame sharing carries with Jeremiyah Love, the same back the Arizona Cardinals took third overall this spring.

For most in Price's position, that would mean they enter the league unheralded, but Seattle recognised his talent and used the 32nd pick on him anyway.

Kenneth Walker III's departure to Kansas City in free agency created one opening at running back, and Zach Charbonnet's continued recovery from injury created another.

Together, those absences turned what should have been a crowded Seattle backfield into a dream scenario for Price, and the word in Seattle camp is that he's grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

"You can see the decisiveness, you can see the movement ability, the quickness, the speed," head coach Mike Macdonald said.

"He's doing a lot of great things in pass protection, which I appreciate," he added. "So it's positive right now, just really excited about it. He's got a great opportunity in front of him."

Price got the better of veteran linebacker Ernest Jones on one play during a 7-on-7 drill, catching a ball on a wheel route for a long gain.

"He's good, man. Mature for his age; you can tell," Jones said. "You don't get too many words out of him but he's working. He got me today, man."

Titans' Carnell Tate a late camp riser

Carnell Tate went fourth overall to Tennessee back in April, and he began building chemistry with quarterback Cam Ward early.

The two spent three weeks together in Miami, forging a connection that should help both players achieve big things in 2026.

It took a while for Tate to find his feet, and one play isn't everything, but a tightly covered score provided a glimpse of what's in store.

Cyrus Allen wins Chiefs' and Mahomes' trust early

Cyrus Allen fell all the way to the fifth round out of Cincinnati, the 176th name called in April, and inside three weeks of camp he'd become the receiver reporters couldn't stop talking about.

"He's done a nice job," head coach Andy Reid said. "The quarterback trusts him."

The scare came during special teams work last weekend, a collision with cornerback Kaiir Elam that left Allen down on the field for a stretch before trainers got him onto a cart.

The tests came back kinder than the visual suggested, a shin bruise with nothing torn or broken, and Kansas City has him pencilled in as day-to-day rather than anything long-term.

Whether he can continue to climb the depth chart remains to be seen, but he's done everything within his power to impress.

Caleb Douglas fills Dolphins' WR void

Tyreek Hill is gone from Miami, released outright, and Jaylen Waddle is gone too, traded to Denver. That leaves both names who sat atop Miami's receiver depth chart a year ago gone.

Caleb Douglas is one of the third-round names now filling that vacuum, and he's started faster than most expected.

The Texas Tech product caught 54 passes for 846 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and at 6' 4", offers a catch radius to die for.

Head coach Jeff Hafley has pointed specifically to Douglas's hands in traffic.

The rookie has also been rotated through several spots in the formation, a way of stress-testing that skill against different looks.

There's plenty left to learn, in Hafley's own words, but the traits that made Douglas an intriguing name on draft weekend are already translating to the field.

Quarterback Malik Willis delivered his best throw of the week on a seven-yard touch pass to Douglas, and if that continues into Week 1, watch out.

Colts' A.J. Haulcy earns first-team reps

The defense in Indianapolis doesn't look like it did a year ago, with several regulars from that unit having moved on this offseason.

Third-round rookie safety A.J. Haulcy has stepped into one of those gaps quickly, taking the bulk of the first-team reps at safety through the opening week of camp.

He arrived by way of three different colleges, New Mexico, Houston and finally LSU, where he earned first-team All-American honours last season before Indianapolis took him with the 78th pick.

"He hasn't had a mental error to my recollection," defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. "So he keeps that up, and that'll be good for him in his field."

"He really puts the time in," Anarumo added. "He's done a really good job communicating."

That praise is a continuation of the positive impressions he made on teammate Cam Bynum in June.

Peter Woods shines early for Chiefs

Peter Woods landed in Kansas City with the 29th overall pick, the selection the Chiefs received in return for sending Trent McDuffie to the Rams.

The Clemson product has spent his first week in pads making that trade look shrewder by the day.

Facing Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith in one-on-ones during the first padded practice, Woods traded reps evenly, and on one snap he got his hands inside and walked Smith backwards.

Two days later, he went on to win multiple reps against undrafted rookie tackle Kahlil Benson.

"Peter is really talented, man, in terms of his hand utilization, speed, power," Smith said. "He's really sort of the full package type of guy.

"He's young, and he's figuring out the game, but he has a willingness to learn. I've really enjoyed the way he's stepped into this program. He definitely has an outstanding future."

The man Woods will be lining up alongside was equally impressed.

"I'm excited about the young talent we have on the D-line, man," star pass rusher Chris Jones said. "A lot of explosiveness."

More training camp updates on NFL Game Pass

For comprehensive training camp news and updates, NFL Game Pass subscribers should tune in to DAZN to watch daily NFL Network shows, Good Morning Football and Inside Training Camp.