Notre Dame standout Jadarian Price just turned his childhood dream into a major statement. When asked about favorite quarterback options to take passes from, he couldn’t help but make a candid confession. The running back recounted growing up as an avid fan of quarterback Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. With Price rising as the top draft prospect, the revelation made his intentions clear to Jerry Jones and his signal-caller.

“Probably Dak Prescott, just because I grew up watching and I was a Cowboys fan growing up,” he said on the Up & Adams Show. “Yeah, that’s just one. There’s so many more, but I would catch a pass from anybody. It doesn’t matter.”

While Jadarian Price has just completed his third year at Notre Dame, he’s already eyeing an NFL future. After his appearance on Kay Adams’ podcast, it became clear his big football dreams involved Jerry Jones’ team. His nostalgia-driven response about Dak Prescott and the Cowboys popped up when Adams pointed out his natural pass-catching ability. 

For those unfamiliar, Price caught six receptions for a career-best 87 yards, even though he plays running back. The reply cracked Adams up as she couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Prescott is already inspiring young players. At age 32, he’s quite young compared to NFL legends such as Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford. Despite Adams’ funny reaction, Price revealed that his love for the Cowboys peaked in middle school. 

“And that’s when Dak and Zeke [Ezekiel Elliott] came on the scene,” he said. “And that was like what they were doing. Like Zeke was my favorite running back. It was weird that now I’m in the position where, OK, I got to go out there and be competitive against these guys and show what I can do.”

From admiring his favorite team to being in the race for a potential roster spot, Price has indeed come a long way. Meanwhile, his message comes at a time when Dallas is rebuilding its roster. While an awful defense was the biggest reason behind their downfall, they need to address some issues on the other side as well. At running back, they lack a promising player to support Javonte Williams.

From a draft perspective, the Cowboys have enough flexibility to bring in young players. Dak Prescott’s team possesses eight picks for the upcoming draft, including two first-round selections (12th and 20th overall). Leveraging their position to secure Price could benefit them, as many experts identified him as top talent in their mock drafts.

Known for his explosive game, he’s averaging 6.0 yards per carry and logged eleven rushing touchdowns this past season. While Price is not out of reach for Dallas, the final decision will also depend on other offseason needs. Meanwhile, Price may target one more team as his potential home for the 2026 season.

Price is open to joining Minnesota after his Dak Prescott comment

The Minnesota Vikings enter the offseason looking for a permanent solution at the running back position. Currently, they are reworking a one-year deal to bring back Aaron Jones Sr. for the upcoming season. They also have another option in Jordan Mason to beef up the group. But neither of them could be a reliable solution in the long term.

Since most of the top running backs have found new homes in free agency, the team’s best option may be to target one in the draft. Jadarian Price would be more than happy to take on the RB1 role. Speaking to Kay Adams, he reacted positively to the possibility of a landing in Minnesota.

“Minnesota, huh? I think that’d be nice,” Price told Adams. “Kyler Murray, Texas boy, shout out Texas. But yeah, I think that would be pretty cool.” 

In the mock draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., he predicted the Houston Texans to select Price in the first round at ‌No. 28. However, the Vikings currently hold the No. 18 pick, which they ideally shouldn’t use on him, based on projections. If they want to select him in the first round, the best move will be to trade down to pick up additional assets before pursuing him.

Meanwhile, another name who could put a roadblock in Price’s path would be fellow Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. Since he’s in more demand, it’s unlikely for the Vikings to get Love so late in the first round. This leaves the team to decide whether to target a running back early or wait until later rounds to address the position for 2026.