Cardinals Draft Jeremiyah Love 3rd Overall
Welp, the rumors weren’t actually rumors. We wrote about Jeremiyah Love going to the Arizona Cardinals last week, and while there were a lot of people who thought it could be a smokescreen, the pick went through tonight at the NFL Draft.
The Cardinals selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick, making Love the first first-round selection for new head coach Mike LaFleur in Arizona.
Love, who is just 20 years old, closed his Notre Dame career as the 2025 Doak Walker Award winner, a unanimous All-American, and a Heisman Trophy finalist. In the 2025 season alone, he rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns on 199 carries, averaging 6.9 yards per attempt across 12 games, and added 27 receptions for 280 receiving yards. Across his final two years at Notre Dame, Love totaled 2,497 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns on 362 carries, with 55 catches for 517 yards and five receiving scores across 28 games.
The Cardinals’ backfield is crowded. James Conner was retained this offseason on a one-year restructured contract. Arizona signed Tyler Allgeier to a two-year deal in free agency. Trey Benson is on his rookie contract with two years remaining. Bam Knight returned on a one-year agreement. Love arrives as the headline ball-carrier, and the rotation behind him will be a storyline through training camp. Arizona could explore trade interest in one of the veterans as the roster continues to take shape.
LaFleur was hired February 1 after Arizona fired Jonathan Gannon, and he spent the previous three seasons as offensive coordinator under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams. That scheme features outside zone, wide-zone run concepts, and play-action built off the run game. Love projects as a natural fit: a patient zone runner with breakaway speed and sound vision at the second level.
The Cardinals overhauled the quarterback room in the offseason. Kyler Murray was released on March 11 and has since signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew are the veterans currently under contract for 2026. Arizona finished 3-14 last season.
Love walks into a skill group with established pieces. Tight end Trey McBride caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025 and is locked in on a long-term extension. Marvin Harrison Jr. returns as the team’s top wide receiver. Offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. anchors the line, though the interior remains an area the Cardinals are expected to continue addressing through the remainder of this draft.
The Cardinals hold nine more selections across the rest of the draft. Rounds 2 and 3 resume Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern in Pittsburgh. Rounds 4 through 7 run Saturday. The NFL has not released the 2026 regular-season schedule, so Arizona’s Week 1 opponent is not yet known.