Cardinals Rumor: RB Jeremiyah Love 3rd Overall
The Arizona Cardinals may be about to make the most surprising pick of the first round. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there is “growing chatter in league circles” that Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is a genuine option for Arizona at third overall in this week’s NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.
“There are some who believe he could go as high as No. 3 to Arizona and no lower than No. 7 to Washington,” Schefter wrote Monday morning.
Love, a Doak Walker Award winner and All-American as a junior in 2025, is the consensus top running back (arguably top overall player) in this draft class. He ran for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns this past season for the Fighting Irish and caught 27 passes for 280 more yards. Over three seasons at Notre Dame, he amassed 2,882 rushing yards on 6.7 yards per carry with 36 touchdowns. He ran a 4.36 at the NFL Combine, matching Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, the player NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein compares him to, despite carrying more weight. He never missed a game in college.
If selected in the top five, Love would be the first running back drafted that high since the New York Giants took Saquon Barkley at No. 2 overall in 2018.
Arizona is not necessarily eager to stay at No. 3. According to Schefter, the Cardinals would ideally prefer to trade down and accumulate draft capital, and “exploratory” calls regarding the pick have already been made. Multiple reports this offseason, including one from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, have identified Arizona among the teams most interested in moving back. The problem, as Breer noted, is finding a trade partner willing to pay the price.
If no deal materializes Thursday night, Love appears to be Arizona’s most likely selection. The fit is not without logic. The Cardinals finished 3–14 in 2025, the worst record in franchise history since 1959, and their backfield was decimated by injuries all season. Starter James Conner suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 3. Trey Benson went down with a knee injury the following week. The team effectively ran out of capable backs.
Bad News for James Conner
This offseason, Arizona restructured Conner’s contract, signed former Atlanta Falcons back Tyler Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million deal, and re-signed depth option Bam Knight. It is a functional backfield on paper. But Conner is 31 and coming off major foot surgery. Allgeier has never been a featured back. Benson’s availability remains uncertain. New head coach Mike LaFleur, who previously ran the Rams’ offense, is inheriting a roster with question marks at nearly every level.
I would assume that Conner would become a cut candidate at training camp if Love is the pick at 3.
A healthy, explosive, three-down back like Love, one who ran 433 carries in college without fumbling once, would transform Arizona’s ground game immediately. The Cardinals scored just 258 points in 2025, 30th in the league.
The counterargument is financial. Running backs are the most devalued position in the NFL, and spending a top-three pick there remains a genuine philosophical debate across front offices. Arizona also has needs at quarterback, offensive line, and edge rusher that a top pick could address. If the Cardinals pass on Love, quarterback Ty Simpson and the possibility of a trade back into Round 1 to take him remain other options in play.
Washington at No. 7 serves as the floor, per Schefter. The Commanders added Rachaad White and Jerome Ford this offseason, but remain underinvested at the position. Quarterback Jayden Daniels, coming off an injury-shortened 2025 season, would be a compelling reason for Washington to add an offensive weapon of Love’s caliber.
Smoke Screen
There is also a chance the Cardinals are daring someone to trade up. These final few days before the NFL draft are full of fun, nothing stories. We’ll just have to wait and see. The 2026 NFL Draft begins Thursday night in Pittsburgh.