Arizona Cardinals first-year head coach Mike LaFleur was dead set on staying put at No. 3 overall and selecting Jeremiyah Love in the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23. The leading rumor had been that, of all teams, the Cardinals were the most eager to trade down in the first round, but LaFleur was not going to let that happen.
“Once we were on the clock, you're always gonna keep it open initially,” LaFleur told Rich Eisen last week. “But, I'll be honest with you, I was hoping nobody called, and I really didn't care what the offer was, because of how I feel about the guy that we got.”
The Cardinals selected Love at No. 3 overall, making him the first running back to go in the top five since Saquon Barkley in 2018.
LaFleur wasn’t alone in coveting Love. Love starred at Notre Dame over the past two years and finished third in Heisman voting last December. The All-American running back racked up 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground and added 280 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver. Love was widely regarded as the most talented player in this year’s class - a clear-cut blue-chipper in a draft devoid of them.
LaFleur, the former offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, likely looked at Love’s tape and immediately began daydreaming about what he’d look like in his scheme. It remains to be seen how Love’s transcendent talent will translate to the desert, but he will at least look the part.
On Thursday, the Cardinals revealed the jersey numbers of their entire 2026 draft class. Love will wear No. 4, just as he did at Notre Dame:
Love will be in the Cardinals’ backfield in Week 1, but Cardinals fans might also want to familiarize themselves with Carson Beck’s No. 19 jersey.
Arizona drafted Beck out of Miami in the third round (No. 65 overall), and he joins Jacoby Brissett and Garden Minshew II in an underwhelming quarterback room. Brissett, 33, is holding out for a new contract, but if that gets sorted, he’ll be Arizona’s starting quarterback for another season. But ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss sees a path for Beck.
“The plan for the rookie Carson Beck, who Arizona drafted in the third round, is for him to sit and watch and learn, unless he outplays some of the quarterbacks during camp,” Weinfuss said on Wednesday. “And if that happened, there’s a chance he could see the field earlier rather than later.”
Regardless, Love leads the hype train in Arizona, and it isn’t particularly close. Fanatics and FOX Sports announced earlier this week that Love’s Cardinals jersey has sold the seventh most among 2026 rookies so far.
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