It's safe to say that Notre Dame made headlines during this year's NFL Draft. When Jeremiyah Love went at No. 3 to the Arizona Cardinals, and Jadarian Price at No. 32 to the Seattle Seahawks, it was the first time in the Common Draft Era that the top two running backs came from the same school. It was the sixth time two running backs both went in the first round of the same draft in the CDE.
The selections speak to the depth of Notre Dame's 2025 running back room. The next back off the board was Kaelon Black, who went 90th overall to the San Francisco 49ers.
But as good as Love and Price were as a duo, at the next level, they'll face each other twice in 2026; once in Week 2 and again in Week 9.
And that begs the question: how will the pair do on their own as rookies? There are two different ways to answer that question.
Since 2000, 53 running backs have been taken in the first round, not counting the 2026 Draft. Of those 53, 18 went inside the top-10, setting up a reasonable pool of players to look at for Love. The reason for not considering those outside the top-10 is to account for team quality.
The Cardinals were poor in 2025, hence the pick at third. Love is not getting dropped into the same situation as, say, a Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who went to the Chiefs at pick 32 in 2020's draft.
The 18 running backs who went inside the top-10 averaged 913.2 rushing yards in their rookie season, to go with 6.5 rushing touchdowns. If you apply a filter of 10 or more games played, that jumps to 950.9 rushing yards and 6.9 touchdowns.
Both are pretty productive seasons on the ground, though Love, of course, was a useful weapon in the passing game, and is likely to continue that at the next level. Newly minted head coach Mike LaFleur, brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, said that Love could contribute in the passing game.
"I've said this with running backs," said Mike LaFleur shortly after Round 1 of April's Draft, "they do come in all shapes and sizes. What's unique about [Love], in my opinion, is all in three phases. And what I mean by all three phases is the run game, the pass game, and protection. He has the ability to mix it in all those."
Turning to the same 18-player pool, rookie running backs averaged 336.9 receiving yards per season, along with 1.4 touchdowns. That has changed a bit in recent years. Of the five drafted since 2017 (Christian McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette, Saquon Barkley, Bijan Robinson, and Ashton Jeanty), the average jumps to 501.4 receiving yards and 3.8 receiving yards.
And on that note, the other way to look at Love's potential output is through his new head coach's history. LaFleur served as offensive coordinator for the New York Jets and the Los Angeles Rams before taking the Cardinals' head-coaching job.
LaFleur didn't call plays for the Rams; that was Sean McVay, though LaFleur did get chances periodically. LaFleur did call plays for the Jets in 2021 and 2022. In those two seasons in New York, the Jets ranked at or near the bottom in team carries each year.
The Rams were much more balanced from 2022 to 2025 and were middle of the pack in team carries. Notably, Los Angeles gave the bulk of the carries to Kyren Williams in 2023 and 2024. The 2025 season brought a bit of a split between Williams and Blake Corum, but Williams still had over 250 carries.
So, where does that put Love? A realistic outcome is 200 carries for 950 rushing yards. That puts Love slightly below the average of his historical counterparts, as Arizona will play from behind more often than not.
It also assumes Love is the day-one starter. He joins a running back room that was largely unproductive in 2025, but that added Tyler Allgeier from the Atlanta Falcons. That's partially because James Conner was injured and played only 3 games, but Love should be ahead of him on the depth chart.
Conversely, Love should see plenty of targets in the passing game. It might be aggressive, but 55 receptions for 400 receiving yards seem like achievable marks for Love.
Touchdowns are a bit more random and team-dependent (you actually have to be good to score), so Love could get to five touchdowns on the ground and another two in the air in a good season. Even if the Cardinals are poor, Love can still manufacture explosives.
There's no lack of uncertainty surrounding the Cardinals' offense. The new offensive coaching staff, combined with the offseason drama involving Jacoby Brissett, provides some unknown unknowns.
But if there's a reason for some level of optimism, it's that Arizona was respectable in the run blocking game, ranking 15th in ESPN's run block win rate. And if there's a three-phase back in this year's rookie class that can make the best out of a mixed situation, it's Jeremiyah Love.