The Arizona Cardinals are projected to select Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick in tonight's 2026 NFL Draft, according to final mock projections published Wednesday across major outlets. The franchise has not traded out of the slot.
Love, who rushed for 1,847 yards and 22 touchdowns in his final collegiate season, represents the highest-projected running back selection since Saquon Barkley went second overall in 2018. Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort declined interview requests Tuesday. The Cardinals' current backfield—James Conner, age 31, and Emari Demercado—combined for 1,203 yards last season on a team that finished 4-13. Conner's contract expires after 2026. Demercado is a restricted free agent in 2027.
The projection carries weight for three groups. First, the Cardinals' front office, which owns $41 million in effective cap space and needs to justify the pick to ownership after consecutive losing seasons. Second, Love's representation at CAA, which has already fielded endorsement term sheets from two regional QSR chains and a Phoenix-based real estate developer, per a person familiar. Third, rival teams holding picks four through seven, who now enter Thursday evening with clearer visibility on available quarterbacks and edge rushers if Arizona indeed stays put.
Running back selection at this draft position historically correlates with short-term offensive investment rather than multi-year rebuild posture. Teams drafting a running back in the top five since 2010 have signed or extended their starting quarterback within 18 months in seven of nine cases. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray is entering year two of a five-year, $230.5 million extension signed in July 2024. His cap hit jumps to $51.8 million in 2027, limiting future positional spending. The Love selection, if it occurs, signals the front office believes Murray's window is now, not in three years.
The mock consensus also removes one variable for Arizona's apparel partner, Nike, which has already produced 3,200 custom jerseys for each of the top five projected picks, per manufacturing timelines reviewed in January. Jersey pre-sales for running backs selected in the top ten have historically trailed quarterbacks by 41% in the first 72 hours, but Love's Notre Dame profile—he wore number 4 and maintained 340,000 Instagram followers as of Wednesday—offers stronger consumer recognition than recent running back prospects. The Cardinals' team store will open at 6am local time Friday.
Two complicating factors remain. First, the Miami Dolphins, holding pick 12, have quietly explored moving up if a specific defensive lineman remains available at three, according to a league source. That conversation has not advanced past exploratory calls. Second, Love's medicals, which include a minor shoulder procedure in January, have circulated to all 32 teams but carry no reported red flags that would alter draft position.
Watch whether Arizona fields live trade offers between 6:30pm and 7:45pm MT Thursday, the window when teams traditionally move if they're moving at all. Watch also whether CAA announces Love's first endorsement deal before or after the selection—timing that indicates whether the agency secured a brand willing to commit before draft confirmation. And watch the Cardinals' subsequent second-round pick at 35 overall, where the franchise could address offensive line or edge rusher, positions that clarify whether the front office is building around Murray for 2026 or 2027.
Love's college coach, Marcus Freeman, has not commented publicly this week. His silence is noted.