Schefter: ‘Growing chatter’ in NFL that Cardinals could draft RB Jeremiyah Love
Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love could be the first running back drafted in the top five since 2018. That has connected him to the Arizona Cardinals.
Watch: Should Cardinals take Jeremiyah Love at No. 3? | 7 mins
Notre Dame product Jeremiyah Love could become the first running back drafted in the top five picks since 2018, and that has connected his draft stock to the Arizona Cardinals.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that there is “growing chatter in league circles that Love is truly in play” with the Cardinals and their No. 3 selection. Schefter wrote:
Ideally, the Cardinals would like to find a team willing to trade up so they can acquire more picks, and there have already been “exploratory” calls, as one source described it, regarding the No. 3 selection. But if the Cardinals hold on to their pick, some around the league believe they could pull an early draft surprise and select Love in a slot slightly higher than he has been projected to go.
There are a few ways to navigate that rumor, which Schefter’s ESPN colleague Peter Schrager floated two weeks back.
Arizona might indeed love Love with the ability to draft him third or trade down, then take him.
Or the team could simply be hoping to drum up trade offers for the pick if general manager Monti Ossenfort believes a trade-down scenario is the best value. The first quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, is expected to be off the board first, and the tier of players after him doesn’t have consensus evaluations across the NFL.
If the Cardinals believe what Schefter reports — that Love will fall no further than No. 7 — it’s a good opportunity to force an interested team’s hand.
Back to considering Arizona being interested in Love: the Cardinals could benefit from any offensive star. Taking the rare running back so high would surely create fan interest compared to, say, Arizona drafting a rookie pass rusher or offensive lineman.
It would also come with pressure, especially considering the Cardinals would be hoping for a rookie running back to turn their fortunes around while playing behind an offensive line that has question marks itself.
Love piled up 433 carries and 2,882 yards with 36 touchdowns in three seasons with Notre Dame. Last year was his best, with 1,372 rushing yards on 6.9 yards per carry and 18 scores on the ground. He had 27 catches for 280 receiving yards and three touchdowns as well.
In the running back room, Arizona already has veteran James Conner, who is coming off a foot injury that ended his year after three games, plus former Atlanta Falcons backup Tyler Allgeier.
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Comments
61 Comments
I like Love but the only way to win a Super Bowl is to make life absolutely miserable for opposing QBs every game. Gotta take a defensive end at 3.
The people commenting on the Cardinals using their #3 pick to draft Bain or some Lineman (who would all be a 2nd or 3rd round pick any other year by the way) are the SAME EXACT PEOPLE who were all in on Marvin Harrison JR…I don’t trust any of you lol.
Pick the best available player, regardless of “need” That’s what the great teams do. Love is the best player in this draft.
Take the DLineman who has the best tape in the entire draft, since none of the OLineman in this draft are elite so not worth the No. 3 pick, but nearly a dozen O-Lineman who will be available in the 1st 3 Rounds who are ready to start. The short arms claim which has been used to de-value Bain is an Urban Myth, since no correlation in productivity can be shown for either DLineman or OLineman. Smart money takes the guy who destroyed every opponent he faced, numerous of whom have already been drafted or will be drafted this year. Opponents, including National Champions Indiana, schemed to avoid Bains like the plague but he was still the best player on the field. Bain is unanimous choice as the Baddest Guy on the field, the guy that was the last one NFL players would like to meet in a dark alley. All these claims are echoed by every expert who actually watched his All-22 Tape. CBS Sports who has a great history of accurately rating players, has had Bain as their No. 2 Prospect overall the ENTIRE SEASON, behind only Mendoza.