Cardinals may draft Jeremiyah Love under one condition

As recently as this week, certain NFL insiders disagreed on whether or not the Arizona Cardinals will make Notre Dame Fighting Irish star running back Jeremiyah Love the third overall pick of the 2026 draft.

For updates shared on Wednesday, ESPN's Dan Graziano and Peter Schrager explained how Love could find himself sporting a Cardinals hat on Thursday night. 

How the Cardinals may handle Jeremiyah Love decision if no trade emerges

"It's widely known around the league the Cardinals would prefer to trade down from that spot," Graziano wrote. "If the Jets take [Ohio State pass-rusher Arvell Reese at No. 2] and there's a team out there, such as, say, the Chiefs at No. 9 that wants to make a big move up for [Texas Tech defensive end David Bailey], a deal could come together that could net Arizona extra picks. If there's a team out there that wants to come up to No. 3 for Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, the Cardinals would listen. If there's no deal for the third pick, I believe...the Cardinals would draft Love."

Multiple analysts have named Love the best overall offensive prospect in this year's draft class. Graziano is among those who think the Los Angeles Rams, a team famous for its "[expletive] them picks" mentality, could make a blockbuster trade to move up from selection No. 13 to grab Love so he could make life easier for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. 

If no trade emerges, however, some would criticize a Cardinals team that seemingly isn't ready to compete for much of note in 2026 for using a high-value draft pick to acquire a ball-carrier. Based on Schrager's "latest intel," those running the Cardinals may not care about such takes. 

Why Cardinals may make easy Jeremiyah Love decision

"This could be a trade-down spot, and I believe Arizona is listening," Schrager wrote for his final mock draft. "Teams like the Chiefs and Saints could have interest in getting into position to take Reese. But I also think the Cardinals could just take Love. Again, forget about positional value this year -- most people see him as the top player in the draft, and he could be a jolt to the Cards' offense. Love moves the needle for a team trying to get back in the mix in a crowded NFC West."

Just about every report related to this subject has indicated the Cardinals are open for business regarding the third pick. It sounds like Love may be calling Arizona home if the Cardinals don't find a buyer for their top draft asset by the time it has to be spent on Thursday.