Four Fighting Irish stars are projected early in the 2026 NFL Draft, including a top-10 running back and potent offensive weapons.
Notre Dame has several players looking to hear their name called in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the Irish offense is especially loaded with top draft prospects. In the latest mock draft from NFL.com, the Irish had four different players projected to be drafted in the first two rounds. As expected, all four were standouts for the Fighting Irish offense.
The first player projected is All-American running back Jeremiyah Love, who NFL.com writer Chad Reuter has going No. 8 overall to the New Orleans Saints.
"Alvin Kamara will turn 31 this summer, and former third-round pick Kendre Miller has struggled to stay on the field (21 games in three seasons). Love is a true dual threat (2,497 rushing yards, 55 catches and 40 total TDs over the past two seasons) out of the backfield; Saints fans will, yes, love seeing the Golden Domer in black and gold." - Chad Reuter, NFL.com
Love was a unanimous All-American for the Irish this past season and also became the program's first ever Doak Walker Award winner.
The surprise was that Reuter had three former Irish standouts going in round two. First is wide receiver Malachi Fields, who Reuter projects to No. 44 overall to the New York Jets. Fields finished his career with 165 catches, 2,479 yards and 16 touchdowns. He showed big play ability as a senior for Notre Dame, averaging 17.5 yards per catch. After a strong final season with the Irish, Fields went on to have a dominant week at the Senior Bowl, and that has raised his draft stock.
Reuter projects former Irish starting guard Billy Schrauth to go No. 53 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers. When he was healthy the last two seasons Schrauth was quite good. Schrauth started 22 games over the last three seasons for Notre Dame. In those games with Schrauth in the starting lineup, the Irish offense averaged 205.8 rushing yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry. Schrauth was even better as a pass blocker. He allowed just one sacks in the last two seasons and only gave up two total pressures during the 2025 season (PFF).
The final Notre Dame player projected in round two is running back Jadarian Price, who Reuter projects to go No. 59 overall to the Houston Texans. Price rushed for 1,692 yards and 21 touchdowns during his Notre Dame career, averaging 6.0 yards per carry during his career. Price was also an impact return man for the Irish, returning three kickoffs for touchdowns, including two against USC (2023, 2025).
Love and Price were also the first two running backs projected to go in the NFL Draft according to Reuter. That's a common theme among mock drafts that go beyond the first round.
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!