Three Notre Dame stars project high in the NFL Draft, with a Heisman finalist leading the charge. See where they'll land.
The 2026 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the now the question is where and when some of the top prospects will be taken. For Notre Dame, there's three players that have gotten consistent love, no pun intended, and have been projected to go somewhere in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft. ESPN's Jordan Reid also believes three former Irish stars will go somewhere in the top two rounds starting with the Doak Walker Award winner.
No. 8 - Running Back Jeremiyah Love, New Orleans Saints
"The Saints hit at quarterback with Tyler Shough last year, so let's get him a backfield mate to grow alongside," Reid explained. "I believe that Love is the best player in this draft and could succeed Alvin Kamara, who will be 31 next season and in the last year of his contract. The Saints had the lowest percentage of 10-plus-yard runs last season (7.8%). Meanwhile, Love had 39 runs of 10 yards or more in 2025, fourth best in the FBS. He also had two 90-plus-yard touchdown runs. Adding him would not only give coach Kellen Moore an explosive runner but a capable pass catcher, too."
Love would be used in the Saint's offense very similar to how Kamara was used, but likely with more production on the ground. As odd as it is to type out, despite his illustrious career with New Orleans, Kamara was never an 1000-yard rusher; the closes he ever got was 950 yards in 2024, but his production as a pass catcher was unmatched. We'll likely see a great blend with Love down in New Orleans; the St. Louis native would be a more than suitable replacement for Kamara.
The 6-0, 212-pound running back ended his Notre Dame career with 2,882 rushing yards, averaged 6.7 yards per carry, totaled 26 rushing touchdowns, caught 63 passes for 594 yards and ended with six receiving touchdowns. He was also named the Doak Walker Award winner for 2025 and finished as a Heisman Finalist.
No. 50 - Running Back Jadarian Price, Detroit Lions
"After trading David Montgomery to Houston, the Lions need a bigger back to team up with Jahmyr Gibbs," Reid said about the Texas native. "Price is a strong runner who complemented Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame and can do the same with Gibbs."
Despite rotating in with Love throughout his career, Price still put up monster numbers as a key rotational back. The 5-11, 203-pound running back rushed for 1,420 yards, 18 touchdowns, caught 10 passes for 97 yards and had two receiving touchdowns in the last two seasons despite Love putting up Heisman-level numbers in South Bend. Price also added several kick returns for touchdowns during his time with the Irish including two against USC on two separate occasions and one against Purdue; two of his kick returns for touchdowns came in 2025.
The Lions have shown their willingness to use a two-back, sometimes three-back, rotation throughout the season. Love has drawn a lot of comparisons to Gibbs making Price's presence in Detroit a familiar site for the former Notre Dame back. Price has a little more burst than what Montgomery brought to the table and will be, at the bare minimum, the same level of a pass catcher which is not a bad thing.
No. 62 - Wide Receiver Malachi Fields, Denver Broncos
"The Broncos get quarterback Bo Nix some help here with Fields, a big perimeter presence who's capable of winning down the field," Reid said about the former Fighting Irish boundary receiver. "He also plays with enough physicality to garner tough targets in intermediate areas."
Denver's offense almost exclusively showcased length, big-bodied receivers in 2025. Veteran Courtland Sutton is 6-4, 216-pounds, Lil'Jordan Humphrey is 6-4, 225-pounds, Pat Bryant is 6-2, 204-pounds and Troy Franklin is 6-3, 180-pounds. Fields at 6-4, 218-pounds fits the mold of the Broncos receiver corps and would likely be used in the same capacity as Sutton who has had back-to-back 1000-yard seasons with Nix at quarterback.
Fields is one of the more productive receivers in the 2026 NFL Draft class. The Virginia native caught 165 passes for 2,479 yards, averaged 15.0 yards per catch and hauled in 16 touchdowns throughout his collegiate career. Sutton will turn 31 this season making Fields a viable replacement for the soon-to-be nine-year NFL veteran sometime down the road. His contested catch ability and hand strength are very similar to what the former SMU receiver brought to the table in Denver.
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