Mel Kiper Jr. projects two Notre Dame running backs to hear their names called early in the 2026 NFL Draft, igniting a debate about dual backfield selections.
There are now 58 days until the 2026 NFL Draft and the mock drafts are starting to get cranked out in high volume. NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. just released his lates mock draft and had two Notre Dame standouts going in the first round. The first was an obvious choice in star running back Jeremiyah Love who won the Doak Walker Award and ended the regular season as one of four Heisman finalists.
"Love is No. 2 on my Big Board, showcasing elite-level vision and burst," Kiper explained in his latest article on ESPN. "He can make a house call any time he touches the ball, and with his hands out of the backfield, he can stick on the field on third down. Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are free agents, and they weren't exactly lighting up the ground game last season anyway. Love -- who had 1,372 rushing yards and 18 rushing TDs in 2025 -- could bring a whole new element to the Kansas City offense."
The St. Louis native is the highest ranked running back in the 2026 draft class according to multiple analysts including Kiper. Love ended the season with 1,372 rushing yards, averaged 6.9 yards per carry and had 18 rushing touchdowns. He also added three receiving touchdowns and 280 receiving yards as well through 12 games. Love has consistently been a high first-round projection, but joining him in Kiper's latest mock draft is fellow running back Irish Jadarian Price.
"Per ESPN Research, this would be the fourth time two running backs from the same school both went in Round 1 -- and the first time since 2008, when Arkansas' Darren McFadden and Felix Jones were Day 1 selections," Kiper stated. "But just because Price was second on the Fighting Irish's depth chart to Jeremiyah Love doesn't mean he can't be an RB1 in the NFL. He's a powerful runner who plays a one-cut-and-go brand of football."
"There are ball security concerns (four lost fumbles over three years), and we haven't seen a ton from him as a pass catcher, but Price is dynamic," Kiper continued. "He ran for 11 touchdowns, caught two TD passes and scored two more times on kickoff returns last season. The Texans lacked juice in the run game. Woody Marks is probably more of a change-of-pace guy, Nick Chubb is a free agent, and Joe Mixon's future is uncertain. Time for an upgrade."
We watched, for the last two seasons, the duo of Love and Price run wild against opposing defenses. In the last two seasons, both backs combined for 3,917 rushing yards, 53 rushing touchdowns and seven receiving touchdowns. Both backs are atop of Kiper's top running back prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. Add in boundary receiver Malachi Fields to the mix, there's an outside chance that Notre Dame has three players taken in the first round of this year's NFL Draft.
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