As the 2026 NFL Draft draws nearer, players like Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love are getting a lot of attention from scouts and team personnel.
Love is currently penciled in as the No. 4 overall draft pick in PFSN’s Consensus Big Board. Yet is there a chance that another Fighting Irish running back could also go in the first round?
NFL Analyst Thinks 24-TD Notre Dame RB Could Be High Draft Pick
While Love is getting, well, a lot of love from draft experts, don’t take your eyes off of his backup, running back Jadarian Price. Price is currently listed as the No. 3 running back on the PFSN Consensus Big Board.
When looking at running back options ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, NFL analyst Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated offered some thoughts about Price.
“I think it’s possible that Jadarian Price, Jeremiyah Love’s backup at Notre Dame, has an outside shot to sneak in the bottom of the round, on the premise that there is a big dropoff after the two Irish backs go,” Breer wrote.
“In other words, if you have a need at the position, you may view Price as your last chance to get a ready-made starter in this year’s class, so you may push him up the board a little bit,” Breer continued.
In three seasons with the Fighting Irish, Price recorded 24 career touchdowns (21 rushing, 3 receiving). Price also has 1,692 career rushing yards during his time with Notre Dame under head coach Marcus Freeman.
“Jadarian Price naturally gets overlooked at times in the shadow of Heisman finalist and likely first-round pick Jeremiyah Love, but make no mistake: Price is just as compelling as an NFL Draft prospect in his own range,” according to his PFSN scouting report.
“Price might be a bit smaller and leaner than Love, but his utility as a creator and an explosive vertical threat should translate on Sundays,” PFSN’s analysis continued. “Price has a great blend of vision, spatial instincts, foot speed, smooth fluidity, and cutting range, and he goes 0-to-100 in a blink when he has a runway to attack.”
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Price’s top 5 traits, according to the PFSN Consensus Big Board, are explosiveness, long speed, physicality, agility/twitch, and balance. His explosiveness tops that list at this time, though. Additional traits for Price include vision, pass blocking, and creative instincts.
So, if some NFL teams were looking at Love and hoping to land him, but can’t do it, then Price might be a fallback for them as the 2026 NFL Draft rolls along.
