Todd McShay the Latest to Project Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love as 1st-Round NFL Pick

ESPN Analyst Todd McShay has Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love as a first-round pick in next year's NFL Draft.

Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) celebrates a first down in the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Not one single college football game has been played, let alone an NFL regular-season game, yet experts are still posting their mock draft boards for the 2026 NFL Draft. NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay posted his Preseason Mock Draft on Friday, and McShay has one Notre Dame player getting selected in the first round.

As for who it is, well, that shouldn't surprise you. It's undeniably Notre Dame's best player, running back Jeremiyah Love.

🚨Fired up for the season! Dropping my First EVER “Appropriately Early” 2026 NFL Mock Draft. I take a deep dive in my latest newsletter. Subscribe here (for free!) ➡️ https://t.co/TZ7RXmrVsy #nfl #nfldraft #mockdraft #cfb pic.twitter.com/PqWJBTZ2tX

— Todd McShay (@McShay13) August 15, 2025

McShay has Love as the only running back getting taken in the first round and has him going No. 17 to Arizona. I agree Love will be the only running back taken in the first round, but don't be surprised if Love gets taken in the top 15, or maybe even the top 10 depending on how well he plays this year.

Love is a First Team Preseason All-American and a Heisman Finalist sleeper after rushing for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore last year, and if all goes well this year could be on the cusp of a Reggie Bush-esque season.

JEREMIYAH LOVE 98 AND OUT THE GATE!

FIRST EVER 12 TEAM PLAYOFF TOUCHDOWN!
pic.twitter.com/oH6XR03Qb8

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 21, 2024

Love is only a junior so he could potentially return to South Bend for his senior season next year, but the odds of that happening are highly unlikely. The Reggie Bush comparison is bold, but Love has a very similar skill set to the former USC star and the Fighting Irish will need him to play at that type of level if they want to get back to the National Championship.

WHOA!
Jeremiyah Love with a POWERFUL run. pic.twitter.com/tBUcQd6ibC

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 30, 2024

Back to McShay having only one Notre Dame player going in the first round. That surprised me, even for a team that didn't have anyone go in the first-round last year. If Benjamin Morrison didn't get hurt last season, he probably would have gone in the first round, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Love, Charles Jagusah, and Virginia transfer Malachi Fields could go in the first round this year.

Jagusah will need to show NFL teams that he can stay healthy once he returns to the field after breaking his arm in a UTV accident in July, while Fields will need to demonstrate that last year wasn't a fluke. Overall, McShay's Mock Draft looked pretty good -- except for the whole four quarterbacks going in the top 15 -- but as I mentioned before, it's early. And as far as I'm concerned, way too early to be posting mock drafts.