Jeremiyah Love going in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is a foregone conclusion. The only question is just how high the Notre Dame football star will go. The outlook for Jadarian Price has been less clear. Price will get drafted, but there isn't agreement on what round. However, if Mel Kiper is correct in his latest mock draft, not only will Price join Love in the first round, but they will claim a piece of college football history.
Love might have overshadowed Price during the regular season, but the latter made it clear he, too, can be a starting running back in the NFL in 2026. Then he went out and had a fantastic NFL Combine, and the running back saw his stock start to rise.
His stock has risen so much that Kiper believes both Price and Love could get drafted in the first round. Should that happen, the Notre Dame duo would be just the fifth all-time running back tandem selected from the same school in the first round.
Mel Kiper projects Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to make Notre Dame football history in Round 1
Kiper believes Love is Tennessee Titans bound with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft:
"We haven't seen a running back go this early since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 eight years ago, but Love has the goods to come off the board in the top five. And while the case could easily be made that Tennessee has other, more important holes to fill on its roster, it'd be a mistake to look at Love solely as a traditional running back."
Notre Dame could have two runningbacks selected in the first round for the fifth time ever
The ESPN analyst went on to say that Love's ability to catch the ball makes him even more valuable. The Irish showed that off to teams plenty in 2025, even lining him up at receiver every now and then.
As far as Price, Kiper believes the Seattle Seahawks'll select him with the final pick of the first round:
"Kenneth Walker III signed in Kansas City, and Zach Charbonnet is working back from a torn ACL. Price might not have been the RB1 at Notre Dame," Kiper wrote. "But he can be one in the NFL. He's powerful and fast, averaging 6.0 yards per carry over his career and scoring 11 touchdowns last season."
Should Notre Dame see both quarterbacks come off the board on the first day, it would not only be a point of pride, but one heck of a recruiting tool for Marcus Freeman, Ja'Juan Seider, and Co.
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