The Cardinals walked into the 2026 NFL Draft with a room full of running backs and came out with the loudest moment of the night. With the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday night, Arizona took Jeremiyah Love from Notre Dame, a dual threat with great hands and elite speed.
The selection came with a price tag that underscored how far the Cardinals were willing to go for him: an estimated $50.5 million contract and a $30 million signing bonus. It also came as the most exhilarating moment of the draft, the kind of swing that changes the mood of a franchise in a hurry.
Dan Bickley captured the reaction in plain terms. The Cardinals produced a roar on Thursday night, he wrote, adding that it was a sound they do not hear very often. He said Love gave Arizona a running back and its relevancy back, and called the Cardinals a franchise in serious need of sizzle, juice and oomph.
The pick was bold because the Cardinals did not need another running back when they made it. They were coming off a 3-14 season, and the roster already had multiple backs in place. Arizona nevertheless chose to take the best player on the board and, in doing so, put its money where its mouth was.
That is where the Cardinals’ past hangs over the present. In 2004, after a 4-12 season, they drafted Bryant Johnson and Anquan Boldin in the first three picks of the previous draft before taking Larry Fitzgerald, a move that eventually produced the most important player in franchise history. Love’s arrival invites the same kind of judgment now, especially for a team with a poor history at running back.
There is another layer to the draft night ripple. The Rams used the 13th overall pick on Alabama’s Ty Simpson, who will be groomed as the successor to reigning MVP Matthew Stafford. Arizona’s move did not just alter its own backfield; it became part of a division race that is already starting to sort itself out.
For the Cardinals, though, the meaning is simpler. They took the swing, took the heat and took the player they believed was worth the noise. After a 3-14 season, that may be the first sign of real ambition they have shown in a long time.
