Where Notre Dame Are Players Projected In Way Too Early 2026 Nfl Mock

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 3:49 AM

where notre dame are players projected in way too early 2026 nfl mock

The Monday after the NFL draft might as well be a national holiday: Way-Too-Early Mock Draft Day. This year, Notre Dame junior running back Jeremiyah Love is a staple in nearly every 2026 edition. Where do the experts have Love going, and will any Notre Dame players join him? Here’s a roundup of every prominent way-too-early 2026 mock draft (and a big board) on the internet. This story will be updated as more 2026 mock drafts publish online (ESPN and the Associated Press had yet to publish theirs as of Tuesday morning). CBS Sports I: No.

14 (Dallas Cowboys)The Athletic: No. 14 (Dallas Cowboys)Bleacher Report: No. 14 (Seattle Seahawks)33rd Team: No. 26 (Cincinnati Bengals)Fox Sports: No. 16 (Chicago Bears)USA TODAY Sports: No. 18 (Houston Texans)The Draft Network: No.

28 (Baltimore Ravens)Windy City Gridiron: No. 16 (Chicago Bears)Pro Football Focus: No. 16 (Chicago Bears)Athlon Sports: No. 18 (Houston Texans)SB Nation: No. 23 (big board) After what happened to Benjamin Morrison, we need to add a “barring injury” qualifier whenever we talk about Love in this context.

So, with that being said: Barring injury, Love is a slam-dunk first-round pick. Notre Dame has had more players selected in the NFL Draft than any other college football program and early returns for 2026 show the Fighting Irish growing that number. Will Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame see a player taken in the first round after no Fighting Irish stars went in round one this year? We're just over a week removed from the 2025 NFL Draft, but already Pro Football Focus has released its 2026 NFL Draft Big Board. In it, four Notre Dame players are listed in the rankings that look over the top 200 NFL prospects entering the 2026 college football season. Notre Dame's best chance at a first round selection in 2026 comes from star running back Jeremiyah Love according to the piece.

It ranks the star runner as the seventh overall player in the draft class, that includes any player that will be draft eligible next year. Two more Notre Dame players cracked the top-100 as offensive tackle Aamil Wagner is ranked 68th and linebacker Drayk Bowen checks in 89th. Wagner started all 16 games for Notre Dame last season at right tackle and seems to be a shoo-in to start at the same position this coming fall. Bowen made big strides as a sophomore last season and figures to be one of Notre Dame's top defensive players this year. The final player Pro Football Focus put in its top-200 from Notre Dame was wide receiver Jaden Greathouse who checked in at No. 131 overall.

Greathouse is coming off a huge postseason where he took a big step and will hopefully use that as momentum heading into his junior year. Attempting to chart the course of the NFL draft even a day out can be a dicey proposition. Attempting to make accurate projections a full year out is an exercise in futility. The best way to approach a way-too-early 2026 NFL mock draft, then, is as a thought exercise. The coming college football season will inevitably result in great shifts, as the likes of Cam Ward, Jalon Walker and Derrick Harmon were hardly household names at this point a year ago before rocketing... But the early forecast can provide an informative sketch of where things stand at the moment.

And while some of college football's biggest stars – including Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams and South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart – still must wait an additional... One additional note here: Arch Manning's omission from this forecast is intentional rather an oversight. While the Texas quarterback will no doubt be the focus of draft talk in the coming months, it's too difficult to peg whether he will be able to deliver on the unprecedented hype after... Perhaps equally as important, there's no guaranteeing that a passer who has been uncommonly patient in resisting the transfer portal while remaining a backup will feel any pressure to make the leap after next... With a draft order loosely based on where each team's Super Bowl odds stand, here's our way-too-early projection for next year's first round. In passing up Travis Hunter to acquire an additional first-round pick for 2026, the Browns sent a clear signal that they're pinning their hopes for a full relaunch one year from now.

A central part of that effort will be getting a clean break from the Deshaun Watson debacle by positioning themselves for a marquee quarterback. Allar isn't the clearcut front-runner to go No. 1, but the Medina, Ohio, native possesses several qualities that could make him a hometown hero in this scenario. The 6-5, 238-pounder exhibits truly elite arm strength that he can unleash in a moment's notice, both from the pocket and on the run. While he still has to grow more consistent with his footwork and anticipation, he could claim the top spot on draft boards if he makes another significant leap comparable to the one he took... Stocks have already risen or fallen around 2026 NFL Draft prospects just one week into the college football season.

The Washington Commanders are a long way off from making their choices just yet, but that doesn't mean those behind the scenes or scouting on the road aren't keeping a close eye on developments. Needs will be determined by Washington's efforts throughout the campaign. Nothing has been decided one way or another as yet, but one draft analyst believes general manager Adam Peters could set his sights on a legitimate three-down running back to put alongside quarterback sensation... The Commanders traded Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers this offseason. This leaves them with Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, Chris Rodriguez Jr., and seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

It's an interesting dynamic, but only Kliff Kingsbury knows how the wealth is going to be shared. Anthony Licciardi from Sporting News doesn't believe Croskey-Merritt's surging summer hype will be enough for the Commanders to ignore reinforcements in 2026. He had Washington picking Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love at No. 24 overall in his latest mock draft, which would provide Kingsbury's offense a home-run threat they might not have right now. Love is a phenomenal talent. He burst onto the scene in 2024 with the Fighting Irish, gaining 1,125 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.

He was restricted to just 33 yards on 10 carries in Notre Dame's first game of the season, but it was a poor afternoon at the office for everybody. The dust is starting to settle on the 2025 draft. Most of the notable undrafted free agents have found their initial landing spots and teams are finalizing their camp rosters. Before we turn the page to the summer, let’s take an early look at how the 2026 draft could play out. First, a disclaimer. This far out, it is virtually impossible to project team needs for next year’s draft.

This year’s rookies haven’t even started mandatory minicamp yet! As such, this exercise is much more about highlighting players to watch this upcoming college season than specific prospect-to-team fits. I tried to avoid giving teams players at positions they’re loaded at or just picked highly in this draft, but beyond that, this is a player showcase. Draft order is based on Tankathon’s projected 2026 draft order. Later this summer, I’ll do my summer scouting series for the 2026 class, so stay tuned for that in the future. Without further ado, let’s dive in:

Yes, it’s the year of (maybe?) Arch Manning. Even though he’s only started two games in college, he is draft-eligible in 2026. Currently, it sounds like the plan is for Manning to play two more years of college ball before declaring, but plans can change. He’s the current betting favorite for the Heisman, and in that scenario, it’s hard to see him staying. As for the Browns, they need a rookie quarterback reset after the Deshaun Watson debacle. If either of their two 2025 rookie signal-callers (Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders) pan out, their plans might change.

But given the draft capital invested, that seems unlikely. The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books, and the dog days of the offseason are just getting started, so what better time to start looking ahead to the 2026 NFL Mock Draft! While the current NFL and college football seasons will take this 2026 NFL Mock Draft and flip it on its head multiple times between now and next April, it is a worthwhile exercise to... Here, we took the tankathon.com 2026 draft order and matched up every team with a prospect who should fill a need and be able to make the team better in a few years. Just one note before we jump in: Remember that two teams—the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons— don’t currently have first-round picks after trading them to the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams, respectively, during... This is a pick that NFL pundits have predicted since the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning was a few years into his high school career.

Only a junior and entering his first year as a starter, Arch Manning may stay in Austin for another season and not come out until the 2027 NFL Draft. However, if he does declare, it’s hard not to see him as the No. 1 pick. Technically, rookie Tyler Shough is the Saints' starter for the rest of the season. When New Orleans goes on the clock in the 2026 NFL Draft, Shough will almost certainly become the latest high-round pick whose team uses an even higher-round pick 12 months later in the hopes... The Panthers did it in 2011 when they took Cam Newton No.

1 overall, and the Cardinals did it eight years later when they selected Kyler Murray with the top pick. And as we sit here, nine weeks into the 2026 season, the Saints are staring that first-overall selection in the face. There will no doubt be discussions in the building about trading down and what such a draft haul might do to reset this roster, but if the organization feels that Fernando Mendoza or Ty... Former Titans GM Ran Carthon and I talked about this last week on "With the First Pick," our NFL Draft podcast: In my Mock Draft 2.0, I have just three QBs going in the first round -- and one via trade; after trading down from No. 2 to No.

5 last April, the Browns move up from No. 6 to No. 2 in this excerise for a quarterback. And much like the conversation surrounding Shough, it's fair to assume that neither Dylan Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders (or any other QB currently on Cleveland's roster) will be penciled in as the 2026 starter...

Where Notre Dame Are Players Projected In Way Too Early 2026 Nfl Mock

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