Cardinals 

The Cardinals made headlines by taking RB Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. When speaking to people around the league, Mike Sando of The Athletic cites one anonymous executive who is skeptical about the decision, given they signed RB Tyler Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million contract this offseason, but thinks Love can eventually become the face of the franchise. 

“They’re not one piece away, and they put money into (running back) Tyler Allgeier — like, I get why people push back on the Love pick,” the executive said. “But at the same time, ownership is trying to sell tickets, they don’t have a face of the franchise and this guy can fit that bill.”

Another executive thinks that Love is a “special” player, even though the roster probably isn’t ready for a premier running back. 

“Is the roster ready for a running back? Probably not, but there was no real flashing light to pick other than Love,” the executive said. “If the owner wanted the back, like everybody said, that is not a hill you are going to die on as a GM. Love is special.”

As for third-round QB Carson Beck, one executive thinks the selection only makes sense if Beck becomes the starter. 

“If you play Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew the whole year, you have wasted the pick on Beck,” the executive said. “The Beck pick makes sense if he is your starter. It’s like, ‘We know we suck, we roll the dice and maybe we hit on a QB,’ because if you can pick in the top 10 next year and not need a QB, you are in good shape.”

Rams

• There’s been some speculation about Rams HC Sean McVay showing bad body language following their selection of Ty Simpson at No. 13 overall. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic shoots that notion down, pointing out that Los Angeles would never pick a player that McVay “does not emphatically want.”
• Rodrigue mentions that neither McVay nor GM Les Snead “unilaterally” makes draft decisions, and both must be completely on board with their choices. 
• Rodrigue believes that McVay was attempting to “downplay” their selection of Simpson with Matthew Stafford in mind, and the coach intends to be respectful of their veteran quarterback. 
• Regarding Stafford’s contract, Rodrigue cites a league source who indicated that the two sides have made progress. 
• Rodrigue cites league sources, team sources, and a conversation with McVay himself as reasons why she knows the organization is “very high” on Simpson. 

Seahawks

• According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Seattle was targeting San Diego State CB Chris Johnson, who went a few picks before them to the Miami Dolphins. The Seahawks entertained trades with the Titans and Giants but ultimately decided to stand pat and pick rookie RB Jadarian Price.
• Tennessee opted to trade up ahead of the Seahawks, which led to concern that they were taking Price after being linked to fellow Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love during the pre-draft process.
• Seahawks GM John Schneider admitted during the pre-draft process that the team was looking to trade out of 32 and get more picks, but that never came to fruition. They ultimately decided to not get cute with Price: “Great player, great person. We thought he had some opportunities for a minute. They fell apart. There was a lot of trading going on right ahead of us, but he kind of stood alone.“
• The Seahawks regularly bring in players before the draft as part of the evaluation process. The team hosted TCU DB Bud Clark, who they drafted in the second round.
• Schneider told a story about a prospect they brought in to the building in the past who thought he was complaining to a staffer but it turns out he was talking to Schneider. The team didn’t feel like they had any of those concerns with Clark: “He’s a blast. Mike and I were talking about the personalities throughout the process. Like, man, if we put Bud and Spoon in the same room, what’s going to happen?”
• Seattle selected Arkansas CB Julian Neal in the third round to replace CB Riq Woolen, who the team felt wasn’t as sound or as willing a tackler as they preferred.
• On Neal, Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald said: “He has great traits, he’s got a great work ethic, super competitive, he’s smart. Those are all the ingredients that we believe can add up to playing even better football as his career grows.“