{"id":261427,"date":"2026-01-02T16:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T21:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=261427"},"modified":"2026-01-02T16:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T21:34:18","slug":"cowboys-mock-draft-has-team-selecting-heisman-trophy-finalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/02\/cowboys-mock-draft-has-team-selecting-heisman-trophy-finalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys Mock Draft Has Team Selecting Heisman Trophy Finalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notre Dame\u2019s Jeremiyah Love is considered the top running back prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. Will the Dallas Cowboys scoop him up? Recently, Luke Easterling<\/a> of Athlon Sports released a Cowboys mock draft. He has the team taking Love with the 14th overall pick:<\/p>\n

\u201c14. Dallas Cowboys Jeremiyah Love RB Notre Dame<\/strong><\/p>\n

Would Jerry Jones<\/a> do it? Maybe not. But with two first-round picks, he might be willing to afford a luxury with one of them. Love is a top-five talent in this draft, regardless of position, and he brings a ton of juice as a three-down playmaker that would help Dak Prescott<\/a> and the offense in a big way. With Javonte Williams on an expiring one-year deal, Dallas could find a new featured back.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems like most drafts have Jeremiyah Love going to the Kansas City Chiefs. But he could certainly wind up in Dallas.<\/p>\n

Cowboys Mock Draft Has the Team Selecting Running Back Jeremiyah Love<\/h2>\n

Love\u2019s Career Thus Far<\/h3>\n

Jeremiyah Love attended Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis. During his senior year, he rushed for 1,291 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 370 yards and five touchdowns.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Love received college offers from schools like Michigan, Oregon, and Texas A&M. Yet, he committed to Notre Dame. During his first collegiate season, he recorded\u00a0<\/sup>385 rushing yards, 77 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.\u00a0<\/sup><\/p>\n

Love became a starter in 2024, replacing Audric Estime<\/a>, who went to the NFL. He wound up rushing for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns while catching 28 passes for 237 yards and two scores. Love helped Notre Dame reach the National Championship Game, where they lost to Ohio State.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Love and the Fighting Irish ended the regular season with a 10-2 record. Love rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also hauled in 27 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, he was a finalist<\/a> for the Heisman Trophy. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza<\/a> ultimately won the award.<\/p>\n

Should the Cowboys Draft Him?<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Sep 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams (33) runs against Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) and safety Evan Williams (33) in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

This has been a disappointing season for the Cowboys. The team owns a 7-8-1 record and are eliminated from playoff contention.<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be interesting to see if they re-sign free agent wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens, though, isn’t the Cowboys\u2019 only big-name free agent this offseason. Running back Javonte Williams will also be looking for a new contract.<\/p>\n

Last offseason, Dallas signed Williams to a one-year deal worth just $3.5 million. The former North Carolina Tar Heel was brought in to compete with Miles Sanders<\/a> for the starting job. However, Williams separated himself from Sanders and put together a breakout year. This season, he has rushed for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns (both career-highs).<\/p>\n

Needless to say, Williams will be seeking a pay increase this offseason. Jeremiyah Love could be an excellent replacement. He has legit track speed as well as high-end acceleration, and could develop into one of the NFL\u2019s best running backs.<\/p>\n

However, the Cowboys have struggled defensively. The team has two first-round picks this year, thanks to the Micah Parsons trade<\/a>. Dallas needs to use both picks on defenders instead of a running back. So no, the Cowboys shouldn’t draft Jeremiyah Love.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Main Image: Michael Clubb\/South Bend Tribune\/ USA Today Network Via Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent Cowboys mock draft, the team selects Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the 14th overall pick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":259423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,19],"tags":[7422,7580,33664],"class_list":["post-261427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-cowboys","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-javonte-williams","tag-jeremiyah-love"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261427"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261430,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261427\/revisions\/261430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}