The Arizona Cardinals pulled off the first surprise of draft night, selecting Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love third overall. There were a lot of rumors linking the Cardinals to Love heading into the night, but I don’t think many people expected them to actually pick Love at No. 3. The Cardinals were looking to move back, didn’t get the offer they wanted, and made Love the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley. But was it the right decision?

Look, I love Jeremiyah Love. He was my No. 2 player in this draft class, and I was hoping he’d somehow fall to my New Orleans Saints at No. 8 despite the fact that they signed Travis Etienne in free agency. He’s such a dynamic playmaker who can transform an offense, but the question has to be asked: is he a luxury the Cardinals can afford?

The Raiders Proved Why the Cardinals Shouldn’t Have Drafted Love

I understand the Cardinals needed to build a better run game. They were the 31st-ranked rushing offense last year, averaging just 93.1 rushing yards per game. Only the Las Vegas Raiders were worse, averaging 77.5 rushing yards per game, but that leads me directly into my first point.

Last year, the Raiders, who were in a very similar situation to the Cardinals, selected Ashton Jeanty sixth overall. They had so many other needs, but they took the luxury pick anyway, and look where it landed them. They had the first overall pick in this year’s draft, and while getting Fernando Mendoza isn’t a bad thing for them, they had the worst rushing offense in football, won three games and saw their first-year head coach get fired after drafting Jeanty, all because they just weren’t ready to make a pick like that.

I see this working out the same way for Arizona. Instead of filling one of their major needs at a premium position, they took a popular running back who will make their offense more dynamic, but will he really add that many wins to your total in 2026? I don’t think so.

Love is Going to be One of the highest-paid RBs in the League

One reason teams don’t like to use high selections on running backs is because the contracts don’t add up. At No. 3, you could be paying an elite edge rusher like Arvell Reese $13 million per season for the next four years, which would make him the 35th-highest-paid edge in the league. Instead, you’re now paying that same contract to Love, making him the 7th-highest-paid RB in the league and the one with the most guarantees by a wide margin.

Love’s rookie deal will pay him approximately $13.5 million a season. He is making more money per year than Travis Etienne, Josh Jacobs, James Cook and Kyren Williams. His $53.9 million in guarantees (first-round rookie contracts are always fully guaranteed) would give him the most guaranteed money of any running back in football, with second place being Saquon Barkley, who has $36 million in guarantees. That’s almost $20 million more than any other RB.

I’m not saying Love doesn’t deserve this kind of money, because he’s going to end up being a top-five running back in the league one day, but the value just isn’t there for a team like Arizona. They should’ve taken one of the star defenders or even a tackle and gotten much better value.

Other holes Arizona needed to fill at No. 3

The Cardinals didn’t have a top-end running back heading into the draft, but they did have three guys that together could’ve been a serviceable rotation. James Connor and Trey Benson are both coming off injuries, but when they’re on the field, they’re both good running backs. And behind them (or in front of them?), the Cardinals brought in Tyler Allgeier to add even more depth to the position. Needless to say, running back was far from their biggest need.

Right tackle has been a revolving door for Arizona, and right now, they’re slated to start Elijah Wilkinson at tackle. That’s not ideal. This draft class also had seven very promising tackles in it, but everyone knew that if you missed out on that tackle run in round one, your chances of finding a starter later in the draft are very slim. Instead of moving back and selecting one, they took the running back they didn’t need, and now their chances of finding a starter at right tackle are very low.

But even if they didn’t get the trade package they wanted to move back and take a tackle, there were plenty of defenders on the board that could’ve helped them out, namely, Arvell Reese. The Cardinals need help off the edge, but even if he didn’t work out as an edge rusher, he could slide to off-ball linebacker, where the Cardinals also need help. Sonny Styles, the athletic freak, was also still on the board and also could’ve been in consideration at No. 3.

We’ll never know what Arizona was offered to move back, but they would’ve been much better off moving back a few slots and taking a tackle or taking Reese or Styles at No. 3, than drafting a running back.

Again, I love Jeremiyah Love as much as the next guy, but he’s a luxury Arizona cannot afford right now unless they want to be right back picking in the top three next year.