When Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is healthy, he seems like he could potentially be the heir apparent to Baltimore Ravens quarterback and 2-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson as the league’s next great dual-threat quarterback.
That’s not necessarily a good thing.
After taking the NFL by storm as a rookie in 2024, Daniels is coming off a sophomore campaign in which he looked decidedly mortal and missed 10 games due to a variety of injuries.
The Commanders might very well want to limit but not eliminate Daniels’ opportunities to run, and 1 way they could keep teams honest is if Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love somehow falls to them with the No. 7 overall pick in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL draft.
That’s the scenario ESPN’s Jordan Reid predicts will happen in his latest 7-round mock draft, along with the forecast of stormy weather for opponents when Daniels and Love line up in the same backfield.
“The Commanders need help everywhere, so I have them taking the player I feel is the best in this year’s class,” Reid wrote on Monday. “Love is an explosive play waiting to happen and would unlock multiple layers of the playbook that Washington couldn’t access last season. He rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025 and had 39 runs of 10 or more yards, fourth most in the FBS. Having quarterback Jayden Daniels and Love together would strike fear in NFL defenses.”
Love to Commanders Seems Like Long Shot
There are several reasons why Love, thought by many to be the best overall player in this year’s draft, won’t fall to the Commanders.
The 1st is that his draft stock has continued to rise so much leading up to the draft that by Monday, and just 3 days before the 1st round was set to begin, Love was being talked about as going as high as the No. 3 overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals.
The idea of him dropping to the Commanders at No. 7 overall seems like such a long shot as to not be considered, but who knows how things might play out?
The other reason why Love seems unlikely to come to the Commanders is that, for all intents and purposes, they seem like they might already be set at running back for 2026.
Commanders Signed 2 Running Backs in Free Agency
Washington returns promising running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt for his 2nd season after he led the Commanders with 805 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns to go with 4.6 yards per carry as a rookie.
The Commanders also signed 2 free agent running backs on team-friendly, 1-year contracts with Rachaad White and Jerome Ford.
White is perhaps the most promising of the 2 after showing flashes of an elite runner and pass catcher during his 1st 4 seasons in Tampa Bay.
“The Commanders only had one running back under contract — Jacory Croskey-Merritt — and needed someone else,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote. “They allowed Chris Rodriguez to leave via free agency. In White, the Commanders get a back who had 1,539 yards from scrimmage in 2023 but whose touches diminished with the emergence of Bucky Irving the past two seasons. Still, White fills a needed role in Washington. With 205 catches, he’s been a consistent performer in the pass game — an area Croskey-Merritt needs to continue developing.”
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