Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love, the Notre Dame running back tandem, are poised to become the fourth pair from the same school selected in the first round of the NFL draft, joining a trend signaling the end of the traditional feature back model. ESPN's Mel Kiper lists them as his top two prospects, highlighting how tandems like Seattle's Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, and New England's TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson, thrived using two-back systems last season. This shift reflects a league-wide move towards rotational play, driven by concerns over player durability. 'The NFL has become a two-back league,' stated an NFL running backs coach, emphasizing the difficulty of sustaining a single back through a full season.

Last spring, Henderson and Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins were drafted two picks apart in the second round, both having productive rookie seasons, demonstrating the viability of tandems.