After four first-round picks in the past four NFL drafts, including both Solomon Thomas and Christian McCaffrey in 2017, Stanford might not get one this year.

That is, unless some team is in love with wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside’s ability to outmuscle defenders for the ball. More likely, he’ll go in the second round.

The biggest question about the Cardinal’s draft prospects, though, is the status of Bryce Love. After rushing for a school-record 2,118 yards and receiving more votes than everybody but Baker Mayfield for the Heisman Trophy in 2017, he had an injury-hampered senior season.

Playing hurt behind an ineffective offensive line, he had just 739 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He skipped the Sun Bowl because, as it was later disclosed, he had suffered a torn right ACL in the Big Game.

He probably cost himself at least four rounds — and millions of dollars — by coming back to school for his senior year. Had he entered the draft in 2018, he would have been a second-round pick, at worst.

Head coach David Shaw says that line of thinking is irrelevant. He thinks Love will have a remarkable pro career.

“Bryce Love is a better football player now than he was a year ago,” he said. “It’s the same conversation we had about Christian McCaffrey. Christian had an unbelievable sophomore year and not the same statistical year (as a junior), but he was better. He was more ready for the NFL. He was bigger and stronger.

“Same way with Bryce. He’s bigger and stronger, more physical. He hurt his knee, but that has nothing to do with whether he’s ready for the NFL.”

McCaffrey appears headed for a spectacular pro career. In 2018, his second season with the Carolina Panthers, he set a club record for all-purpose yards in a season with 1,965.

Although Love didn’t work out at the NFL scouting combine or at Stanford’s pro day last month, Shaw predicted he would be ready to go in training camp.

“Whoever gets him, he’s going to make plays this year,” he said. “He’s going to be on the ‘SportsCenter’ highlights multiple times this year. That’s just who he is. If he’s healthy, I think he’s the best running back in this draft.”

Given his history, that’s a big “if,” and NFL teams know it. He is likely to be a late-round selection. In any case, he won’t make anything close to the first-round money that McCaffrey landed — a four-year, $17.2 million contract with a $10.7 million signing bonus. It will take Love years of strong service to make that type of money.

Because of his knee injury, he’s “likely to need essentially a redshirt year in the NFL,” according to CBS Sports draft analyst Rob Rang.

McCaffrey, of course, is a Love fan. Speaking at Stanford’s pro day, he said, “Everything he brought to Stanford in college he can bring to the NFL. He’s an every-down back with all of the attributes you want in a back. He’s dedicated, he breaks tackles, he’s smart. It was an honor to play with him and watch him. Wherever he goes, he’s going make a team better.”

Stanford’s top draft pick is likely to be Arcega-Whiteside. Most experts think he’ll go in the second round, although Pro Football Focus has him going to the Colts and ex-Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in the first round.

If he is a first-round pick, he would be Stanford’s seventh since the 2012 draft, the most of any Pac-12 program over that stretch. More likely, he’ll go in Round 2.

“He’s a basketball player — he boxes people out and goes up and snatches the ball,” said former NFL scout Dan Shonka of Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services. “He’s physical. He bullies defensive backs. He gets more than his share of 50-50 balls.”

Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke, the Cardinal’s leading tackler last season, probably will go next. He’s considered a third- or fourth-rounder in most quarters.

Tight end Kaden Smith should be a middle-to-late-round pick in an excellent draft for tight ends. “What killed him was his 40 time at the combine,” Shonka said. “A 4.92 took the air out of his tires. Other tight ends are in the 4.65 range.”

A late-season injury might have hurt the draft prospects of Stanford wide receiver Trent Irwin. He could be a late-round pick.

So could linebacker Joey Alfieri, center Jesse Burkett and guards Brandon Fanaika and Nate Herbig. Wide receiver Isaiah Brandt-Sims had the fastest 40 time on Stanford’s pro day at 4.47, and Alfieri was right behind at 4.49.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald