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Love is an electrifying dual-threat back and a good bet for big 2026 volume after going third overall in the draft. A shoddy Cardinals offense could cap his production, but there’s top-5 upside if things break right.
Love is worth considering as early as the late second round of fantasy drafts, particularly in PPR formats.
Customize Love’s projection for your exact league settings inside the Draft War Room.After sitting behind Audric Estime as a true freshman at Notre Dame in 2023, Love turned in two straight huge seasons.
Despite trailing QB Riley Leonard in carries and toting it just 43 times more than Jadarian Price, Love racked up 1,125 yards and 17 TDs in 2024. The 17 scores tied for eighth-most in the nation. And the efficiency was elite. Among 160 RBs with 100+ carries, Love ranked:
Love proved dangerous in the passing game as well, averaging 8.5 yards per catch and scoring twice among 28 receptions. His 1.37 yards per route ranked 36th among 117 RBs with 20+ targets.
Love delivered more of the same last year. He widened the gap over Price, out-carrying him 199 to 113. And he set new career highs in rushing yards (1,372), rushing TDs (18), receiving yards (280), and receiving TDs (3).
Love ranked seventh in the country in rushing yards and third in TDs, despite finishing just 28th in carries. His 6.9 yards per carry ranked sixth among 165 qualifiers. He ranked 11th in yards after contact per attempt and 31st in missed tackles forced per attempt.
Love also averaged a huge 10.4 yards per catch and ranked 17th among 136 qualifying RBs in yards per route (1.83).
He was a 2025 Heisman finalist, finishing third behind QBs Fernando Mendoza and Diego Pavia.
Love went third overall in this spring’s draft, becoming just the sixth RB over the last 10 years to go inside the top 10. He joins:
Love joins Tyler Allgeier atop a remade Cardinals depth chart. Allgeier ran for 1,035 yards as a rookie in 2022 but spent the last three years as No. 2 to Bijan Robinson.
He'll play a similar role in Arizona. Allgeier could steal enough carries to be annoying, but his 61 catches across four NFL seasons tell you he won't matter much in the passing game.
Trey Benson and James Conner also remain on the Cardinals roster for now, but neither is likely to be a major 2026 factor. Benson has struggled to find the field through two NFL seasons, totaling 92 carries. Conner is 31, comes off a season-ending ankle injury, and took a pay cut this offseason.
Love is the most talented player in this backfield. And the draft capital all but ensures a big role. Here’s how many touches per game those previous top-10 RBs averaged as rookies:
|
Fournette |
23.4 |
|
McCaffrey |
12.3 |
|
Barkley |
22.0 |
|
Robinson |
16.0 |
|
Jeanty |
18.9 |
The Cardinals are in rebuild mode, planning to trot out Jacoby Brissett as their Week 1 starter. Brissett kept the offense on track over the final 12 games last season. But we’re still talking about a 33-year-old journeyman with 6.6 yards per attempt for his career.
There’s also a chance we see third-round rookie Carson Beck under center at some point this season. QB play is at least a minor concern for Love.
Same with the offensive line. Last year’s Cardinals ranked:
Arizona added free-agent G Isaac Seumalo and second-round rookie G Chase Bisontis, but this still projects as a subpar offensive line.
Arizona features a new coaching staff led by HC Mike LaFleur, who is expected to call offensive plays.
LaFleur spent the past three years as Rams OC but did not call plays. He also spent seven seasons working under Kyle Shanahan from 2014 to 2020. That’s a strong coaching tree, as Sean McVay and Shanahan have consistently churned out productive backfields.
But LaFleur’s only play-calling experience came with the Jets in 2021 and 2022. Neither offense was good, largely due to QB rooms of Zach Wilson, Mike White, and Joe Flacco.
The 2021 team deployed an ugly three-RB committee with Michael Carter, Tevin Coleman, and Ty Johnson.
But rookie Breece Hall arrived in 2022 and got encouraging usage before a Week 7 ACL tear. He averaged just 7.0 carries over his first three games but jumped to 18.3 over his final three. Hall also averaged 5.2 targets per game on a 13.4% share across his six full games.
Love could quickly prove to be one of the most talented RBs in the NFL, both as a runner and pass catcher.
If Brissett keeps the offense on track and Love gets the type of volume that recent top-10 picks Saquon Barkley and Ashton Jeanty got, he could score as a top-5 fantasy RB.
There’s implosion potential with Arizona’s offense due to questionable QB and offensive line rooms.
There’s also a chance that Allgeier steals more carries than we’re expecting, particularly near the goal line.
Love could disappoint and fall outside the top 20 fantasy RBs.
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Jeremiyah Love Got a Bunch of Touches, Ankle Tweak in Preseason Debut
Jeremiyah Love Got a Bunch of Touches, Ankle Tweak in Preseason Debut
RB Jeremiyah Love got his first preseason action Thursday night in the Cardinals' second exhibition, and they worked him like a lead back against the Raiders. The third overall pick racked up 14 first-half touches: 11 carries for 58 yards (5.3 per rush) and 3 receptions for 14 yards on three targets. Love also came away from the game with a minor ankle injury, but it appears we don't need to worry about that.
Jeremiyah Love Ruled Out Thursday as Cardinals Avoid Extra Workload
Jeremiyah Love Ruled Out Thursday as Cardinals Avoid Extra Workload
Jeremiyah Love is among the players who will not play in Thursday’s Hall of Fame game per Cardinals’ HC Mike LaFleur
Not What You Want to Hear if You Draft Jeremiyah Love
Not What You Want to Hear if You Draft Jeremiyah Love
SI's Albert Breer visited Cardinals training camp this week and says that you might want to temper your expectations for rookie RB Jeremiyah Love's workload.
Cardinals Not Making It Easy to Draft Jeremiyah Love
Cardinals Not Making It Easy to Draft Jeremiyah Love
Arizona showed us what it thinks of RB Jeremiyah Love’s talent by drafting him third overall this spring, to a team with plenty of needs. But coaches aren’t doing anything to anoint him an immediate backfield leader at the start of camp. Free-agent addition Tyler Allgeier reportedly opened with the starters at the team’s first open practice, and OC Nathaniel Hackett mentioned James Conner first when asked broadly about the outlook for his 2026 backfield.
Cardinals Add Jeremiyah Love to Crowded Backfield
Cardinals Add Jeremiyah Love to Crowded Backfield
The Cardinals selected RB Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. He's the first RB selected in the top 5 since Saquon Barkley in 2018. Love dominated as a two-year starter at Notre Dame, averaging 6.9 yards per carry over that span. He also led the FBS with 40 total TDs. The 212-pounder was the clear RB1 in this class. Among the 20 RBs invited to the NFL Combine, Love ranked fourth in 2025 rushing market share (55.9%) and first in yards after contact per attempt (4.5). He ranked second in 2025 in missed tackles forced per attempt (0.28) and third in receiving yards per route run (1.83).
See whether Jeremiyah Love is available in your leagues.
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