Jeremiyah Love | Notre Dame | 6’0 , 212 lbs | May 31, 2005 (20 years)
Jeremiyah Love was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals, becoming the 1st running back and 3rd overall player in the 2026 NFL Draft.
COLLEGE PRODUCTION
Jeremiyah Love was a three-year player and an early-declare out of Notre Dame. After a promising freshman campaign, Love broke out as a sophomore in 2024, amassing over 1,300 scrimmage yards and 19 total touchdowns.
In 2025, Love improved upon his previous year’s raw stats in four fewer games, averaging over 114 yards and nearly two touchdowns per game. His elite production earned him the 2025 Doak Walker award and a third-place finish in the Heisman race.
Love has always been a highly efficient rusher, averaging 4.35 yards after contact per attempt (YCO/A) and .31 missed tackles forced per attempt (MTF/A) in his career. His 1.60 career yards per route run (YPRR) also suggests he’s a very competent receiving back.
FILM
Love is a highly versatile athlete who can line up anywhere on the offensive end and make an impact. He displays excellent short-area quickness and burst, accelerating through the hole to break into the second level. Love boasts excellent long speed and the size, frame, and lower-body strength to fight through contact.
He can occasionally get impatient in the backfield and bounce things outside prematurely, and often puts his body on the line, risking injury, when he should just take his medicine and live to fight another day. Overall, Love has very few holes in his game and projects to be an immediate producer in the NFL, and a potential league-winner for fantasy.
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ATHLETIC TESTING
Jeremiyah Love does not have an official Relative Athletic Score (RAS) due to opting out of the agility and explosiveness testing. He did, however, run the 40-yard dash, posting an excellent time of 4.36 seconds. His 10 and 20-yard split times were impressive as well, confirming what we already know about Love: he’s an elite athlete.
DRAFT ANALYSIS
Rapid Reaction to Draft Capital: Excellent
Rapid Reaction to Landing Spot: Average
Jeremiyah Love was drafted 3rd overall by the Cardinals in the first round of the NFL Draft. The draft capital was expected and locks him into being the feature man in this backfield and a focal point on offense. This landing spot is marginally worse than the Titans, Giants, or Commanders. However, don’t let the crowded backfield in Arizona deter you from Love for fantasy purposes in any way. Being the third overall pick tells us all we need to know. None of Tyler Allgeier, Trey Benson, or James Conner is a threat to love in any way. I would imagine Arizona tries to move Benson now.
FANTASY INSIGHTS
From a dynasty perspective, Jeremiyah Love is my RB3 overall, just ahead of Ashton Jeanty (though I wouldn’t push back on having Jeanty ahead), and behind only Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. At only 20 years old, Love has the opportunity to be a foundational piece on our dynasty rosters for the next 8-10 years, assuming health. In terms of immediate production for Love, I expect him to be a low-end RB1 for fantasy as a rookie. Once we get into Year 2 and beyond, RB1 overall finishes will certainly be in play.
Love should be the undisputed 1.01 in your Dynasty Superflex Rookie drafts, regardless of format.
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