The 2026 NFL Draft is still a month away, but astute evaluators have already completed their scouting reports for the top players in the class. Despite the NFL scouting community’s lack of respect for running backs and their ability to carry a team to a championship, Jeremiyah Love has evaluators reconsidering their team-building philosophies heading into April.
The Notre Dame star is a rare find at the position as a workhorse runner with “take it to the house” potential and receiver-like hands and ball skills. In 41 college games, Love rushed for 2,882 rushing yards and 36 rushing touchdowns and added 63 catches for 594 yards and six scores. Given his ability to seamlessly shift from workhorse to big-play specialist, he has captivated the imagination of offensive coordinators looking for an explosive RB1 to build an offense around.
Moreover, the 2025 Doak Walker Award winner has coaches and scouts contemplating tossing aside the new norms and reverting to a time when blue-chip runners routinely came off the board as top-five picks. Although Love will not headline a class that matches the 2005 draft — RBs Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Cadillac Williams were selected second, third and fifth, respectively — he could join Todd Gurley (10th overall, 2015 draft), Ezekiel Elliott (fourth, 2016), Christian McCaffrey (eighth, 2017), Leonard Fournette (fourth, 2017), Saquon Barkley (second, 2018) and Bijan Robinson (eighth, 2023) as one of the few running backs selected in the top 10 since 2015.
In three years at Notre Dame, Jeremiyah Love went over, around and through defenders, rushing for more than 2,800 yards. (Photo by Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Considering the hype surrounding Love and his potential to take the league by storm, here is my breakdown of his spectacular game.
The Upside
Love is the total package as a downhill runner, with big-play ability as both a runner and a receiver. Measuring 6-foot and 212 pounds and with quick feet and exceptional balance and body control, he can run through or around defenders to get to the second level. While his superb vision enables him to spot creases quickly at the point of attack, Love’s ridiculous cutting ability allows him to slither and slide through small cracks between the tackles. With few defenders capable of matching his explosiveness and agility, the former Missouri Class 5 100-meter sprint champion (10.76) is a make-you-miss specialist with the speed to take it the distance.
As a receiver, Love’s soft hands and outstanding open field running skills routinely result in big plays on low-risk throws to the perimeter. Whether catching flares and swings from his traditional running back spot or winning one-on-one matchups on options or isolation routes, he is a difference-maker in the mold of CMC and Robinson out of the backfield. As the NFL continues to evolve into a matchup league with offensive playcallers looking for various ways to create and exploit mismatches, Love’s versatility and explosiveness make him the multifaceted offensive weapon every team wants in the huddle.
The Downside
Despite Love’s impressive performance and production as Notre Dame’s feature back, evaluators will question whether he is a capable workhorse back at the next level. He logged 20 or more carries in a game only three times during his career, which raises concerns about his competitive stamina as an RB1. While most teams are utilizing a committee approach in the backfield with multiple runners sharing the load, Love’s status as a potential top-five pick would lead to expectations of a significant workload.
As a primary playmaker for the Irish, Love’s lack of pass protection experience could be an issue at the next level. He has not mastered the complexities of “double read” concepts (running back assigned to block one of two pass rushers) within the pocket, and he must refine his blocking technique to sustain and finish better against hard-charging linebackers.
While most teams will squash the issues by featuring him extensively as a receiver out of the backfield, NFL defensive coordinators will concoct a few schemes that force him to stay in the backfield and become part of the protection unit. With that in mind, Love must continue to improve in this area to prevent opponents from neutralizing his impact through creative scheming.
Love’s pass-catching ability adds to his game, but opponents may scheme to make him pass-protect, which is not a strength. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The Verdict
Love is the highest-rated running back that I have scouted since Reggie Bush entered the 2006 draft. While I raved about the USC legend and Heisman Trophy winner for his electric playmaking skills as a runner, receiver and returner, the Notre Dame star displays the potential to develop into an unstoppable force as an RB1/WR2 in a dynamic offensive scheme.
Love reminds some evaluators of Detroit Lions three-time Pro Bowl RB Jahmyr Gibbs as a big-play threat and scoring machine. I view him, however, as a Jamaal Charles-like weapon who will consistently produce 100-plus yards from scrimmage with ease. As teams look for an offensive weapon to build game plans around, the buzz over the No. 1 running back in the 2026 class will reach a crescendo on April 23.
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