Jeremiyah Love NFL Draft 2026 Scouting Report for Arizona Cardinals RB

The Arizona Cardinals selected Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

Jeremiyah Love is an elite-level, three-down running back with mismatch capabilities as a receiver out of the backfield.

Love is a dynamic and explosive running back who possesses the skill set to be a complete weapon in an NFL offense. He combines home-run top-end speed with route-running and pass-catching ability to impact the offense in multiple ways.

Love is listed as a 6'0, 214-pound running back who entered Notre Dame as a 4-star recruit in the 2023 class. He brings sprinter speed from his background in track and field. His fastest 100-meter dash was 10.76 seconds at the prep level.

Last season, Love rushed for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 6.9 yards per attempt. He owns Notre Dame's record for the most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown.

Dame Parson is the lead host of the Locked On NFL Draft podcast. He also serves as co-host of the Scouting Room NFL Podcast alongside Daniel Harms.

Highlights

Jeremiyah Love highlights

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Where He Wins

Megan Briggs/Getty Images

- Love runs with good patience behind the offensive line to maximize their blocks before finding daylight.

- Great combination of top-end speed, agility, and explosiveness, making him a dangerous threat with the football at all times. The defense must close the space between them quickly, or he will hit the sideline in full stride after breaking through the first level.

- Ability to decelerate and re-accelerate to evade incoming defenders and make sudden cuts/change of direction in the open field. He possesses the lateral explosiveness and agility to press a rush lane and jump-cut to evade closing defenders, while working into a vacated space for positive yards.

- Talented receiving skill set out of the backfield. He can be deployed in the slot and run routes in space to create mismatches for the offense.

- Runs behind his pads downhill with good balance to finish plays through contact and fall forward.

- He has been great at protecting the football throughout his career (267 rushing attempts without a fumble).

Areas of Improvement

Megan Briggs/Getty Images

- Love must prioritize protecting himself from big hits. He attempts to hurdle over defenders, placing himself in a vulnerable position in the air.

- Leaner build/frame can raise questions for some NFL teams and evaluators on whether he can handle a "bell cow" workload.

Grade, Rank, and Pro Comparison

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GRADE: 9.0 (Pro Bowl Player — 1st Round)

COMPARABLE GRADE: Bijan Robinson (9.0 in 2023), Ashton Jeanty (8.5 in 2025), Omarion Hampton (8.0 in 2025)

OVERALL RANK: 2nd

POSITION RANK: RB1

PRO COMPARISON: Jamaal Charles

Measurables and Testing Data

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 214
HAND: 9⅛
Arm: 32"

40-Yard DASH: 4.36"
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bench Press: N/A

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