The running back position is having a moment in the NFL again. Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones spent the last few seasons reminding the league what a dominant ground game looks like, and the conversation around elite backs has shifted because of it. Jeremiyah Love is the next name entering that conversation.
The Notre Dame running back put up 1,372 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025, following a 1,100-yard, 17-touchdown season the year before. The Fighting Irish missed the College Football Playoff despite his efforts, but Love's numbers were impossible to overlook.
With the 2026 NFL Draft approaching, projections have him landing inside the top five picks and the praise from around the league is starting to match that billing.
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Louis Riddick made that clear on a recent segment of ESPN's Get Up. The former NFL safety turned analyst made his feelings clear when sizing up what Love brings to an NFL roster, calling him a ready-made weapon from the moment he steps on a professional field.
"I'll just put it this way, Jeremiyah Love can have an elite-level impact from day one, simply because of the position that he plays and the way in which he plays it. Which is, he is a three-down absolute, just weapon. A guy who is just gonna be able to produce explosive chunk blaze, both in the run game and the pass game," Riddick said.
"So, wherever he steps in, as long as there's enough support around him, mainly an offensive line that is confident. He is going to have an elite-level impact on that organization, and that's why you're talking about this guy going in the top four to five picks."
Riddick's case is hard to argue with when you look at the tape and the numbers together. Love led the FBS with 35 rushing touchdowns and 40 total scores across his last two college seasons. He is not just a between-the-tackles grinder either.
His ability to bounce outside keeps defenses honest and his receiving flashes at Notre Dame hint at more upside in that area than the Fighting Irish offense fully used. Moreover, Love rarely missed time in college which matters more at running back than people give it credit for.
The real debate heading into draft season is not about his ability. It is about whether teams will commit a top-five pick to the position in a league that spent years moving away from valuing running backs highly. The production and the tools say yes. Whether front offices agree is the question that gets answered in April.
