Not many players enter a draft class and immediately become the center of every front office conversation, but Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has done exactly that. With back to back 1,000 yard rushing seasons under his belt and a career best 1,372 yard performance in 2025, Love has positioned himself as arguably the most complete prospect in a draft class that, by most evaluations, lacks the kind of top-end talent teams typically hope for. That combination an elite player in a thin class has scouts and analysts floating his name in the top-10 conversation with increasing confidence.
The praise is well earned. Love is explosive, decisive, and productive at a program that has not exactly been short on football talent in recent years. He reads blocks quickly, accelerates through contact, and has shown enough versatility in the passing game to project as a three down back at the next level. In a normal draft year, he would be a certain first round pick. In this one, the argument for going even earlier is gaining traction.
The uncomfortable pattern teams cannot ignore
Here is where things get complicated. For all of Love’s talent, the history of running backs drafted in the top 20 since 2010 presents a pattern that no amount of highlights can fully dismiss. Twelve running backs have been selected that high in the past 15 years, and not one has delivered a Super Bowl to the team that originally drafted him.
That list includes some genuinely great players. 1. Saquon Barkley went second overall to the Giants in 2018. 2. Ezekiel Elliott was taken fourth by the Cowboys in 2016. 3. Christian McCaffrey went eighth to the Panthers in 2017. 4. Todd Gurley was the 10th pick by the Rams in 2015. 5. Leonard Fournette was fourth to the Jaguars in 2017. 6. Trent Richardson went third to the Browns in 2012. 7. Bijan Robinson was eighth to the Falcons in 2023. 8. Jahmyr Gibbs was 12th to the Lions in 2023. 9. Melvin Gordon went 15th to the Chargers in 2015. 10. C.J. Spiller was ninth to the Bills in 2010. 11. Ryan Mathews went 12th to the Chargers in 2010. And most recently, 12. Ashton Jeanty was taken sixth by the Raiders in 2025.
Gurley came the closest, helping carry the Rams to the Super Bowl following the 2018 season, but Los Angeles ultimately lost that game. The broader takeaway is hard to argue with: teams have invested premium capital in the position repeatedly and have not been rewarded with championships for it.
Which teams are actually in position to take him?
The draft order adds another layer of complexity to Love’s situation. The Tennessee Titans hold the fourth pick and the New York Giants are at fifth, and both franchises are in the early stages of rebuilding around young quarterbacks. The Titans are linked to Cam Ward, while the Giants are expected to pursue Jaxson Dart. Pairing a franchise quarterback with an elite running back has historical precedent the Ravens won with Jamal Lewis and Ray Lewis anchoring the roster, and the Bears built a championship around Walter Payton but those teams had dominant defenses that modern rebuilding franchises rarely have in place simultaneously.
The Washington Commanders, picking seventh, present a more intriguing scenario. With Jayden Daniels already in place at quarterback and a roster that showed real improvement last season, Washington has the infrastructure to use a back like Love effectively. The one hesitation is defensive. The Commanders surrendered more yardage than any team in the league last season, and some expect them to address that side of the ball first.
The bigger question about running back value
What Love’s draft stock really reflects is an ongoing tension in how NFL teams think about roster construction. The running game has clearly regained relevance the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks both leaned heavily on it with significant success in recent seasons but the counterargument is that productive rushing attacks can be built without sacrificing a top pick to get there.
Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes running one of the league’s most consistent offenses, represent the kind of environment where a back like Love could truly flourish. But Kansas City recently added Kenneth Walker III to its backfield, making another investment at the position unlikely in the near term.
Love’s talent is not in question. What the 2026 NFL Draft will ultimately test is whether any team believes strongly enough in the position and in their own surrounding roster to break from the recent pattern and make the pick anyway.