Jeremiyah Love

Well, it happened. Jeremiyah Love went top five in the NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals, who already have Tyler Allgeier and James Conner on the depth chart. With that type of draft capital investment, I think Love will be Arizona's lead back in 2026, but he could have his workload eaten into by Allgeier and/or Conner. Love's talent isn't in question. Over the last two years in college, he ranked inside the top 15 backs in each season in yards after contact per attempt, breakaway rate, and elusive rating (per PFF). He's also a stellar pass catcher, as evidenced by sitting at 17th in yards per route run among FBS backs last year and drawing a 10.9% target share. The Cards look like one of the worst teams in the NFL, with concerning quarterback play. The cluttered backfield and worrisome scoring environment could hinder Love in 2026, keeping him as a strong RB2, but locking him out of RB1 status. If he does get the lion's share of the work, and their grouping of quarterbacks can produce something close to league-average passing production, Love could be a top-12 back. I'll remain lower than consensus on Love now that he has a high ankle sprain clouding his Week 1 availability and early-season effectiveness.

Jeremiyah Love is “about 50/50" to play in Week 1 against the Chargers.

Fantasy Impact

Love is working his way back from a preseason high ankle sprain. If he doesn't play in Week 1, he'll have a good chance to return by Week 2 or 3. If he is sidelined, Tyler Allgeier would be in line for a big role.