NFL Draft experts knew that Jeremiyah Love was going to go high in the draft, but it was only until the days leading up to the April extravaganza that it was believed to be an option for the Arizona Cardinals to select the Notre Dame standout at No. 3 overall. Now he's joining a backfield where Tyler Allgeier signed on in Arizona this offseason, and beloved holdover James Conner returning from a season-ending injury. Will Love be able to conquer all and rise above the others in this backfield? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his 2026 Arizona Cardinals Team Preview.

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Will Jeremiyah Love Dominate the Arizona Cardinals backfield in 2026?

• RB1: Jeremiyah Love (RB13 in Fantasy Life ranks)
• RB2: Tyler Allgeier (RB42)
• RB3: James Conner (RB62)
• RB4: Trey Benson (RB89)

Well, expectations should be high for anyone good enough to be selected with the No. 3 overall pick, and in Love's case, there is a LOT to like about the Golden Domer's fantasy-friendly combination of big-play and pass-catching ability. You can read my full pre-draft scouting report on Love right here, but to quickly summarize his three biggest strengths …

Deep bag of moves to make defenders miss: Good luck getting Love to the ground in the open field. His spin move is lethal, and the man has even hit the Reggie Bush step back on a few occasions. Still, Love's ability to jump over other human beings stands out as his signature move. I can't remember another collegiate RB hitting this many CLEAN hurdles in a single career.

Home run speed: Watching Love's film produces big play after big play after big play. The only Golden Domer to ever have multiple rushing plays north of 90 yards, Love is truly a threat to take the ball the distance any time he gets his hands on it. Overall, his 11.6% explosive run rate (15+ yards) was the highest mark among 69 Power Four RBs with at least 150 carries last season.

More than capable of working across all three downs: Love's rushing ability certainly isn't in question, but the man is also quite adept at positively influencing the offense on passing downs. There are countless examples on film of Love turning a simple short checkdown into an explosive first down, and he was charged with allowing just 5 pressures (and 0 sacks!) on 120 career pass-blocking snaps. That's good for a pressure rate allowed of just 4.2%, the best mark among some of the most notable names in the 2026 RB class! Love generally did all the little things well during his career.

This brings us to Love's 2026 projection at the professional level … and I'm a bit underwhelmed relative to the other Fantasy Life rankers. Seriously: What exactly is working in Love's favor ahead of 2026 other than the fact that yes, he is a very good, even great, running back prospect?

• Historically, high-end fantasy quarterbacks and running backs are far more correlated with playing in good offenses relative to pass catchers.
• This is objectively a bottom-5 QB room in the league.
• PFF's reigning 26th-ranked offensive line added Steelers G Isaac Seumalo and used the 34th overall pick on Texas A&M G Chase Bisontis.
• Fantasy Life projections peg the Cardinals to score just two offensive touchdowns per game—the sixth-lowest mark in the league.
• Tyler Allgeier and James Conner probably aren't real threats to taking away copious volume, but they do profile as the sort of short-yardage hammers capable of stealing (the few) goal-line carries that figure to be available here.

It's easy to love Love's talent (ha!), and accordingly, he's the easy 1.01 rookie pick in dynasty land—but it's tough for me to simply say "trust the talent!" and rank him ahead of guys in vastly superior situations like Josh Jacobs, Javonte Williams and Derrick Henry, who, you know, are also pretty talented in their own rights!

Also note: There's a lot to like about Allgeier: He's the all-time NFL leader for most career touches without a fumble (737), was PFF's second-highest-graded pass-blocking RB in 2025, and has the 12th-best rushing success rate mark among 56 qualified backs since 2022. And yet, there's zero takeover potential behind Love, and if the rookie does go down … all of the aforementioned offensive environment concerns would also apply to Allgeier. This is why I struggled to rank Allgeier all that high in my handcuff tiers. … Similar "what's REALLY the upside scenario here?" concerns exist for both James Conner and Trey Benson; none of these backups are worth reaching on while all remain employed by the Cardinals … but Conner does profile as a potential late-August cut/trade candidate, making him a risky, yet fun, last-round dart in early drafts.

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