Don’t panic about rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals supporters.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s recent comment about Love, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, went viral. The coach said, “He’s definitely a rookie,” while discussing the RB’s progress.
Don’t think Hackett’s remark signals Love is a bust, especially after Arizona tight end Trey McBride raved about the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star for a Monday interview with Bleacher Report.
Trey McBride praises Jeremiyah Love
“I think his skill set is one of the best I’ve ever seen,” McBride said of Love, via Julia Stumbaugh. “His ability to make plays in the pass game, his ability to run routes, his ability to just run downhill — he’s a third overall pick. You draft that guy high for a reason. He’s a generational talent guy.”
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who was holding out before agreeing to a new one-year, $15.5M deal, has spent much less time with Love. Even then, he has liked what he’s seen from the rookie RB in a brief span.
“I see why we paid him $50M, that’s for sure,” Brissett told the media on Sunday.
Love is entering a four-year, $53.022M deal with a fifth-year option for the 2030 season. During this stretch, the Cardinals will aim to build a much better offensive line around the RB. Per Pro Football Reference, Arizona ranked 27th in the league in yards before contact (949 on 366 attempts) last season. Yards before contact measures the number of yards a runner gains before he’s touched or tackled, which assesses whether an offensive line is run blocking effectively.
If the Cardinals do, Love can begin to showcase the skills that helped him win the 2025 Doak Walker Award as the best RB in college football. Last season, the 2025 Heisman finalist ranked seventh in the nation in yards (1,652, 1,372 rushing and 280 receiving, on 226 touches) and third in touchdowns (21, 18 rushing and three receiving).
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 15, 2025
Sports Info Solutions ranked Love as its No. 1 player in the 2026 draft. The site gave him a grade of seven, an immediate starter with All-Pro potential.
“Love is a well-rounded and explosively athletic running back with a solid build, true game-breaking threat every time he touches the ball, and the skill set to play every down who figures to make an immediate impact at the next level,” SIS’s Jeremy Percy wrote.
Love could provide a glimpse of some of these skills in Arizona’s first preseason contest. The Cardinals face the Carolina Panthers in the annual Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson HOF Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6 (NBC, 8 p.m. ET).
Much of the reaction to Hackett’s comment has been overblown. And if McBride and Brissett aren’t just praising him to keep Arizona fans happy, it sounds like he’s going to be more than fine.
