Former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has seen his draft stock skyrocket after an impressive performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis earlier this month. Despite the Fighting Irish not qualifying for the College Football Playoff, Love distinguished himself as one of the most potent running backs in the country last season.
John Harbaugh Addresses Jeremiyah Love Positional Concerns
In a draft class that has been critiqued for its quarterback quality, Love has been mocked as a potential top-five pick on draft night. The 2026 NFL Draft is scheduled to begin on April 23.
While speaking to reporters on Monday at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Phoenix, New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh dismissed positional concerns about potentially drafting Love and heaped praise on the former Notre Dame star.
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“Yeah, I mean, I think you recognize all that. But the business is football. You know, we are a football business. That’s what we do. And, you know, we’re trying to make our fans happy. We want to win games,” Harbaugh said. “And to do that, we’ve got to build the very best team we can.
“So you build the best team you can with the best players you can get. You know, and you put them out there, and you let them play. So that’s where it starts. Yes, I do. Yes, I’d probably put very, very good player. Put a couple very’s in front of that, maybe a couple more. He’s really good.”
Harbaugh’s Giants hold the No. 5 overall pick, following a 4-13 season that led to the team hiring the former Baltimore Ravens coach in January 2026. The Giants currently sit behind the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans in the draft order.
In Monday’s segment of the “Joel Klatt Show,” Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt hyped up Love’s versatility and made a huge proclamation about the running back’s status in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
“I just can’t get this guy out of my head. Love is so good. When we think about these offenses that are excelling in the NFL, a lot of them have a running back that can do multiple things,” Klatt said. “Here’s the thing that I love about Jeremiyah Love: He can run between the tackles to hit a home run, he can beat you on the outside to hit a home run.
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“He can catch it to hit a home run and he can get physical yards. He can be on the field for all 3 downs. This is the type of guy that can easily make your offense better. I don’t think he gets outside of the top six in this draft. I think the Titans would be a great selection for him, get Cam Ward a little bit of help. He’s my No. 2 overall player on the board.”
Last season, Love tallied 1,372 rushing yards on 199 carries, resulting in 18 touchdowns. These numbers earned him an impressive PFSN College Running Back Impact score of 92.4 for the Fighting Irish.
