Notre Dame quarterback Jeremiah Love is the consensus playmaker in the 2026 NFL Draft as a complete package who can shine as a runner and receiver.
Love’s NFL goals extend beyond becoming a potential top-10 pick.
“I want to be one of the greatest ever,” he said this week at Notre Dame’s Pro Day, via ABC57’s Talia Baia in South Bend. “I want to be a Hall of Famer. I want to be a pro bowler my first year. I want to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. I tell them all these goals that I have. Of course, they’re goals. Goals are goals, but you have to have a process of how you want to accomplish those things. I’ll go into each season and lay out the little goals that I can do each week to accomplish the big goals that I can do each week. I’ve told all these teams that.
The outsized expectations may shock some, but Love has the skills to back it up.
A powerful runner who has been compared to HOFer LaDainian Tomlinson in some circles, Love is a three-cut back who can power through tacklers and has elite speed to turn good runs into great ones. Possessing an electric playmaking ability, Love, like Ferrari, can make moves without slowing down, leaving defenders scrambling for air. When given even a decent block, the quarterback turns four-yard gains into 10-yard pickups on a regular basis – these types of runs add tremendous value to an offense.
Love combines a loaded run with dynamic passing ability, can pick the ball with ease and can run routes like a receiver. He is also a willing adulterer.
Watching his tape, it’s no wonder there’s little outrage that a quarterback is consistently derided as a top-7 pick and labeled as a top-2 player. While most people are crazy about taking a RB this high, Love’s threat as a pull-down weapon, plus more teams reinvesting in the position, has turned the heat on taking the Notre Dame product high.
Love is the total package on the court and has a mindset that coaches will love.
“I’ve learned that it takes consistency, discipline, once you’re in the league, don’t change who you are,” he said when asked about those lofty long-term goals. “A lot of times kids get to the league and they say, ‘I got it.’ No, you haven’t made it. You haven’t passed your first contract. You have to find out. For me, I want to get to my third deal. So, when I get to my third deal and it’s done and I’ve got, shoot, one day, hopefully I’ll have my gold jacket. One day I’ve made the Pro Bowl hopefully five-plus years. Then I think I have achieved something. These are questions I ask when I go into these meetings and go on these visits, and I just want to know how I can be a better version of myself.”
In three seasons at Notre Dame, Love had 2,882 rushing yards on 433 carries (6.7 YPC) with 36 rushing TDs and six receiving scores. In 2025, the quarterback posted 1,372 rushing yards on 199 carries with 18 TDs and added 280 receiving yards and 3 more scores on 27 catches. Love is currently the top ranked NFL Network Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah.