The Doak Walker Award winner and first Notre Dame player to ever win the honor, Jeremiyah Love has emerged as the clear RB1 and presumed 1.01 pick in the 2026 dynasty draft class.

In his junior campaign, Love averaged 6.9 yards per carry for 1,372 yards with 18 touchdowns rushing, adding 27 catches for 280 yards and three receiving scores.

With his dynamic skill set and natural ability, Love looks like a future starter with Pro Bowl potential as a pro.

Strengths

• Elite Speed and Acceleration:
  Love brings legitimate track speed from his background as a state champion sprinter, having run a 10.76-second 100-meter dash at the prep level.He’s a track-verified game-breaker who threatens to house it on every touch, turning routine plays into scoring opportunities with elite acceleration and sustainable top-end speed.Love is an explosive accelerator who hits top speed almost immediately and can consistently beat linebackers to the edge, showing track-type speed that translates beautifully to the football field.
• Contact Balance and Power:
  Love is a strong back who has the power to push the pile and pick up yards after contact, with outstanding contact balance to maintain his feet while getting hit, leading to defenses needing multiple hits to bring him down.He shows uncanny contact balance for a speed merchant, keeping his feet through glancing blows while maintaining velocity downfield, and runs with surprising power through his lower half despite his leaner frame.Love does a good job of absorbing initial contact from defenders while remaining on his feet and continuing to pick up yards, running with good balance and the ability to keep his feet pumping through contact.
• Pass-Catching Ability:
  In 2025, Love looked improved and was a dangerous receiver, showing improved route-running, soft hands, and making some acrobatic catches with impressive athleticism to adjust to the ball.He’s a dangerous pass-catching weapon who transitions from receiver to runner instantly, turning dump-offs into chunk plays with natural hands and field vision.There are enough clips of Love lining up at receiver to feel comfortable about his ability at the NFL level, and he seems comfortable tracking the ball downfield in one-on-one situations already.
• Vision and Patience:
  Love allows blocks to develop and understands how to manipulate second-level defenders.He was patient in letting blocks develop, consistently sticking close to his blockers and waiting for them to engage defenders before exploding past the outsides of their shoulders.Love is a dynamic player with elite speed and vision.
• Pass Protection:
  Love was phenomenal in pass protection, showing the ability to protect his quarterback on blitz protection and diagnosing the blitz well, squaring up defenders to give his quarterback time to get the ball out.Love is an incredibly willing pass protector.
• Ball Security and Intangibles:
  Love has not lost a fumble in his college career, only putting a single ball on the ground this year and not once last year.Team sources say that Love is a good kid, and his intangibles are excellent—he is soft-spoken and very smart.

Weaknesses

• Frame Concerns and Build:
  Love’s leaner build/frame can raise questions for some NFL teams and evaluators on whether he can handle a “bell cow” workload.Love is a thinner back, and some evaluators suspect he may be lighter than the 214 lbs he is listed at—when watching Love, you are not getting a bruising style running back.Love has a lean frame, and when it comes to being a three-down back every week in the NFL, some teams may feel that is too heavy a workload and opt to have another back as part of a rotation.
• Limited Power Running:
  As far as areas for improvement with Love, he is limited in his power, but that is not a knock on him, as that is not his running style.Goal-line work might always be a thorn in the side of Love owners—while Love is used frequently at the goal line in college, he just doesn’t quite have the size to punch the ball in when he’s contacted by a defensive lineman.
• Pass Protection Questions:
  From some games scouted, Love was limited in pass protection, which could be Notre Dame not prioritizing him in protection schemes, though evaluators don’t suspect it’s a major issue.
• Workload Management Needed:
  Love does not quite have the 20-touch workhorse profile of former 1.01 dynasty rookie picks such as Ashton Jeanty and Bijan Robinson, so his situation and coaching will matter a lot more than for the truly rare bellcow backs.Combined with his pass-catching ability, Love has many avenues to scoring fantasy points in chunks, but he just needs to earn enough of the down-to-down work to have a solid floor.

Player Comparisons

• Jahmyr Gibbs:
  Love has the top-end speed of a guy like Jahmyr Gibbs, but he’s also 20 pounds heavier—both players can win with burst, vision, and receiving ability, and can then attack downhill in short-yardage spots.Players like Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are strong comparisons for the former Notre Dame standout.
• Breece Hall:
  Similar to Breece Hall, both players can win with burst, vision, and receiving ability.Similar to a James Cook career arc, Love begins his career as an efficient rusher with decent receiving work but heavily sharing short yardage and goal line duties.
• Saquon Barkley / Bijan Robinson:
  Some team sources grade Love similarly to Saquon Barkley coming out of Penn State.You have to be a special back to hear your name called in the top 10, and Love fits comfortably in the Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley conversation.