With the third overall selection Thursday night, Arizona Cardinals’ general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon swung for the fences, selecting Notre Dame junior running back Jeremiyah Love and handing the franchise a potential offensive centerpiece.
Love, the explosive 6-foot, 212-pound back who grew up in the Walnut Park neighborhood of north St. Louis and starred at Christian Brothers College High School, becomes the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley went second overall in 2018. In a draft class heavy with blue-chip talent at quarterback and on the defensive line, Arizona’s choice signaled a clear organizational belief: this is the back who can change games immediately.
A three-year contributor for the Fighting Irish who declared after his junior season, Love arrived in South Bend as a highly touted prospect and left as one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football. Blessed with elite burst, vision that allows him to hit creases at full speed, and the straight-line speed to threaten defenses on the perimeter, Love consistently forced coordinators to account for him on every snap. His combination of size, power and elusiveness made him a nightmare in both the run game and as a receiving threat out of the backfield.
Now he brings that skill set to a Cardinals roster that has lacked a consistent bell-cow back for years. Arizona’s offense under coordinator Drew Petzing has shown flashes of explosiveness, but the running game has too often been a committee affair. Love, the Cardinals hope, ends that conversation.
Off the field, the selection carries extra resonance for Love. The St. Louis native returns to the Midwest to begin his professional career just a short drive from the neighborhood and high school that shaped him. Those who watched him at Christian Brothers College remember a humble, hard-working kid who led his team to state contention while quietly becoming one of the most decorated backs in Missouri prep history.
Financially, the move reflects the premium Arizona placed on securing him. Love is expected to sign a fully guaranteed four-year, $53 million contract with the Cardinals that includes a $35 million signing bonus. The deal averages $13.25 million per year, which would rank him as the seventh-highest-paid running back in the league once finalized — a rare valuation for the position in today’s salary-cap era.
Cardinals brass made no secret of their admiration during the pre-draft process. Multiple members of the organization described Love as a “tone-setter” whose competitive fire and toughness mirrored the identity they want their team to project. In a backfield that has cycled through veterans and late-round picks since the departure of James Conner, Love arrives as the clear alpha.
