The Pittsburgh Steelers held a formal meeting at the NFL Combine with Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, he told Rich Eisen during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show yesterday.
Love said he had 10 formal meetings as of taping and that the Steelers were one of the teams he met with. While the Steelers extended RB Jaylen Warren ahead of last season and drafted RB Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the team is preparing to lose RB Kenneth Gainwell and could look to the draft to find another running back.
It would be a surprise if Love fell to the Steelers at the No. 21 overall selection. He’s widely been mocked as a top-10 or top-15 selection in the draft, but if he does fall, the Steelers could pounce. Not only did Love grow up as a Steelers fan, but he’s been one of the most productive running backs in the country. Last year, he ran for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns, finishing third in Heisman voting as junior. That came off the heels of a season where he ran for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2024.
In our scouting report, Ross McCorkle compared Love to Christian McCaffrey and graded him as an All-Pro caliber player.
“Love is a complete running back, ready for any offensive scheme and any set of responsibilities. He can grind out yards in between the tackles, he can explode for 90-yard touchdowns, and he can catch balls and run routes like a receiver. It was hard to find many flaws in his game. His floor is a longtime NFL starter with potential to be a perennial All-Pro and borderline Hall of Fame talent.”
The Steelers have met with many of the top prospects in the draft, but as far as running backs, our tracker only had the team holding an informal with Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson prior to Love’s appearance on Eisen. So while the team may not be showing a ton of love (no pun intended) to the running back class as a whole, they’re doing their due dilligence on Love for the chance to add a potential generational talent.
With 12 draft picks this year, the Steelers also have the ammo to trade up in the draft. If they’re big fans of Love, there’s a chance they could look to move up to take up him since it’s unlikely he’s going to fall to No. 21.
It’s certainly an interesting meeting and one worth noting. Now we’ll see if the Steelers wind up hosting Love for a pre-draft visit. You can watch Love’s full appearance on Eisen below.
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