Jeremiyah Love, New York Giants
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Jeremiyah Love #4 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates a touchdown against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium.
The New York Giants have been linked to just about every single one of the top prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft.
At No. 5 overall, they’re expected to have their pick of the litter when it comes to all the non-edge rushers, such as linebacker Sonny Styles, safety Caleb Downs, and wide receiver Carnell Tate.
Of course, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is a name that’s been in the mix as well. He’s widely considered to be one of the best prospects in the upcoming class, but the discussion around him is nuanced thanks to the position he plays.
The Giants don’t necessarily need an addition to their running back room, but they absolutely should be in the market for great football players.
Is Love’s greatness enough for New York to ignore traditional positional value? From John Harbaugh’s comments at the league owners’ meetings, it certainly sounds like it.
John Harbaugh Can’t Get Enough of Jeremiyah Love
The New York Giants head coach was asked about positional value and the idea of picking a running back with such a high draft pick in April.
Harbaugh acknowledged the discussion, but also said the Giants should be trying to find good football players, no matter what position they play.
“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 told reporters.
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“You build the best team you can with the best players you can get”
John Harbaugh was asked about Jeremiyah Love and the business side of potentially taking a running back high in the NFL Draft:
“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.”
Harbaugh provided a pretty solid non-answer, as any media-trained head coach would, but also couldn’t help but praise Love when pressed on it. He was asked if he agreed with the assessment that the Notre Dame star is a “very good football player.”
“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.”
Should the Giants Draft Jeremiyah Love?
The New York Giants don’t need Love; he’d be a luxury pick, not a necessity.
But it’s hard to argue with Harbaugh’s point of the Giants needing good football players, and Love has a chance to be the best one in the 2026 class.
New York has a solid stable of backs already in Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy, and Devin Singletary.
Despite only playing in eight games last season, Skattebo racked up 617 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns. Tracy, thrust into the featured role, ran for 740 yards and scored four total touchdowns.
Both youngsters are talented, but neither projects to be the same caliber of running back as Love.
ESPN’s draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has Love ranked as the second-best prospect in the entire class, just behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
If the Giants feel they’ve addressed their biggest needs in free agency and can afford to take a big swing in April, Love should be the draft pick.