Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
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Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love going through a drill at the 2026 NFL Combine.
The New York Jets turned some heads.
Brian Costello of the New York Post revealed that the Jets had breakfast with Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
ESPN radio host Jake Asman responded, “I wasn’t expecting to kind of get a report about a secret breakfast meeting that the Jets had with Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. If they had breakfast, that means the night before must have went tremendously well between the two sides, if you know what I’m saying. Brian Costello was the first to report that the Jets met with Love the morning of Notre Dame’s Pro Day last week.”
A Superstar Player Is Available
Insider Rich Cimini posted a “first look” at the ESPN draft predictor on social media. It bases the results on scouts, Inc grades, expert mock drafts, and team needs, he explained.
Four players popped up on the chart:
Ohio State defender Arvell Reese
Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey
Notre Dame tailback Jeremiyah Love
Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa
Based on the data, Reese is the overwhelming favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick for the Jets. The most likely next player to be picked by NYJ is Bailey, followed closely behind by Love, and then ever so slightly behind is the brother of Jets linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, Francis.
Rich Cimini
First look at the ESPN draft predictor, via ESPN Analytics: Arvell Reese in a landslide with the No. 2 pick. (Based on Scouts, Inc grades, expert mock drafts and team needs). #Jets
Love will be on the board when the Jets pick at No. 2 overall. He very likely won’t be on the board when they pick next in the first round at No. 16 overall.
Love is the No. 4-ranked overall prospect on the consensus big board and the No. 2-ranked offensive player, only behind Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Looking at the Numbers
Love, 20, will turn 21 before the start of the 2026 season.
The talented offensive weapon spent all three of his seasons in college at Notre Dame. He appeared in 41 games during that stretch. With those opportunities, Love toted the rock 433 times for 2,882 rushing yards and scored 36 rushing touchdowns.
Through the air, Love finished with 63 receptions for 594 receiving yards and scored six additional touchdowns.
Love was a finalist for the Heisman trophy. He is one of the best players in this class. However, he plays running back, which isn’t considered a premium position.
RB doesn’t seem like a need for the Jets. This offseason, they franchise tagged Breece Hall. By all accounts, they have a legitimate interest in extending him on a long-term deal ahead of the July 15 deadline.
However, if talks go sideways, the Jets could consider tagging-and-trading Hall to someone else. If they pulled off that move, suddenly the need at RB would surge to one of their biggest areas of weakness.
Or perhaps there is a world where the Jets could have Hall and Love on the roster together. That seems like an insane amount of resources to invest in the position.
During the 2023 NFL draft, the Jets were going to take Jahmyr Gibbs just a year after taking Hall in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. However, the Detroit Lions beat them to the punch. The vision was to pair them together. Now that thought process was by a different regime, so who knows if this current group views it the same way.
We are firmly in lying season. Is this just a smokescreen to drum up trade interest? Is this real interest, and are the Jets on the precipice of shocking the draft world? We will have to wait and find out.