Cardinals OC Nathaniel Hackett declines to name rookie Jeremiyah Love starting RB as training camp opens

New Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett spoke to reporters on Sunday, four days after the team opened training camp, and was asked about how the competition for the starting running back position was lining up.

In doing so, Hackett seemingly downplayed first-round pick’s Jeremiyah Love’s chances of winning the job while touting incumbent starter James Conner.

“I mean, he’s definitely a rookie,” Hackett said of Love, who was selected No. 3 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Hackett appeared to voice more enthusiasm for watching Conner, who played in only three games before suffering a foot injury that required season-ending surgery. He finished with 95 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries.

“Excited for James to get out there and show what he’s got,” Hackett said before saying he was looking forward to seeing “all the guys.”

Cue Cardinals fans smacking their foreheads after Love was selected to provide the offense with a major boost in lieu of filling other needs on the roster including offensive line and pass rusher that could have been addressed with the No. 3 pick.

However, many draft analysts and observers felt Love was the best offensive prospect in the 2026 class after he rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 TDs (with 280 receiving yards on 27 catches) in his final season at Notre Dame.

To be fair, Hackett may be attempting to manage expectations for the running back room in addition to fans. Cardinals coaches presumably don’t want to just hand Love the starting job, but see him earn it. Consequently, they likely don’t want Conner to feel that he has no chance at being the starter, especially coming back from injury.

In five seasons with Arizona, Conner rushed for 3,763 yards and 38 TDs, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He also tallied 1,262 yards receiving and 8 TDs on 165 catches.

Conner, 31, reworked the final year of his contract in March to avoid the Cardinals releasing him to save salary cap room. Originally set to earn $6.4 million (with a $9.8 million cap hit), Conner is on the books for a $2.4 million base salary with a prorated portion of his signing bonus making for a $4.8 million cap hit in 2026.

Arizona also signed free agent Tyler Allgeier to a two-year deal. Last year, Allgeier rushed for 514 yards for the Atlanta Falcons and compiled 3.392 yards (including a 1,00-yard rushing season in 2022) in four seasons.

Hackett was hired by Arizona in February to run the offense for new head coach Mike LaFleur. Last year, he worked for the Green Bay Packers as an defensive analyst but has had stints as an OC with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Packers and New York Jets. Hackett was the head coach of the Denver Broncos for one season in 2022.