Jeremiyah Love knew, pre-draft that the Cardinals would take him

The Arizona Cardinals are in search of an identity right now, someone who can help fill the seats and mover the merch. Enter rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, who Arizona selected third overall out of Notre Dame, in this past April’s draft. We recently had a pretty long stretch in which we weren’t seen running backs go very high in the draft.

Saquon Barkley went 2nd overall, out of Penn State, to the New York Giants in 2018. Sandwiched between him and Bijan Robinson (8th overall, out of Texas, to the Atlanta Falcons in 2023), we didn’t see any RBs go up at the very top of the draft. The position was simply devalued by the league.

After all, you know all the cliches- “it’s a pass-first league,” “it’s a quarterback-driven league” etc. And while it still “all starts with the quarterback,” the running game is back in vogue, and elite rushers are once again highly sought after. Ashton Jeanty went 6th overall, out of Boise State, to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.

And as the 2026 draft neared, Love all but knew getting selected 3rd overall by Arizona was in the cards for him. A predraft phone call from Cardinals General Manager Monti Ossenfort tipped him off.

“I kind of expected it towards the end, maybe a week before the draft,” Love said in an exclusive with Ratings.org. “I got on a call with Monti, and Monti’s our GM, and we sat down and talked for a little minute, and it was a great conversation. (Prior to that) the Cardinals didn’t hit me up during the whole draft experience, so we kinda knew what was going on.”

Love also went on to say that before he knew his exact destination would be Arizona, he was aware that he’d go somewhere in the top five. Love, who also said in the same interview that he would welcome the opportunity to return kicks this season, was aware that both the Tennessee Titans at overall, or the New York Giants at overall, were keen on taking him.

“Before then, I thought I was probably going to the Titans or the Giants, which would have been a blessing as well,” Love added.

For the most part, this past draft went pretty much as expected. There were not a lot of outside-the-box picks, until Ty Simpson went 13th overall, out of Alabama to the L.A. Rams. Most of the first round unfolded in a predictable manner, and it’s safe to say that a lot of the other players taken up high, in the same range as Love, likewise knew where they were going long before they were selected.