Jeremiyah Love has league-breaking upside for 2026 redraft leagues and aggressive managers will be rewarded

Love ticks all the boxes you look for in a Fantasy phenom

Dan Schneier

Apr 10, 2026

6:46 pm ET

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3 min read

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If you're not first, you're last. No, that's not only a quote from Ricky Bobby -- it's true in Fantasy Football leagues. No one remembers the Championship game loser, and no one remembers which team scored the second-most points in the regular season, only to be screwed by their unlucky schedule. This is a mindset that I've prescribed to listeners of the Beyond The Boxscore podcast since its inception, and it's one that led me down the path of ranking Christian McCaffrey 1.1 at RB and overall heading into the 2025 season. It doesn't always work out, but there's not all that much that separates a bottom-of-the-standings finish from a first-round playoffs exit when all is said and done. And that leads us to 2026 NFL Draft prospect and incoming rookie running back Jeremiyah Love.

The bold will be rewarded in 2026 redraft leagues. Love's skill set has a chance to break Fantasy Football immediately -- specifically in leagues that reward a half point or more for receptions. Let's dive into the why:

But first -- some housecleaning and plug-goding: Jacob and I discussed Love on a recent episode of Beyond The Boxscore:

Love has one of the best analytical profiles you'll find of any running back to enter the NFL. Period.

Friend of the show and recurring Beyond The Boxscore guest Rich Hribar provided further context about Love's sparking analytical profile. According to Hribar, Love averaged 9.1 yards per carry against light boxes (when teams had fewer defenders in the box than Notre Dame had players on the line of scrimmage). This ranks first among all running backs over the last 10 years. His 10.0 yards per carry average when first contacted beyond the line of scrimmage also ranks first among all running back prospects over the last decade. If you give Love a runway, he will exploit it, and much like Jahmyr Gibbs, he will be a threat to take it the distance.

Love also shined when contacted behind the line of scrimmage with a 33% forced missed tackle rate on such runs, per Hribar, it ranked best among all 2025 college running backs. When teams stacked the box to get a numbers advantage against Love and the Irish offense, he still averaged 5.0 yards per carry -- second-best among all college backs.

Jacob Gibbs has uncovered more analytics that absolutely pop off the page when it comes to Love:

Love has scored 18 touchdowns of 20+ yards over the last two seasons at Notre Dame. He scored nine and eight, respectively, over the last two seasons. That ranks second and fourth-most among all running backs, all time -- at the college level. He also scored 16 touchdowns of 30+ yards over the last two seasons -- good for third-most all time. Only Ashton Jeanty and Saquon Barkley had more 30+ touchdowns in a single season at the collegiate level.

Beyond The Boxscore Advanced Stats

4.35 Yards After Contact -- third-best among all top-15 NFL draft picks at RB since 2017.

17.1% Explosive Run Rate (10+ runs) -- best

30.7% Avoided Tackle Rate -- third-best

14.3% Stuffed Rate (no gain) -- second-best (second least*)

How Love can break Fantasy

Love's path for being a Fantasy league wrecker is the same as McCaffrey's -- through the passing game. This is how we win Fantasy leagues -- receptions. And Love's receiving upside is very, VERY intriguing.

Love's yards per route run was 1.65 during his collegiate career -- not quite as high as Jahmyr Gibbs but above Bijan Robinson's at Texas. Also, over 5% of his snaps were spent used as a slot receiver. Only James Cook and Gibbs hit that number at the collegiate level. Most RBs at the college level sit in the 1% range. This shows that Notre Dame was comfortable using Love in the slot and at times on the boundary. I was blown away by Love's upside as a receiver during my film study. He ran wide receiver-level routes against Miami and an angle route against Boise State that completely fooled the linebacker stuck in man coverage. Love has route running upside and natural receiver upside to be used like McCaffrey at the NFL level.

And if he does get that usage? Love's forced missed tackle rate on all receptions is 51%, which, for reference, is above every other star RB to enter the draft over the last decade. Jeanty was at 47%, Breece Hall at 37%, Gibbs at 36%, and Robinson at 32%. If you get Love the ball in space early and often as a receiver, he will do the rest.

If Love gets with the right offensive play caller, he can be the big playmaker that Gibbs is, and Barkley was a rookie in the run game while also serving as McCaffrey (light version) in the pass game. And that would break Fantasy Football, redraft leagues.

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