The 2026 NFL Draft is fast approaching, and it’s time to start diving into the top prospects. The Rookies to Know series aims to identify first-year players who have the talent and potential to make an impact for your fantasy football teams in 2026. Plenty of rookies proved to be relevant during the 2025 fantasy football season, and we’ll do our best to find the first-year players in this upcoming draft who can help your fantasy teams this fall.
It’s important to remember that when it comes to rookies, they often provide pockets of value, meaning they may give your fantasy team a boost for a particular stretch of the season, but maybe not for the duration of the year. Patience can be difficult when managing rookies on your re-draft rosters, but it can pay huge dividends. Just look at Bears Tight End Colston Loveland. He had a slow start to his rookie year, but by the fantasy playoffs, his role increased, culminating in a 21.4 point PPR performance in Week 17 when fantasy championships were on the line. That’s just one example, but it shows how important rookies can be in redraft and best ball leagues. They may not carry your team from Weeks 1-17, but a few spike weeks from a rookie could put your team in a better position to make the playoffs or even win a championship.
This year, the Rookies to Know articles will attempt to be as easily digestible as possible. We’ll start with a background on the player, followed by strengths, weaknesses, and finish up with one or two ideal and realistic landing spots. The goal is to know how the player’s strengths can translate to fantasy production as a rookie, and where they can improve in order for them to reach their ceiling as a fantasy asset.
Next up, we pivot to Jeremiyah Love, quite possibly the most talented and electric player in the entire draft, making him someone that needs to be high on your radar when the 2026 fantasy football season rolls around.
Jeremiyah Love, Running Back, Notre Dame
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 212 pounds
Hometown: St. Louis
Combine results:
40-yard dash: 4.36
10-yard split: 1.55
Arm length: 32 inches
Background:
Born May 31, 2005, in the St. Louis suburb of University City, Missouri, Love was raised in one of the more difficult areas of St. Louis. His parents, who are both retired St. Louis police officers, focused on keeping Jeremiyah busy with all sorts of activities to help him avoid getting mixed up in the wrong crowd. It’s safe to say they did a good job of that. Love attended Christian Brothers College High School, forming himself into a four-star recruit. The speedster brought his fair share of accolades with him to Notre Dame, as he was a state champion track athlete, along with being named the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year for his accomplishments on the gridiron.
Strengths:
- True home run hitter with the football with serious explosiveness
- Impressively patient as a runner for someone as fast and explosive as he is, as this film breakdown dives more into early on in the video
- Attacks a crease with considerable acceleration, even while staying patient as a runner
- At 212 pounds, he’s the perfect blend of a running back with power and a well-built frame who still has elite speed, as his 4,36 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine indicates
- Supremely smooth on his feet, “poetry in motion”, per Todd McShay from a few months ago
- Excellent contact balance makes him particularly difficult to bring down, perfectly on display around the 3:55 mark
- Top-notch ball security with zero fumbles lost in college
- Solid route runner and will be impactful in the passing game as well; a chess piece that’s the definition of an all-around back
- Won’t even be 21 on draft day; dominated in college at 20 years-old, another indicator of why he’s a stellar prospect
Weaknesses:
- At times leaves his feet too often, putting himself in susceptible positions to take on dangerous hits
- Pass protection is an area where he can be more refined (we’re reaching here)
Bottom line:
The Missouri native is about as close to the full package as a Running Back prospect as you will find. In a league where teams are desperate to find playmakers and to force defenses out of the two-high Safety look, Love should make teams think long and hard about passing him up in the draft, despite the “positional value” argument. Touted as one of the top Running Back prospects of the past decade by ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Matt Miller, Love can be looked at as quite possibly the safest pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. We know what we’re getting: a special, unique talent who can take any carry or reception to the house. The owner of the most 90-yard touchdown runs in Notre Dame history won’t find himself waiting too long on draft day to hear his name called, and as long as he can find himself in a remotely stable offense, his impact will be felt immediately.
Ideal fantasy landing spot (s):
I initially thought of the Saints and Chiefs, who pick 8th and 9th in the first round, as attractive landing spots for Love. However, after they signed Travis Etienne Jr. and Kenneth Walker III, respectively, to lucrative contracts, it’s unlikely either team would draft Love. Those signings also indicate that intel around the league points to Love getting drafted before the 8th pick, as New Orleans and Kansas City may not have signed those free agents otherwise.
As a result, the likely range for Love is between the 3rd pick with the Cardinals and the 7th pick with Washington. None of the teams in this range particularly stand out as highly attractive options, but pairing Love with Commanders Quarterback Jayden Daniels in the same backfield would keep opposing defenses on their toes. They signed Running Back Rachaad White from the Bucs, and also have Jacory Croskey-Merritt coming off a rookie year where he had some flashes, but neither should prove to be any threat to Love dominating the backfield.
A wild card option would be if Love somehow sneaks past the Chiefs at 9, with them and New Orleans both passing due to the free agency moves they made. The Vikings at 18 are the next team that has a true need in the backfield. Trading up from 18 to the early teens may not be completely unrealistic for Minnesota. They have two third-round picks and nine total picks in the draft. Matching Love with a motivated Kyler Murray, or a J.J. McCarthy who beats out Murray and shows improvement in his second year as the starter, isn’t the worst spot for him. Kevin O’Connell is one of the most respected offensive minds in the league, and defenses would of course have to account for Justin Jefferson, limiting their ability to load the box to defend against Love. It’s a long shot, but not completely out of the question.
Photo by Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)