Unpacking the Giants’ latest comments about Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love.
One of the more exciting questions heading into the 2026 NFL draft is which team will take Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. The Titans and Giants have been popular landing spots for Love in mock drafts, and Most of the teams picking in the top 10 don’t necessarily have a major need at running back and the position is not a premium one.
In a draft lacking many blue chip prospects, however, Love is one of the few available. To some, he is the best player in the class, period. For the Giants, the idea of taking Love with the No. 5 pick is reminiscent of the last time they selected a running back in the top-five—Saquon Barkley—when they nabbed him at No. 2 in 2018. Though Barkley was widely viewed as the best player available, he wasn’t able to help the Giants succeed. Barkley had three 1,000-yard rushing seasons during his time in New York, but the team advanced to the postseason just once during his tenure there before departing in free agency after the 2023 season. Immediately after leaving the Giants, Barkley infamously went to the division rival Eagles, became the ninth player in NFL history to Though both the 2018 and 2026 Giants are coming off three-win seasons, the situations are different. For one, the current offensive line is in a better place than it was in 2017. The Giants at that point were also heading toward the end of Eli Manning’s career. This time around, they have optimism with Jaxson Dart at the helm, entering his second season. “This year’s draft, we talked a little bit about the surplus value, and some of the better players in the draft may not typically be in the highest-paid positions outside of that, so you’re at the mercy of what’s available,” general manager Joe Schoen said, via. “Where we are right now is a different place than the Saquon situation. Again, we got a young quarterback, we have a number one receiver, we got Jermaine Eluemunor, the offensive line is stronger. So we’re going to take the best player available, regardless of position, that will help the New York Giants.” New head coach John Harbaugh said of Love at the NFL’s annual league meetings, “I’d probably put very, very good player. Put a couple very’s in front of that, maybe a couple more. He’s really good.” Harbaugh also emphasized the importance of building the trenches, which could be an alternative for the Giants for the No. 5 pick. The Ravens notably never selected a running back in the first-round during Harbaugh’s 18-year tenure in Baltimore. “I think the offensive line is like our team, it’s a work in progress,” Harbaugh said. “The whole team is a work in progress. ... The offensive line and defensive line, I think we talked about it from day one, that’s where games are won and lost. That’s where it starts. We’ve got to try to build the best offensive line and the best defensive line in football. That’s got to be our goal.”As the Giants mull whether they’ll take Love with the No. 5 pick, if he’s even still available when New York is on the clock, here’s a look at the pros and cons of New York selecting the All-American running back in the first round.The benefit of drafting Love if he falls to the Giants is he instantly makes them a better, more explosive team. The Giants have a running back tandem in Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy, but Love would quickly give New York an elite rushing trio. Love would also take more pressure off Dart, giving him both another dynamic weapon and making the Giants less reliant on Dart scrambling or running the ball. If Love lives up to his potential as a perennial Pro Bowler with the Giants as they become playoff contenders, he makes that selection worth it, premium position or not.There’s no doubt Love would improve the Giants, but he also doesn’t address any of the team’s major needs. As mentioned above, the Giants already have a solid duo at running back. With Skattebo, Tracy and Dart running the ball, the Giants ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per game in 2025. They proved they can have a top rushing attack without even adding Love, and could use that pick on another player who fills more of a positional need. The Giants could take other top talents such as safety Caleb Downs, linebacker Sonny Styles or wide receiver Carnell Tate with the No. 5 pick. Though safety and linebacker also aren’t premium positions, the Giants have more of a need at those spots, especially in the back end of their defense. The Giants’ defense was the team’s primary weakness last season, finishing 28th in total yards allowed per game and 31st in rushing yards allowed per game. If the Giants can’t stop other teams, it likely won’t matter how many points Love and the offense can score.Eva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor’s in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or rewatching Gilmore Girls.
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