What Jeremiyah Love Could Bring to the Chiefs

As the offseason gets underway, so does NFL Draft season for the Kansas City Chiefs, which comes much earlier than they would have hoped. Out of the playoffs for the first time since 2015, Kansas City is looking to retool its roster with plenty of key cornerstones on both sides of the ball, especially at running back, which is in desperate need of a revamp.

With the No. 9 overall selection in the draft, the Chiefs are in a position to select star Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, a true junior and former four-star recruit who has been one of the best tailbacks in college football for the past two seasons, including this year when he was a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Love Chief — Dec 13, 2025; New York, NY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love poses with the Heisman trophy during a press conference at the New York Marriott Marquis. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Love was the recipient of the Doak Walker Award for college football's best running back and was an All-American this season. In high school, he was a sprinter in track and field, with his fastest 100-meter dash being 10.76 seconds, which shows up on tape. Speaking of that, let's dive into what Love brings to the table going into the NFL.

Love's Strengths

Love Chiefs — Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) makes a heart sign after scoring a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Syracuse at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At 6-foot, 214 pounds, Love possesses a fairly long and lean frame that may come as a concern from some evaluators, but if you watch the tape, you'll see that his frame is not an issue. He bestows impressive core and lower-half strength to bounce off would-be tacklers while being able to maintain his speed after contact.

Love's vision is outstanding, showcasing his knowledge of run game concepts, offensive line landmarks, following blockers, and searching for cutback lanes on the backside when Notre Dame looked to stretch on outside zone. When Love finds a crease or space, he showcases incredible stop-start ability to burst quickly into space and utilize his high-end explosiveness to either win the edge or generate a big play through a respective gap.

#NotreDame RB Jeremiyah Love has such impressive explosiveness to the edge that he can break pursuit angles and make chunk plays or score. There are many examples of these plays littered across his tape. The burst, lateral agility, and 2nd/3rd level acceleration are incredible. pic.twitter.com/e9CR3Bzw48
— Jared Feinberg (@Jared_NFLDraft) January 8, 2026

Love has great short-area quickness, change of direction, and instant acceleration that make him a big-play threat every time he touches the ball. He is an excellent three-level runner who has a combination of speed, explosiveness, incredible lateral burst, and agility in space to string together moves in one-on-one situations.

As a pass-catcher, Love is fairly reliable out of the backfield with soft hands to work in the screen game and underneath routes. He will line up across the entire formation, whether as a wing, slot, or perimeter player, to be a decoy, and he runs impressive routes with detail and true nuance. Love is also fairly sound in pass protection with great scans and flashes of technique to stonewall opposing rushers or blitz defenders.

#NotreDame RB Jeremiyah Love is the type of player that, when he touches the ball, big plays are a real possibility every time.

The spin move and acceleration on the long score vs. Pitt is insane—easy blue-chip prospect for me. pic.twitter.com/jEAs779F7m
— Jared Feinberg (@Jared_NFLDraft) January 8, 2026

If you're worried about ball security with Love, don't be: in 496 career touches, he has no lost fumbles to his name, making him one of the most reliable ball carriers you could draft this year.

Love's Weaknesses

There aren't many flaws to Love's name, and if there are any, they're more just nitpicky situations where it can easily improve at the next level. At times, there are moments when Love will compromise his technique or not put enough pop in his pads to stonewall an opposing rusher/blitz defender, allowing the pressure on the quarterback.

As I mentioned earlier, some may not be fully on board with Love's lean frame, but there seems to be more to grow into in this regard. He also dealt with some nagging lower-half injuries that may have affected his play during the later stretch of the season, but his productivity never declined. This is as clean a running back prospect as you will find.

Projecting Love to the NFL

Veech Chiefs — Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jeremiyah Love is a true modern-day workhorse tailback who will only need to exit the field for a breather. He possesses an incredible skill set that combines ample vision and patience with top-tier short-area quickness and change of direction that pairs with high-end speed and explosiveness as a runner, making him one of the most dangerous threats on the field when he touches the ball.

Love also offers three-down ability in short-yardage and third downs as a pass-catcher and protector with reliability in these phases, with room to grow in this area. Love projects as a starting NFL running back who can play on all three downs and phases, making him a true blue-chip prospect in this year's NFL Draft.

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