2026 NFL Draft: Should the New York Giants Pick Jeremiyah Love No. 5 Overall?

The New York Giants have found their quarterback of the future in Jaxson Dart, and the next three seasons are crucial for adding explosive talent around him and maximizing the team's opportunities while Dart is on his rookie contract.

This is a unique draft cycle in the NFL because, outside of Fernando Mendoza, there are no other perceived elite-level first-round talents at quarterback.

There are also no perceived prototypical franchise left tackles or X-receivers in this draft. That opens the opportunity for a guy like Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame's do-everything explosive running back, to shoot up the boards and be in play as a top-five pick.

He would give the Giants another explosive element to put with Dart and Malik Nabers (once Nabers returns from a knee injury).

Big Blue has added Isaiah Likely, who's an explosive element at tight end who could potentially give this team firepower at every level on offense.

So is it worth it for the Giants to take a swing on Love at No. 5? Let’s look at both sides of the question.

Why Love Makes Sense

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs with the ball on his way to score 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

Big-Play Ability

Love is the ultimate home run hitter. His ability to score from anywhere on the field makes him a constant threat. When he gets the ball, it's terrifying for defenses.

His speed stands out against elite defenders. He can outrun angles and fly past pursuit.

In the NFL, backs who can break off long runs at any time are incredibly valuable. His explosiveness is consistent from the first through the fourth quarter.

Versatility as a Receiver

Love gets a lot of compliments on his ability as a runner, but his receiving ability is still rather underrated when you think about his value to a team.

He runs a route tree far beyond dump off passes out of the backfield. He gets deployed in different alignments and runs routes like many receivers do.

He creates a matchup nightmare for linebackers who simply can't stay with Love in coverage.

Ball Security

Ball security is extremely important in the NFL. Scoring and possessing the football are paramount to a team if they want to win the game.

Love carried the football 450 times during his tenure at Notre Dame. In that time, he only fumbled the ball once.

That level of protection is highly valued, and it's a reason why Love is one of the more desired top prospects in this draft.

In a league where defenders constantly practice stripping the ball away or knocking it out of the ball carrier's hands, Love adds immediate value.

Why Love Does NOT Make Sense

Positional Value

The argument over positional value still exists, even as we've seen a resurgence of running back talent that helps or leads offenses to championship relevance.

The idea of taking a running back with a top-five pick still gives many general managers nightmares because it normally means passing up talent at high-value positions of need that you can't typically find in the later rounds.

There are so many examples of backs being taken that high, and the team never finding the ultimate success with them. Meanwhile, there are countless backs taken later in the draft that end up being really good for much less.

Interior Vision

Although Love is great as a runner in zone schemes because he is so quick to reach top speed, he sometimes lacks the patience to let his blocks set up and be exploited.

He is too quick to rely on his speed to get to the outside and will bounce plays that he could have cut back on if he had been just a quarter second or a half second more patient.

Being able to press the hole and know when to explode through it will be important if he lands in a more gap-scheme offense.

He needs to give his blockers an opportunity to execute; if he just starts bouncing everything to the outside, he will succeed, but eventually defensive units will catch on to his impatience and force him to bounce everything outside, where they'll be waiting.

Pass Protection

When you invest in a running back with a top-five pick, you want them to be great at everything.

The one place where Love is clearly not great is pass protection. Obviously, this is something he can improve on, but it is a real issue right now.

He has a tendency to lunge at defenders and not use his leverage and center of gravity to stone blitzers or wide edge rushers.

He dips his head, which allows him to lose sight of a defender and make poor contact with pass rushers.

So What Should the Giants Do?

People keep trying to compare taking Love with the fifth pick to the Giants taking Saquon Barkley many years ago, but that comparison does not make sense.

The situation is completely different now than when Barkley was taken: the team's offensive infrastructure has been set up to justify taking a force multiplier at this point in the draft.

If you want elite-level explosive athletes on your team, you have to be willing to pay a premium. The Lions would not have Jahmyr Gibbs if they didn't accurately assess him as a high-level first-round pick.

The Atlanta Falcons had Tyler Allgeier, an effective running back, and Cordarrelle Patterson playing running back when they decided to draft Bijan Robinson.

The problem is that they did so without their legitimate answer at quarterback. And it’s the presence of a franchise quarterback that makes this a more logical decision for the Giants.

In the end, if the vision of head coach John Harbaugh is to make this a run-dominant offense, then taking Love at five makes all the sense in the world.

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