The 2026 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year race has an early favorite, and his name is Jeremiyah Love. The explosive running back out of Notre Dame arrives in the league with a skill set that feels engineered for modern NFL offenses: breakaway speed in the open field, soft hands out of the backfield, and the kind of highlight-reel agility that made his college tape appointment viewing. He’s not just the favorite to lead all rookies in scrimmage yards. He’s the favorite to transform whatever backfield he lands in.
The College Résumé: Notre Dame’s Human Highlight Reel
Love’s final season in South Bend was a masterclass in efficiency. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry, totaled 1,426 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, and added 34 receptions for 401 yards — numbers that somehow undersell his impact. The Irish offense ran through Love in a way that hasn’t been true of a Notre Dame running back since Jerome Bettis. His performance against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal — 187 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns — was the kind of statement that NFL scouts write in capital letters.
“He’s the most explosive back in this class, and it’s not particularly close,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah wrote in his final pre-draft rankings. “The burst through the hole, the contact balance, the receiving upside — he’s a three-down player on Day One.” When the draft’s first running back comes off the board with that kind of scouting report, the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation starts before the player takes his first NFL snap.
The Landing Spot: Why It Matters
Love was selected in the top 20 of April’s draft by a team with an established offensive line and a run-game coordinator who has a track record of maximizing athletic running backs. The fit is clean: a zone-heavy scheme that asks its backs to make one cut and go, a quarterback who benefits from play-action, and a depth chart that offers a clear path to a 250-touch workload. History suggests that Offensive Rookie of the Year winners come from one of two categories: quarterbacks who start immediately, or running backs who walk into volume. Love is in the second category, and the volume projection is real.
Bijan Robinson (2023), Jahmyr Gibbs (2024’s runner-up), and several other recent rookie backs have demonstrated that first-year running backs can produce elite numbers if the situation is right. Love’s situation looks as favorable as any rookie back in recent memory.
Fantasy Implications and Real-World Impact
The fantasy football community has already priced Love in as a top-15 running back with top-five upside, and the early camp reports suggest the enthusiasm is warranted. He’s been splitting first-team reps and has drawn praise for his pass protection — the single skill that determines whether rookie running backs see the field on third downs. “He picked up the blitz pickup faster than any rookie back I’ve seen,” one NFC running backs coach told ESPN. “That’s usually the thing that keeps young guys on the sideline. With him, it might be what keeps him on the field.”
The Offensive Rookie of the Year field is not empty — quarterback prospects and a handful of early-drafted receivers will push for consideration — but Love’s combination of talent, opportunity, and scheme fit makes him a reasonable favorite. If he stays healthy and the volume materializes, 1,500 total yards and double-digit touchdowns are realistic benchmarks. Those numbers would put him in the conversation. In a class without a clear-cut quarterback frontrunner, they might be enough to win it outright.
The Competition: Who Can Challenge Love?
The Offensive Rookie of the Year field is not empty. A handful of wide receivers selected in the first round — including Luther Burden III in Cleveland and several other highly drafted pass-catchers — will push for consideration if they land in favorable situations. Quarterbacks always dominate the award when they start immediately, and the 2026 class could produce at least one rookie starter by midseason. But running backs who walk into 250-touch workloads have historically been the safest bets, and Love’s situation checks every box that the Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs models established in recent years.
What separates Love from previous rookie running backs is the receiving component. His 34 catches at Notre Dame last season weren’t just checkdowns — they were designed targets in the screen game, wheel routes against linebackers, and option routes from the slot. In an NFL offense that understands how to deploy multi-dimensional backs, Love’s ceiling isn’t just 1,500 yards. It’s 2,000. That’s the kind of production that wins awards — and wins football games.
One final note on Love’s game that separates him from previous rookie running backs: pass protection. In the modern NFL, the ability to protect the quarterback on third down is the difference between 15 touches a game and 25. Love picked up the blitz faster than any rookie back in this class, according to multiple scouting reports, and his three-down readiness is the single biggest reason he projects as an immediate impact player. The Rookie of the Year award favors running backs who never leave the field. Love is built to be one of them.
Sources: NFL.com, ESPN, Pro Football Focus
Last updated: July 31, 2026