Jeremiyah Love has the skills to lift the Cardinals. He also has the mindset

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The first took place at the Capital One Orange Bowl during the 2024 College Football Playoff. On first-and-goal from the Penn State 2, Love tried to bust through the middle but met resistance. He stumbled, bounced outside and slammed into a Penn State defender. He kept his legs moving. Two more Penn State defenders leaped into him. Love ducked and shed two. With the other wrapped around his legs, he lunged into the end zone. Touchdown. The other was far more simple: It unfolded a week earlier in the CFP against Indiana. Backed up near the goal line, Love took a hand off, darted left, and beat the entire Indiana defense to the sideline. Once he turned upfield, no one was catching him. Showing off his 4.36 speed, Love motored 98 yards into the end zone. The first touchdown, all power. Thirty minutes after the Cardinals selected him Thursday night with the No. 3 pick of the NFL Draft, Love was asked during a conference call which play defined him better. “The 2-yard run, I feel like, just shows you what type of player I am,” said Love, who turns 21 on May 31. “You’ve got to be really gritty to get into the end zone. You got to be not willing to be denied. You’ve got to have strength. You’ve got to have courage. You’ve got to have grit. You’ve got to have heart. You’ve just got to be that guy.” This is a risk. Early picks of the NFL Draft are usually reserved for quarterbacks, pass rushers and receivers. A running back has not gone in the top five since the New York Giants selected Saquon Barkley second in 2018. To go this high, an organization has to believe the running back is a difference-maker. The Cardinals believe. “The goal is to add an impact player,” said general manager Monti Ossenfort, adding that the Cardinals decided on Love earlier this week. “There were certainly other players that we talked about. In the end, we felt we added the guy that could impact our team the most.” One of the draft’s top athletes: explosive, with a remarkable blend of balance and burst. One of the draft’s top offensive players, Love will bring excitement, which could have been a factor in Arizona’s decision. The Cardinals are coming off one of their worst seasons in franchise history, one that prompted a coaching change. Fan dissension is high. A talented playmaker grabs people’s attention more than an offensive tackle. It promotes hope. The Cardinals need hope. At Notre Dame last season, Love rushed for 1,372 yards, averaging 6.89 yards per carry. He also caught 27 passes for 280 yards. He totaled 21 touchdowns and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. His exact role and involvement in new coach Mike LaFleur’s offense is not yet known, but at minimum, he will boost the running game, which last season ranked 31st in the league. Ossenfort over the winter overhauled the line and signed Gardner Minshew to battle Jacoby Brissett for the starting quarterback job. The Cardinals have an established weapon in tight end Trey McBride and promising receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr, and Michael Wilson. Provided the line holds and the quarterback is efficient, Love should bring balance as well as the potential to raise the entire unit. “What’s unique about him, in my opinion, is all three phases,” LaFleur said. “The run game, the pass game and protection — he has the ability to mix in all those. You guys see all the explosive stuff, that’s all there, but he didn’t have that weakness in any of those phases.” Love understands recent draft history. He knows running backs are not often selected so high. Over the past nine drafts, only Barkley, Bijan Robinson (eighth in 2023) and Ashton Jeanty (sixth in 2025) have gone in the top 10. He takes the responsibility seriously. “It’s very special,” Love said. “I have the opportunity to really set a new standard for running backs. We’ve already had Saquon, we’ve had Bijan, we’ve had Ashton Jeanty. And now you have me. It’s my job and it’s my duty to make sure that when I step foot in Arizona, that I do what I got to do to represent Arizona in the right way.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms