Todd McShay makes it clear that Jeremiyah Love’s NFL Draft window shrunk with NFL Free Agency moves

Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love is perhaps the most interesting player at the top of this draft. His projected range in the top 10 just got a lot narrower.

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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The first day of 2026 free agency did not disappoint. The majority of the top free agents on the market landed with their new teams, and those teams weren’t afraid to spend. In total, eight franchises handed out over $100 million in face value contracts. The Raiders and Titans dominated the day, each spending north of $280 million in total contract values.

One of the position groups that got picked over first was running back, with three of the top names landing with needy teams picking in the top-10. These were teams that we at least had penciled-in for the Jeremiyah Love sweepstakes, but now that they’ve shelled out for a top free agent, that list has shrunk.

Jeremiyah Love’s Top-10 landing spots are narrowed down to three

The Chiefs landed the top running back on the market on Monday, giving Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker a 3yr/$43.05 million contract worth up to $45 million with $28.7 million guaranteed. They were a team many felt could wind up with Love as the best remaining player on their board at pick 9. Kansas City’s roster needs a lot of work, but some even theorized they could consider trading up in the top-10 for their top target. This idea was reinforced by an answer from GM Brett Veach at the Combine. But whether a trade is something they’d consider or not, it certainly won’t be for Love now.

The Cardinals have the third pick, and some analysts wondered if they would consider taking Love that early. I never saw that as a real possibility, but they’ve now capped off their RB room by signing former Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier. He got a 2yr/$12.25 million deal, joining Trey Benson and James Connor in that full room.

And finally, the Saints pick at 8 and added a starting RB too. Former Jaguars back Travis Etienne got a sizeable contract from New Orleans, a 4yr/$52 million bag. So where does this leave us? Well as Todd McShay pointed out in this tweet affirmatively locking Love in as a top-10 draft pick, part of the Saints’ and Chiefs’ calculus here was that Love isn’t reaching them at picks 8 and 9.

So by my count, this leaves us with three options! If Love truly is a top-10 lock, then he’ll either be a Titan at 4, a Giant at 5, or a Commander at 7.

The Raiders have Jeanty and are taking Mendoza at 1, the Jets just franchise tagged Breece Hall at 2, the Cardinals signed a full RB room at 3, and the Browns at 6 just drafted a pair of rookie RB’s last year.

Mike Borgonzi still does not strike me as the type of guy to take a running back at 4. I’m not saying there’s no scenerio in which he would pull that trigger, but I do think he is fundamentally opposed to the idea in general. It would take a board of options that makes it blatantly obvious how much better Love is than every other option. Spending premium picks on premium players, emphasizing the trenches, and abiding by good historical process are what I think of when I think of Mike Borgonzi.

So if you told me he had his pick of the litter between Arvell Reese, David Bailey, Rueben Bain, or Jeremiyah Love, I’d feel pretty confident he takes one of the pass rushers.

But he won’t have his pick of the litter. At least one, if not two of those rushers will be gone. And so, this class may very well present that “lesser of two evils” scenario in which Love is the pick. The way he’s being talked about around the league, I can’t yet rule it out as a possibility.

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