An under-the-radar stat that makes it even harder for the Titans to pass on Jeremiyah Love in the 2026 NFL Draft
This one metric puts Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love in rarified draft prospect air, which includes a former Titans legend.
Jeremiyah Love to the Tennessee Titans is very much on everybody’s radar this draft season. The blue chip RB out of Notre Dame is one of the best prospects we’ve seen come through the draft in the past decade, and the everybody feels the pressure for the Titans to add another offensive weapon for QB Cam Ward.
The circumstances at the top of this draft class make Love an even more interesting option. A lack of blue chip EDGE talent and uncertainty over who will be available by the time Tennessee is on the clock at pick 4 makes is easy to mock the RB to them. I’ve long expressed my hesitation and skepticism that GM Mike Borgonzi would pull this trigger, but a stat like one the Ringer’s Todd McShay shared on his show this week makes the idea more palatable. And it may very well be the kind of statistical justification teams are making to have a running back so high on their big boards.
The Jeremiyah Love stat that’s impossible to ignore
“The McShay Show” podcast tackled the RB class this week, leading off with the runaway top prospect in the group: Jeremiyah Love. McShay began his breakdown with this analytical threshold a lot of teams are using when evaluating running backs:
“A very intriguing one to me for running back is this predictive threshold that NFL teams are looking for: of a 1.55 (10-yard) split or faster, and a 15% explosive run rate.”
What exactly is predictive about that? McShay explains. “Well, 62% (of running backs) to clear that threshold go on to be multi-year starters in the NFL. It’s pretty good. And it’s really good when you get into buckets, right? In the second, third, fourth, fifth round.”
These kinds of thresholds make it easier to target specific athletes in the later rounds, separating the wheat from the chaff. But what does it tell us about the best of the best at the very top of the draft?
“But then there’s the, like, what’s the elite of the elite with that group?” McShay asked aloud. “Well, the elite of the elite with that group, when you take the split and the ERR… Chris Johnson is at one, he is in the 1.4’s with a 21 ERR, Jahmyr Gibbs was a 1.52s with 19 explosives, and Jonathan Taylor was a 1.51 with 18 explosives. Those are the top three in that category.”
Can you sense the shoe that’s about to drop? “When you combine those, that threshold, who’s in there with them as the top four,” McShay continued. “In the top four is Jeremiah love, right? 1.49s 10-yard split and 20+ explosives. That’s rare company! So like explosive on tape, explosive testing, explosive production.”
These are the kinds of statistical markers that help contextualize just how great a prospect in a grander historical sense. “It helps to kind of qualify like, well, who’s he with? And those guys, we’re talking about explosive backs in the league throughout their respective careers” McShay finished.
Titans fans know firsthand what kind impact a player like Chris Johnson can make on a football team. If you’re high on Love and unbothered by the danger of taking a RB that highly in the draft from a historical, financial, and value standpoint, then this is the kind of icing atop the film cake that you should hang your hat on.
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