Cardinals bet on star power, and Jeremiyah Love delivers the roar
The Cardinals defied need to draft Jeremiyah Love, betting on elite talent to restore excitement and relevance, Dan Bickley writes.
Watch: Monti Ossenfort explains Jeremiyah Love pick & previews the rest of the 2026 NFL Draft | 17 mins
The Cardinals produced a roar on Thursday night. It’s a sound they don’t hear very often.
The selection of Jeremiyah Love gave Arizona a running back and its relevancy back.
Love represents star power, the kind of high-end talent the Cardinals sorely lack. He’s a dual threat from Notre Dame with great hands and elite speed. His name will look great on the back of replica jerseys that are guaranteed to fly off the shelves.
Cynics assume this is the handiwork of owner Michael Bidwill. Love will sell tons of merchandise. He will lure back many season ticket holders who swore they were gone for good. He will generate immense revenue given his resume and his suspenseful selection, easily the most exhilarating moment of the 2026 NFL Draft. It will help offset the estimated $50.5 million contract and $30 million signing bonus awarded the No. 3 overall pick, an outrageous sum for an unproven running back in today’s NFL.
But I commend the Cardinals. Every team claims they are committed to drafting the best player on the board. It’s much harder to do when you’re coming off a 3-14 season, when you already have a room full of running backs on the roster.
The Cardinals showed similar conviction in 2004. They were coming off a 4-12 season. They lost the No. 1 overall pick on a Hail Mary victory in the last game of the regular season. It was the happy ending Dave McGinnis richly deserved, the affable head coach who was fired after that season, the fan favorite who passed away 10 days ago.
In the following draft, new head coach Dennis Green stumped for his godson with the third overall pick at a time when the Cardinals did not need another wide receiver. They had already drafted two wide receivers (Bryant Johnson, Anquan Boldin) in their first three picks of the previous draft. Undeterred, they selected Larry Fitzgerald, who merely became the most important player in franchise history; who will become the first member of the 2004 draft class to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
That’s history worth repeating.
Alas, the tantalizing idea of pairing Love with a potential franchise quarterback evaporated when the Rams used the 13th overall pick for Alabama’s Ty Simpson, who will be groomed as the successor to reigning MVP Matthew Stafford. Many experts assumed the title-contending Rams were going to select a wide receiver. Opting for Simpson suggests how much they didn’t want him to land in Arizona, as a future competitor in the NFC West.
But Love will bring plenty of juice all by himself. The Cardinals do not have a great history with running backs, but on Thursday, they had the courage to put their money where their mouth was, selecting the best player on the board. They are banking that Love conquers all, and fortune favors the bold.
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Comments
109 Comments
Did the Cards get a good QB I was unaware of? They were 1-11 with the QB they are going to start next year. I have no idea what makes you think they are are better than any other team picking that high.
The Cardinals also play in the toughest division in the league.
Look at running backs drafted in the top 5 and see how many of them had success on the teams that drafted them. Bijan Robinson is the best RB in the league, and his team hasn't been over 500 since he was drafted. Saquon with the Giants?.CMC with the Panthers?
Who's the Patriots RB? The Seahawks just let their RB walk.
I'll steal an analogy I heard someone else make... A running back is like NOS. If you put it in a race car it could give you the edge you need to win a race, if you put it in a mini van it will make you lose the race by slightly less.
I just see too many A gap blitzes blasting JB in the mouth (and flushing Kyler Kyler Kyler before that). Don't know if it the line calls, he doesn't see it or one the guards doesn't pick it up, but the up the middle twist/curl/blitzes just blew up too many plays the last couple years...