Can Jeremiyah Love be the next homegrown 1st-round RB success story?

In case you didn’t know, Jeremiyah Love was the first running back drafted in the first round by the Arizona Cardinals since Beanie Wells (No. 31 overall) in 2009.

Since Wells, the NFL has seen 28 first-rounders at the position, with Love (No. 3) and his Notre Dame running mate Jadarian Price (Seattle Seahawks at No. 32) joining the tally in 2026.

And given Wednesday’s practice views and update from head coach Mike LaFleur, Love will be making his NFL debut this weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers.

 

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Can the rookie, who is the highest running back taken since Saquon Barkley (No. 2 in 2018 by the New York Giants), be the next Day 1 running back to put himself in rare air?

And most importantly, can he do it with the team that drafted him?

A closer look at the first-round track record Love is up against with the regular season on the horizon:

Second contracts few and far between

Getting a four-year rookie deal that carries a fifth-year option is one thing.

Landing that second NFL contract with a team is another.

Excluding the four players currently on rookie deals, 12 of the 24 remaining did not get a second contract with the team that drafted them. That’s a 50% clip.

Six of those players didn’t even get their fifth-year options picked up by their respective teams, either. That includes Wells in 2009.

Let’s go a step further.

Of the eight who did sign a consecutive contract with the team that drafted them before this year’s signings, only Mark Ingram, Todd Gurley, Christian McCaffrey and Ezekiel Elliott managed to make it longer than a year on their new deals.

Players like Knowshon Moreno (Denver’s No. 12 pick in 2009), Donald Brown (Indianapolis’ No. 27 pick in 2009), C.J. Spiller (Buffalo’s No. 9 pick in 2010) and Ryan Matthews (San Diego’s No. 12 pick in 2010) only saw their fifth-year options picked up before heading elsewhere.

Barkley also saw his fifth-year option picked up. He was then franchise tagged in 2024 before heading to Philadelphia as a free agent the following season.

It’s one of the biggest whiffs in Giants history, especially given where he ended up.

The in-house success stories

Looking back at the 28 first-rounders, just two fulfilled multiple multi-year contracts with the teams that drafted them:

– Mark Ingram
– Ezekiel Elliott

In total, both inked three separate contracts with their respective teams.

Of the two, Elliott turned in the better pro career. He paced the league in rushing yards twice (2016, 2018) and posted four seasons of double-digit rushing touchdowns.

He added 2,718 receiving yards and 14 scores on 368 career catches.

Finding more success elsewhere

McCaffrey and Barkley make up two of the best running backs in the game. There’s no debate there.

Whether it’s on the ground or through the air, there aren’t many who stack up against them.

And both have helped their current teams reach the biggest game in football. That all sounds great until you look at who they play for.

While both made names for themselves in Carolina and New York, respectively, neither are still with their original team.

McCaffrey was dealt in 2022 to San Francisco and has helped the 49ers reach the playoffs three times, including their run to Super Bowl LVIII.

Before that, he had appeared in just one playoff game for Carolina. The Panthers went 28-36 with McCaffrey on the field.

Barkley, meanwhile, saw two playoff games with New York (both in 2022) and a 25-48-1 record before signing with Philadelphia in 2024. He’s since been an MVP candidate (2024) and helped the Eagles take home Super Bowl LIX.

And although Jaguars 2017 first-rounder Leonard Fournette had better regular season stats in Jacksonville, his 2020 playoff heroics for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their way to a Super Bowl victory will be remembered as some of his crowning career moments. In four games, he racked up playoff-leading totals in touches (82), yards (448) and touchdowns (four).

Then-Oakland Raiders 2019 first-round-pick Josh Jacobs has also seen more success with his current team, the Green Bay Packers. On top of back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons, Jacobs has also tasted the playoffs more than he did with the Raiders.

It’s not just about the running backs doing better elsewhere, either. The teams the running backs mentioned above ended up with were all in far better places than the franchises that drafted them.

Situation is key.

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