Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) makes a heart sign after scoring a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Syracuse at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NFL Analyst Reveals Why Bengals Are Perfect Fit for Jeremiyah Love

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By James Rapien | Last updated Apr 9, 2026 9:00 AM ET

Jeremiyah Love to the Bengals?

Cincinnati has showed interest in the former Notre Dame star. Love visited the team earlier this week. It's no secret that the Bengals have issues they need to fix on defense. Would they really consider taking Love with the 10th overall pick?

The visit is proof that they're at least considering it. Love averaged 6.9 yards-per-carry in each of the past two seasons, running for 2,497 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Steve Palazzolo of the 33rd Team made the case for the Bengals to take Love on the Check the Mic podcast.

“Do I feel good enough about my offensive line going forward? Do I feel good enough about my receiver room?” Palazzolo said. “That’s why the Lions pick, I wish we had, we should have pulled out the sound clip because I think we both had some, we weren't as critical as others on the (Jahmyr) Gibbs thing, but we brought it up: ‘Running back, it's kind of high.’ The Lions were in a really nice spot, roster wise, where Gibbs became the cherry on top of a good luck covering all of these players. And I do believe, like, if Jeremiyah Love could be the force multiplier for a team that's in really good shape, easily, you justify that. You've got receivers, you've got a quarterback, you've got all these, you have a good O-line, you have people that are tough to cover, good luck covering our pass game. I mean, if the Bengals didn't have such a defensive problem, and you just dropped Jeremiah Love on the Bengals, he's a force multiplier for that offense. Those are the best situations for the elite running back.”

Gibbs 2.0?

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If Love would have a Gibbs-like impact on the Bengals, then he would take their offense to an entirely different level. He would make them far more explosive and much harder to stop.

Teams have been able to dare the Bengals to run the ball over the past few seasons without worrying about explosive plays. If Cincinnati could generate explosive plays on the ground, then there's a good chance that it would free up Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins downfield at a much higher rate.

The Bengals are focused on defense and rightfully so, but if Love is available at 10, they should seriously consider picking him.

Check out Palazzolo's full comments here.

This article first appeared on Cincinnati Bengals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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