Report expands on why Cardinals made controversial Jeremiyah Love NFL Draft decision

First-year Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur and general manager Monti Ossenfort made quite a statement regarding those who say that no team should draft a running back with a top-tier pick when Arizona grabbed Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Jeremiyah Love with the third overall choice of the 2026 player-selection process.

For a piece published on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated detailed how those running the Cardinals decided to make what could go down as the most criticized move of the draft's first round. 

Cardinals view Jeremiyah Love as a "home-run hitter"

"He had special explosiveness for the position, but would still be a good back if he didn’t have that, because he’s tough and can find hidden yards," Breer wrote about Love. "Conversely, LaFleur was around Kyren Williams in Los Angeles the past three years, and saw how efficient and tough Williams was, always maximizing what’s blocked for him. Love had that, plus he’s a home-run hitter."

LaFleur previously served as the Los Angeles Rams' offensive coordinator from 2023 through this past season. Breer noted that the Cardinals believe Love can turn "a crappy play" into "a 15- or 20-yard gain" at the highest level. That's not surprising, as multiple analysts said before the draft that Love was the most talented overall offensive player in this year's class. 

However, ESPN's Dan Graziano is among those who have said that the Cardinals picked up an "awesome player" but made a "terrible" draft decision because of the position Love plays and because Arizona likely won't be ready to win much of note anytime soon. 

The Cardinals are coming off a 3-14 season, and 2026 third-round draft pick Carson Beck is more of a developmental project than a sure-thing quarterback prospect. Thus, the perception exists that the Cardinals would have been better off trading the Love selection to acquire additional assets needed for their ongoing roster rebuild. Instead, Love won the Cardinals over.

The Cardinals saw Jeremiyah Love as the best player available at pick No. 3 

"As soon as he walked in for his interview at the combine," Breer wrote about Love meeting the Cardinals, "they could feel his presence, with a confidence that was unforced, and balanced with humility and a comfort in his own skin. So much so, in fact, that they pivoted to being careful showing any more interest, passing on having him in for a 30 visit, and doing two instead of three Zooms (he had one with Ossenfort, another with RBs coach Matt Merritt, and LaFleur decided not to do his). By the time they got there, they’d seen enough. And without a true no-doubter at a premium position, they came to the determination that sounds simple, but is often more complicated than it has to be in a situation like this one. They simply took the best player."

Love likely will have to become a franchise-altering figure to be worth the Cardinals spending the third pick of this year's draft to get him. If he truly is as good as advertised beginning in September, LaFleur and Ossenfort will be able to take some victory laps regarding the drafting of Love.