Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love has no personal goals in NFL

After two highly impressive years with Notre Dame, running back  Jeremiyah Love was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 3 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. Love led the nation in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and total touchdowns during each of the past two seasons while also capturing the Doak Walker Award and earning recognition as a Heisman Trophy semifinalist. 

With such accomplishments, it would be easy to assume that the young running back would have serious expectations of himself as he transitions to the league. In an article by Nick Shook on NFL.com, Love made it clear that personal goals were not even an aspiration of his.

Jeremiyah Love explains why personal goals do not matter

When discussing his expectations for his rookie season, Love explained why personal accolades are not currently on his mind.

“I’ve learned throughout my time just playing football, the personal goals aren’t going to get you really where you want to get to. It’s all about the team at the end of the day,” Love said. As long as you do your part on the team, usually you’ll get the personal accolades and the personal goals that you have in your mind. So, in my mind, my goal for myself is to jell really well with this team and do whatever coach [Mike] LaFleur wants me to do, and do it to the best of my ability.”

Love’s remarks show an emotional maturity which Cardinals fans have to love. He could easily be preoccupied with award buzz and personal statistics during training camp as his professional football career begins Instead, Love wants to help anywhere that he is deployed. It is a mindset which will help young NFL talent more than they know in many cases.

Jeremiyah Love's team-first perspective

Love later expanded on why he has always approached football from a team-first perspective.

“That’s kind of how I’ve always been,” Love said. “Never really been the type to set . . . well, I’ve always been the type to set goals for myself, but they’ve always been connected to the team in some type of way. Like last year, I wanted to win the Doak Walker Award in college, wanted to win the Heisman, but those things weren’t going to happen unless I did what I had to do for my team and play my role for the team. Both of them go hand in hand, so I kind of try to make everything team-oriented."

Love's perspective also aids in the explanation of why he has been so successful at various levels of football. Though he recognizes and appreciates the accolades he has achieved, they are simply byproducts of team success, not goals in and of themselves. Those ideals made him one of the greatest players in the history of college football, and they are qualities that he can bring to his NFL career with him. 

Winning football games matters most

As the Cardinals prepare for the 2026 season, Love's talent is already well established. The more intriguing takeaway may be the mindset he brings to Arizona. If his comments are any indication, the rookie is not focused on Offensive Rookie of the Year discussions or statistical milestones. Instead, Love appears determined to help the Cardinals win football games, believing the individual recognition will follow if the team succeeds.