The 2026 NFL Draft is less than a month away and soon we’ll have a new crop of players to sift through for fantasy football. Among them is the top RB prospect out of Notre Dame, Jeremiyah Love, who headlines what is considered a weak class at the position.
Yahoo analyst Matt Harmon was joined by Ray Garvin to talk about the best potential landing spots for Love for fantasy value on the latest episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast podcast.
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Harmon begs the question: Will Love be a top-15 pick in redraft fantasy football leagues going into 2026? And Garvin responds by pointing to last year’s top rookie RB in Ashton Jeanty, which could spawn some PTSD for fantasy managers who were spurned by the hype. There were certainly some analysts who were skeptical of Jeanty coming from a Mountain West team vs. a Power conference team.
In Love’s case, many believe that the Washington Commanders will target the Notre Dame back in the top-10 at No. 7 overall. That landing spot feels like a better situation than the New Orleans Saints, who could add Love to a backfield already featuring newly-signed free-agent RB, Travis Etienne Jr. Garvin had mocked Love to the Commanders back in January and that prediction has only gotten stronger backing as we approach the draft.
Ray also throws out the New York Giants at No. 5 overall. The Giants just brought in John Harbaugh as head coach and second-year RB Cam Skattebo is coming off major injury sustained in 2025. The Tennessee Titans are also in consideration for Love, giving them a more dynamic playmaker in the backfield to complement QB Cam Ward.
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Love is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he rushed for over 1,000 yards with at least 17 touchdowns. In that span, he has 40 total touchdowns and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. Love ranked first in total combine score among RBs in the 2026 class at 94 and ran a 4.36 40-yard dash.
Yahoo analyst Justin Boone is wasting no time ranking Love high in his early look at 2026. Boone has Love as the RB4 in his early RB dynasty rankings and the RB11 in his overall RB rankings for next season.