March 1, 2026, 5:40 a.m. ET
Well, well, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love certainly caught the Washington Commanders‘ attention on Saturday at the 2026 NFL combine.
NFL fans and opposing teams have seen firsthand the speed and explosiveness of Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs. He is so dangerous when he has the ball. He creates explosive plays in a variety of ways. Well, Love ran the same 40 time Saturday as Gibbs did in his Combine year. They both ran a 4.36. Now, keep in mind that Love is about 15 pounds heavier than Gibbs.
The Commanders have the No. 7 selection in the draft. How long is Love going to last in this upcoming draft? The Commanders go into the free agency and draft week with a seventh-round choice from last season, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, as their No. 1 back. Then there is Chris Rodriguez as the backup, but for now, we are uncertain whether the Commanders and Rodriguez will reach an agreement on a deal. Their third running back, Jeremy McNichols, is 30 and is an unrestricted free agent. So, for now, Croskey-Merritt is the only running back under contract for 2026.
Back to Love, we have compared him to Gibbs. Now, how about Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley? In 2018, Barkley sizzled in his testing, impressing everyone. So much did Barkley impress that he was drafted second overall by the New York Giants. But Barkley actually ran slower than Love did on Saturday. While Love came in at 4.36 Saturday, Barkley ran his best 40 in 4.40. Remember, Barkley’s time earned him the second draft selection spot in 2018.
How fast was Love’s 40 yarder, Saturday? Well, it really is the fastest time among running backs with a 90+ Next Gen Stats production score over the last 10 years. Love with his 4.36 was faster than Jonathan Taylor 4.39, Saquon Barkley 4.40, Bijan Robinson 4.46 and Christian McCaffrey 4.48.
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