Jeremiyah Love isn't locking down the Cardinals backfield yet

Arizona took Love 3rd overall this spring, the highest a running back has gone since Saquon Barkley in 2018, and backed it up with a 4-year, $53 million deal that set the guarantee record for the position. That's franchise-back money and franchise-back draft capital tied up in one rookie.

That's not just fantasy-community paranoia — it's coming straight from the building. Cardinals OC Nathaniel Hackett wouldn't hand Love the starting job when camp opened, instead pointing to Conner: he's excited for James to get out there and show what he's got. Arizona also listed Love as RB2 on its first depth chart of camp, behind Conner, even after making him the most bet-on rookie back in years.

Then there's Tyler Allgeier, whom the Cardinals signed away from Atlanta this offseason on a deal with real guaranteed money attached — not a camp-body add. Throw in Trey Benson, a 2024 third-round pick still on the roster, and Arizona has assembled arguably the deepest, most expensive committee backfield in the league.

Conner is also 31 and coming off a foot/ankle injury that ended his 2025 season early, which cuts both ways. A setback for him opens the door for Love, but until that actually happens, coaches have every reason to lean on the veteran they trust in pass protection and short yardage.

None of this erases what Love is as a prospect — a 4.36-speed back who racked up 40 total touchdowns over his last two seasons at Notre Dame. But the fantasy community's read has shifted fast: Love isn't walking into a 20-touch workload in Week 1, and anyone drafting him early is betting on a role he hasn't actually been handed yet.