Jeremiyah Love, the Arizona Cardinals’ bold 3rd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, just dropped a bomb about his rookie season. He’s dealing with a new ankle injury, totally separate from the one he got back in August, and after last week’s game, he flat out said, “It’s more of just the whole thing. It’s been a long year for me. Like, [my] body sometimes is down. Somebody [is] sometimes tired. So, like, it’s just managing those things. Like, coaches know that. Like, this is probably gonna be the longest year of my life.” Yikes. This ain’t good for a guy picked third overall.
Brissett’s Check-Down Nightmare and a Crumbling O-Line
Love’s exhaustion is just one piece of a seriously rough start for the Cardinals. Let’s talk about the offense, specifically Jacoby Brissett and his passing game. According to Next Gen Stats, Brissett went a pathetic six of 18 pass attempts for only 55 yards against the Giants’ blitzes. Sure, he threw two touchdowns, but he also tossed two picks, and he was getting hammered, facing pressure on a staggering 52.4% of his dropbacks! Seth Cox, the managing editor over at Revenge of the Birds, laid it out for us: Arizona’s offensive line “stinks.”
It’s a mess, really. Brissett sat out all offseason from a new system, then the team went 1-11, and the Cardinals caved, giving him another $10 million. What’d that get them? An offense that looks totally scared, or maybe just unwilling, to push the ball downfield. Cox told us the passing attack is “literally just check downs” and honestly, it hasn’t even been “enjoyable to watch for the first four weeks.” Losing Paris Johnson Jr. for the entire season only piles onto the offensive line’s problems, which were already bad last year when all their running backs were hurt. They got rid of “problems” like Drew Petzing and Kyler Murray, but the passing game is still stuck in neutral.
Rookie Fatigue and a Dejected Star
Back to Jeremiyah Love: his comments have sparked the usual “taken out of context” remarks, but after the first four weeks, the dude genuinely seems dejected. He’s just not having fun out there. It makes sense, right? You’re a top-3 pick on a losing team, and they don’t even seem to have a real plan week-to-week on how to use their massive investment in you. His rookie season has been “tough through the first month,” and you can feel it in his words. It’s a brutal start for a young player expected to carry so much.
The Detroit Lions are gearing up for this matchup before their Week 6 bye, and for them, this game is all about setting the right “vibes” going into a break. For the Cardinals, well, they’re facing an uphill battle with a passive defensive scheme that can’t generate pressure and an offense that’s just flat-out struggling. They’ve got to figure out something fast, or Love’s “longest year of my life” comment might end up being the understatement of the season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
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