Jeremiyah Love, the Arizona Cardinals’ puzzling third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, just cannot break out of the gate, and it all boils down to one critical snag: pass protection. This guy was an elite prospect coming out of Notre Dame, but his NFL journey has been anything but smooth so far, with the Cardinals’ staff clearly hesitant to really unleash him on a hefty workload. And yeah, it’s looking like this situation isn’t changing anytime soon.
Coach LaFleur’s Big Problem With His Third Overall Pick
It baffled everyone when the Cardinals snagged Love with that high draft capital, especially since they’d just inked Tyler Allgeier weeks earlier. Now we know why Love hasn’t made the impact you’d expect from a top-three pick. Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur spilled the tea on why Love isn’t seeing more action, especially on third downs and in those crucial passing situations. LaFleur straight up said, “I wasn’t too confident in terms of getting into some of those ‘scat’ protections and stuff like that and five-man protections. We wanted to have that extra body in there. There were a couple of times where I wanted to get him on some choice routes and stuff like that, but like I said I didn’t feel confident that we were going to be able to execute at the level that we needed to.” Yikes. That’s a pretty damning assessment from your head coach, isn’t it?
Why Tyler Allgeier Is Getting the Nod Over Love
It’s clear LaFleur trusts Allgeier more when it comes to blocking, making him the go-to back in passing situations. This isn’t just a tough pill for Love, it’s a massive headache for anyone who drafted him in fantasy football. The Cardinals are, let’s be real, one of the worst teams in the NFL, which means they’re going to be trailing and in passing game scripts a TON for the rest of 2026. If Love isn’t on the field for those plays because of protection issues, his impact is going to stay limited. Forget about him being a game-changer right now.
So, what’s the deal for Love for the rest of the season? Well, if you’ve got him in a redraft league, the time to sell is probably now. The upside just isn’t there with LaFleur openly questioning his pass protection. For dynasty league players, patience might pay off eventually, but for the immediate future, Love looks like nothing more than a risky RB2. It’s tough to watch a guy with that kind of draft capital essentially stuck in neutral because of one key part of his game, but until he shows LaFleur he can hold his own in protection, his path to a bigger role is totally blocked.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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