Is Jeremiyah Love worth a top 10 pick?

Hello, hello!

I have more exciting news to share!

Today marks the debut of The ALL NFL Draft Podcast (subscribe here). If you like this newsletter … well, you’ll love this podcast.

For the maiden voyage, I invited my friend Dane Brugler from The Athletic to go position-by-position through this class, talk about some key players and chew on a theme about each position that spoke to me with the first half of the NFL season in the books. I’m excited to be back talking about the NFL Draft in the podcast space on a regular basis, and that is the place to find me! 

With that, here’s what else is on my mind!

One player was added to my Top 50 this week, and it was along the offensive line. 

Keylan Rutledge screams ‘long-time starting guard’ to me when I watch him on tape. Will he reach three Pro Bowls in his career? I don’t know. Probably not. But this kid is powerful. He’s mean. He’s smart. He’s a team captain. He’s athletic enough. I think he sticks for a long time. 

My biggest takeaway from Tuesday’s NFL Trade Deadline is an obvious one. After multiple deals, the New York Jets currently have multiple first-round picks and multiple second-round picks this spring along with a whopping three first-rounders in what could be a very exciting 2027 draft class. GM Darren Mougey said this week that this was not a complete ‘teardown’ and, honestly, I agree. This has been a bad team this year but I don’t think it’s a barren wasteland of talent. 

The Jets have a young, ascending offensive line. They have a WR1. They have a promising young tight end. They have a stable of young backs. They traded away two defensive cornerstones, but if you’re able to flip those picks to ensure you get your actual quarterback of the future, that should always be the most important goal for an organization. The last regime lived in the timeline of ‘great defense with mediocre quarterback play’ and it didn’t get them to the final destination. These moves give them a chance at a reset on the fly. 

I don’t think the Jets need to force the issue at quarterback this spring, but if they do fall in love with a quarterback during the pre-draft process, they absolutely should select him. If not? Justin Fields has another year left on his deal. There will likely be veterans (Kyler Murray? Tua Tagovailoa? Anthony Richardson?) on the market. Kick the can for one more year and gear up for 2027. 

As a Jets supporter, this may feel like punching your ticket on the never-ending rollercoaster ride that is being a fan of this team. But I applaud this new regime for making these moves and seeing the bigger picture.

As I talked about with Dane on the podcast this week - I am extremely high on Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love. I do, however, think we are going to have the ‘position value’ conversation once again with the running back position, just like we did a year ago with Ashton Jeanty. This goes alongside how I stack my board (explained here in my recent Top 50), which takes position contract value into account. 

If you look around the league at each position and pick out players you feel would be ‘worth’ a Top 10 or Top 15 pick in the NFL Draft, the ideal return you’d get on that investment, those players are typically getting paid at least $15-17 million per year (on a non-rookie contract, of course). There are three running backs in that bracket right now (Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry). There are 27 wide receivers in that bracket. There are 15 offensive guards in that group. 21 defensive tackles. Six off-ball linebackers. Four tight ends. You can keep rolling. Running backs are dead last. 

Now, Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson will change that soon, but that will come with the cap inflation and salaries across the league continuing to rise, which makes that $15-17 million threshold go up a bit as well with inflation. The point being - the margin for error is slim. If you’re taking a guy that high at that position, he MUST become one of the elites for you to get value on the deal. If he’s not in that upper crust? If he’s just a ‘good’ back and not a ‘great’ back? That’s a definite loss. That is not the case at those other positions. 

So I love Jeremiyah Love. As an individual talent, he will have one of the highest ‘film’ grades of anyone in the class. He currently sits 18th on my board. Could he crack the Top 10 before it’s all said and done? I don’t know … but it will take a lot! The position value is just a hard thing to overcome. 

A few Shrine Bowl invites are starting to make the rounds. I shared my thoughts on Memphis LT Chris Adams last week, and this week I want to talk about Navy’s offensive weapon Eli Heidenreich. I say ‘offensive weapon’ because some view him as a running back, but I think I’m good with him as a slot receiver. 

Heidenreich is quicker than fast and shows upside as a route runner at all three levels of the field. He’s very physical and tough - he’ll offer value as an insert or crack blocker like you see in those clips above. He’s fearless. In today’s league I think he has a skillset you can absolutely work with as an important role player on offense. I’m genuinely excited to watch more of him down the road, and I’m really excited to get eyes on him in Dallas in January if he is in attendance. 

Penn State has lost five straight for just the second time in 20 years, but it’s not a team devoid of talent. They take on No. 2 Indiana in the early window on Saturday, and this is a good measuring stick for prospects on both sides. Hoosiers LT Carter Smith is a fluid athlete who I thought had a pretty good anchor in pass pro. Penn State EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton will test it with his bull rush in this game. I think PSU CB AJ Harris has starting-level traits for the league, and he’ll get a chance to square off against one of the best receiver tandems in the NFL in WR Elijah Sarratt (more of your traditional physical, possession receiver) and WR Omar Cooper JR (an explosive athlete who can be a slasher with the ball in his hands). If those receivers are working the middle of the field, they’ll be hearing from physical S Zakee Wheatley as well; he’s another player who I think can make an impact on Sundays. That’s a handful of draftable defensive prospects that QB Fernando Mendoza will see in this one, and that’s not to mention explosive DT Zane Durant as well. On the other side, Indiana LB Aiden Fisher has been one of the most productive ‘backers in the nation, and he’ll be in charge of tracking down the tandem of RB Kaytron Allen and RB Nicholas Singleton. Singleton is more sizzle and flash with his long speed, where Allen is more ‘steak and potatoes’; I prefer Allen as a prospect but both will find a role in the league. 

In the afternoon window we have a big Big 10 matchup between No. 9 Oregon and No. 20 Iowa and, as usual when you’re talking about the Hawkeyes, my eyes will be on the trenches. Iowa RT Gennings Dunker is an ‘offensive lineman’s offensive lineman’. He’s extremely physical and works really well in the run game. He’s strong and holds his ground well in pass pro. He has a good matchup ahead against Oregon EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei, a stout pass rusher who wins with technique and play strength over explosiveness and flexibility. That’s a good evaluation tape for both of those players. Right now I think Uiagalelei goes somewhere in the 20-50 range next spring if he comes out, while Dunker is probably more of an early Day 3 selection, and may have to kick inside in the NFL. Further on the interior, Iowa has an undersized but very athletic blocker C Logan Jones, who I think has starting ability in a zone blocking system. He’ll see a lot of Oregon DT A’Mauri Washington, a first-year starter who is an absolute monster in the middle. He’s got outstanding physical tools that could land him in the Top 15 whenever he enters the league. Don’t discount Ducks senior DT Bear Alexander either!

The centerpiece game of the weekend, Alabama vs LSU, may have lost a little bit of its luster after the Brian Kelly firing two weekends ago, but there’s plenty of talent on display in this football game. I’m excited to see QB Ty Simpson prepare against a Blake Baker defense that has made some talented quarterbacks look bad at times this year. On the other side, QB Garrett Nussmeier has a big test against a talented Crimson Tide unit as well. This rivalry game is big for both quarterbacks. Alabama RB Jam Miller will look to get things going downhill against an LSU linebacking corps that includes the versatile, but volatile, LB Harold Perkins. The senior began the year out in space in the ‘Star’ role, but has had to slide inside after injuries at that position. If junior LB Whit Weeks can make his way back into the lineup (which is on the table), that will be big for the Tigers. Weeks’ projection to the league is a bit easier for me to foresee than Perkins, and I think he’s a better run defender right now in the box. Lastly, one of the highlights in this game will be between the LSU secondary and Alabama receiving corps. Sophomore Ryan Williams was one of the faces of college football coming into the year, but take a closer look at senior WR Germie Bernard, who has speed to burn, can finish at the catch point and will do dirty work for that offense as a blocker on top of it. Bernard will see one of the top corners in the country this year in LSU CB Mansoor Delane, a physical press corner with instincts and ballskills.

I’ve been loving the interactions with all of you who have responded to these emails. So here’s my call for this week - if you think you have a potential Top 50 selection that is NOT listed in the Draft Guide - hit me up! Make your case for why I should watch them next and add them to the guide! I’m trying to churn through as many names as I possibly can right now. All ideas are welcome!

Best,

Fran Duffy

📬 Subscribe to a free ALLCITY Daily Newsletter with one click!

Stay connected every weekday morning with our our daily sports newsletters from CHGO, PHLY, PHNX, DLLS, and DNVR — subscribe with just one click!