It was a controversial move for the Arizona Cardinals to use the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Jeremiyah Love. That’s not because he lacks talent, but because he’s a running back, and many see that as too high to pick a running back. So, given that context, it was safe to expect he’d be a vital part of the offense.
Through two weeks, that hasn’t been the case. The Cardinals are using Love, but they’re not leaning on him overly heavily. That’s particularly surprising given that quarterback is a weak point for the offense.
Love has 20 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown. That’s 3.5 yards per carry behind a struggling offensive line. He also has 5 receptions for 25 yards, or 3.6 yards per reception. In Week 2, he played on 40% of snaps. For comparison, Tyler Allgeier has 22 carries for 71 yards, or 3.2 yards per carry. He also has 4 receptions for 18 yards, or 4.5 yards per reception.
Part of that lack of usage may come down to the ankle sprain that Love suffered in the Cardinals’ first preseason game. If he isn’t fully healthy, it makes sense to take some of the burden off his shoulders. Still, Cardinals fans are starting to get anxious to see more of Love.
Arizona Cardinals Fans Want to See More Jeremiyah Love
One of the first people to point out the lack of usage that Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur has designed for Jeremiyah Love was Johnny Venerable. A host for PHNX Cardinals, he compared it to the concerns about how the Cardinals are using Marvin Harrison Jr. at wide receiver.
“The Marvin Harrison Jr. usage conversation is masking the fact that Jeremiyah Love also does not have enough touches through two weeks,” Venerable wrote.
The comparison to Harrison is an interesting one. They’re both incredibly talented skill position players who the Cardinals drafted extraordinarily high. They’re both also not getting the touches anyone expected early in the season.
Venerable wasn’t the only one with that sentiment. A fan account, Bird Droppings, wrote, “It’s time to take the training wheels off Jeremiah Love…….”
Some fans did question if the ankle injury had something to do with Love’s usage. Other Cardinals fans even advocated using him less, to avoid running him into the ground on a season that will likely amount to a rebuild.
The Cardinals Need a Balance With Love
It’s perfectly fair to want to see more Jeremiyah Love. It’s also fair to say that the Cardinals shouldn’t be running him into the ground when he’s coming off an ankle injury and still a rookie. After all, the Cardinals want him for years of success, not just 2026.
That’s a difficult balance to find. It’s also one that Reese Kunz recently advocated for trying to find.
“Preserving their draft investment is one thing, and a key reason why we applauded the underrated offseason signing of former Atlanta Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier. There’s no reason for Love to be a full-on bellcow in what is essentially already a lost season for the Cardinals in terms of their playoff chances in the loaded NFC West,” Kunz wrote.
“Still, Arizona needs to find a better balance going forward, since there’s no reason their best offensive weapon should be seeing 40 percent of the snaps in a game where they struggled to get anything going.”
Cardinals Fans React to Mike LaFleur’s Usage of First-Round Pick Jeremiyah Love