Love plans to showcase his full talent at Indianapolis on Saturday
Love entered Indianapolis with numbers that back up his confidence. Across the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined, he led all of college football with 35 rushing touchdowns and 40 total touchdowns from scrimmage.
His 2025 season saw him average 114.3 rushing yards per game at 6.9 yards per carry, with 18 rushing touchdowns, a jump of 44 yards per game from 2024.
Love confirmed Friday he will run the 40-yard dash and participate in all positional drills Saturday, per ESPN, going against the trend of top prospects skipping the on-field work this week.
“I want to be used as a weapon,” Love told reporters Friday. “So far in my career I’ve been used very well. Coach Denbrock at Notre Dame involved me a lot in the passing game, made sure I got the rock in my hands and used me more as a receiver than just a running back.”
ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay reportedly compared Love to Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons, describing him as “silkier, smoother, quicker feet, more athletic than you think.”
A strong Saturday display could push his standing even higher on boards where teams outside the top five are hoping he slips.
Cowboys hold the 12th pick, and Love will likely be gone before then
Even setting the Cowboys exchange aside, the math doesn’t favor a Dallas scenario. Dallas picks 12th, and most mock drafts have Love gone well before that point.
Dallas also extended Cowboys running back Javonte Williams for $24 million following his career year, which makes spending an early pick on the position even harder to justify.
The Kansas City Chiefs, holding the ninth pick, surface most often as a realistic destination. NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah has Love going to Kansas City to play alongside Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his latest mock draft.
“Patrick Mahomes finally gets an elite back,” Jeremiah wrote. “If defenses continue to play a conservative shell defense against the Chiefs, Love can make them pay.”
Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis was the last Notre Dame running back taken in the first round, going 10th overall to the Rams in 1993. Love has a real shot to end that gap come April.
