Jeremiyah Love gets 26 touches in Week 3 loss

On Friday, Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said Love and RB Tyler Allgeier are going to rotate this season. Ultimately, they did in Week 2, but Love was in for the first series, running the ball on three of the Cardinals’ first six plays. The rookie running back looks spry and explosive, yet there was simply no room to run against the Seahawks’ elite defense. Although Love is still splitting snaps with RB Tyler Allgeier, Love out-touched him 12-7 this week. Love can be viewed as a low-end RB2/FLEX next week against the 49ers.

LaFleur is again insisting that Love, the No. 3 overall pick of this year’s draft, and 2026 free agent signee Allgeier will rotate in the backfield, while adding that it “is a long season.” Love saw 13 touches in last week’s win over the Chargers, while Allgeier had 19, and was out-snapped by Allgeier 41 to 32. A similar rotation going forward would put a damper on Love’s week-to-week upside after the rookie spent most of the offseason going as a top-30 pick in fantasy drafts, but he’ll maintain a decent value as long as he continues to see double-digit touches. Both Love and Allgeier will be hard to trust as anything more than fringe RB2/RB3 this week against the Seahawks.

Breer believes the split from Week 1 is “probably a good window into how they’ll manage” Love’s rookie year. Not exactly what we wanted to hear. Breer also mentions that James Connor could “help lighten the load” when he comes back. Love had 13 touches in Week 1. It sounds like this backfield will run by committee even after spending the No. 3 overall pick on Love.

Love was out-snapped 41 to 32 by Tyler Allgeier, who also handled 17 rush attempts compared to Love’s 11. While there was some concern over whether or not Love was on a snap count due to his ankle injury, LaFleur said the usage between the two backs was based on game flow. Love still managed to see 15 opportunities (11 rushes, 4 targets) in the win, but as long as he and Allgeier continue to split work, he will be hard to trust as anything more than a fringe RB2/RB3. Next week’s game against a stout Seahawks defense makes both backs risky bets.

Love started strong, running over LA defenders and scoring a first quarter touchdown while running almost all the routes out of the backfield. He ended up splitting route running duties with Tyler Allgeier, who also had two looks from Jacoby Brissett and led the Arizona backfield with 17 carries. Love ranked sixth among all running backs in rush yards over expected per attempt in Week 1. Perhaps the team wants to ease Love into a workhorse role as the season wears on. He’ll be a risky flex play in Week 2 against a stellar Seahawks defense.

Love missed a few weeks after sustaining a high ankle injury in his only preseason action but had enough time to get right before Week 1. The rookie first rounder will likely function as Arizona’s unquestioned No. 1 back barring any setbacks to his ankle injury. While his Week 1 matchup against LA is less than ideal, Love should be in all fantasy lineups. Cardinals declared Carson Beck, RG Isaiah Adams, DB Garrett Williams, S Rabbit Taylor-Demerson, DL Andrew Billings, and WR Reggie Virgil inactive for the team’s season opener.

Love was limited in practice throughout the week. Head coach Mike LaFleur, however, said he would have no limitations in practice as early as Wednesday, so the limited designation is likely a technicality. He was listed as questionable at the end of the week and LaFleur called him a game-time decision. Love has been trending in the right direction for a while and should be good to go when the Cardinals release their inactives. He will likely split work with Tyler Allgeier, keeping him in the RB2 ranks for his NFL debut.

Two ESPN reports over the last 24 hours have indicated Love will likely play, though no one has actually confirmed this. LaFleur also said that Love is “trending well” while speaking to media members before Friday’s practice. If he practices fully, he should be good to go. He still has a chance to play even if he remains limited, but RB Tyler Allgeier might take on a few extra touches in that scenario. Stay tuned.

Weinfuss received this information from a source familiar with the situation, but this news isn’t all that surprising. Love has logged back-to-back limited practices to start the week, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that “it looks like” Love will suit up in Week 1. The first-round rookie is expected to split touches with Tyler Allgeier, who was listed as the RB1 on the Cardinals’ unofficial depth chart earlier this week, but we would still expect Love to see enough touches to warrant starting as a mid- to low-end RB2 in his regular-season debut.

Love is on track to play in Week 1 against the Chargers, though he could rotate in behind RB Tyler Allgeier, the team’s nominal starter. Earlier today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said “it looks like” Love is going to be active for the season opener, though he stopped short of declaring it. Love would be a FLEX starter or better if active.