JACKSONVILLE – This is a class with function – and a dose of dazzle.
When it comes to running backs in the 2026 NFL Draft, there is one unquestioned elite player. There is also the ability to find production deep into the process, and make no mistake:
Quality is there, even if it's comparatively rare.
"You have to know what you're looking for," Jaguars Media/NFL Media Draft Analyst Bucky Brooks said.
Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame is the consensus No. 1 running back in the '26 draft. And while he leads what many analysts consider an overall weak class at the position, analysts consider Love a generational player – and perhaps the class' best overall prospect.
"Love is special," Brooks said.
Love, a consensus All-America selection and the Doak Walker Award winner for college football's best running back in 2025, rushed for 2,882 yards and 36 touchdowns in three seasons at Notre Dame – including 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025. He is generally projected to be selected somewhere in the Top 5 and rarely outside the Top 10.
Brooks called Love "flawless."
"A lot of people would say he's one of the top two, three players in the draft," Brooks said. "He's different because he has a long track record of success, back-to-back years where he has done it. He has a lot of touchdowns where you see him cross the goal line, put the ball in the paint. Big plays, catches out the backfield, things that the modern running back has to do, he does it.
Recent drafts haven't always featured Top 10 running backs in the Top 10, with Love considered talented enough to override a recent NFL trend of devaluing the position on draft day.
"He is up there with all those top guys you talk about – the Christian McCaffreys, the Saquon Barkleys," Brooks said. "He's a difference-maker. In my mind, he's the best player in the draft because he can do anything and everything that you want to see – grind it, get on the perimeter, catch it out the backfield, he can take it the distance.
"He's a home run hitter who also is at every down workforce."
Which means a major difference in Love and the rest of the class.
"The rest of the guys are just role players," Brooks said.
The consensus second back in the draft: Love's Notre Dame teammate, Jadarian Price – a physical back with kickoff return ability.
"I would think about how Josh Jacobs ascended from being a No. 2 in college to a No. 1 back in the pros," Brooks said. "He has those tools, but can he make it happen?"
Running backs such as Jonah Coleman of Washington and Mike Washington of Alabama are projected by many as third-round selections. Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson is projected by many as a third-to-fourth-round selection after a comparatively slow 4.56-second 40-yard dash at February's NFL Scouting Combine.
"Below them are good guys, good twos and threes in terms of RB2, RB3," Brooks said. "You have to put them in the right role to have the most success they can have. It's interesting because some people will say it's a down year for running backs. It is more of a position where you're going to find guys who can fill roles moreso than the Bell Cow franchise back outside of Love.
"Every year you have to have an open mind to what's out there. You have to grade the player for the player. This is a year where the player at the top is special and the other guys are specialists that you have to make sure you put them in the right role."
HANDICAPPING THE JAGUARS
This will be an intriguing position for the Jaguars on draft weekend. Though not a clear need, they could address the position anywhere from Round 2 through the end of Day 3. Running back Travis Etienne Jr., the Jaguars' leading rusher in 2025, signed with the New Orleans Saints as an unrestricted free agent last month. Chris Rodriguez Jr. joined the team immediately thereafter as an unrestricted free agent from the Washington Commanders – and the Jaguars like his physical, tackle-breaking style. Second-year veteran Bhayshul Tuten brings explosive game-breaking ability, with second-year veteran LeQuint Allen Jr. the team's best pass-blocking back. The Jaguars don't have to address this spot, but could look to make a good group better.
CHANCE JAGUARS TAKE A RUNNING BACK ON DAYS 1-2 (ROUNDS 1-3)
OK.
RBs ON THE JAGUARS ROSTER
Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez Jr., LeQuint Allen Jr. (one start in 2025), DeeJay Dallas, Ja'Quinden Jackson.
BUCKY BROOKS' TOP 5 2026 RUNNING BACKS
- Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
- Jadarian Price, Notre Dame
- Emmett Johnson, Nebraska
- Jonah Coleman, Washington
- Mike Washington Jr., Alabama
POSSIBLE FIRST-ROUND RUNNING BACKS
Love.
