With the 2026 NFL Draft less than a month away, fanbases are debating about players; experts are watching days' worth of film; and sportswriters are tweaking– and re-tweaking– their mock drafts. Following significant upgrades to Robert Saleh’s defense in free agency and a dazzling performance at the NFL Combine, one prospect has emerged as the consensus choice for both fans and media to become the newest Titan early in Round One.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is an electric, complete player who has drawn comparisons to Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. His rare combination of strength, speed, vision, pass-catching, and blocking would provide an immediate positive impact for any NFL offense. As such, he is the consensus top running back in the draft, and some experts have him as the best overall player in the class.
And over the past few days of mock drafts, many of the most prominent experts (including Mel Kiper Jr., Daniel Jeremiah, and Joel Klatt) have Love donning that awesome white helmet in Nashville.
Unfortunately, if Mike Borgonzi does select him fourth overall, it could be a massive mistake.
Positional value still matters.
It is common knowledge that a team picking in the top 10 should not take a running back, and for good reason. If a team was bad enough to earn a top-10 pick, they likely have a number of needs at a number of positions, and that pick would be better spent elsewhere. Despite how often they touch the ball and how much the great ones impact a game, running back is not considered a valuable position in the NFL, and high-caliber starters are generally still available on Day Two and beyond.
Running backs have notoriously short careers in the NFL, and most hit their peak during their rookie contracts. This means that a team needs to have the other pieces already in place to get the most out of a young runner.
And even great running backs need talent around them to be successful (see: Saquon Barkley). No matter how great a back is, he will not succeed without a good offensive line, the right coach(es), and at least the threat of an effective passing game. Tennessee may have two of those three in place, but certainly not all of them.
For proof, Titans fans need look no further than former Tennessee great, Derrick Henry. Despite a Heisman Trophy-winning college career and demi-god-esque physical traits, Henry was an average (at best) running back for his first year and a half in the league. It was not until Marcus Mariota was benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill that the passing game opened up, and Henry began bulldozing the rest of the NFL. And let’s not forget: Henry was a second-round pick.
History as a guide
In the last 20 drafts, 11 running backs have been selected in the top 10, and some have been great players with Hall-of-Fame careers. These include Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and Todd Gurley. But while they may have become elite players, it is debatable whether they were great picks. Barkley and McCaffrey did not reach their full potential until leaving the team that drafted them, and Gurley only became great once the coach who drafted him was fired in favor of an up-and-coming offensive guru.
More recently, Bijan Robinson has emerged as one of the best backs in the game, but the 2026 season will see him with his third head coach (and second GM) since the Falcons took him eighth overall. And just as he is finally having the impact fans desired, he is soon to be due a likely record-breaking contract. Last year, the Raiders proved the mocks right by taking Ashton Jeanty sixth, despite having one of the worst rosters in the league. A year later, they are back to square-one of a complete rebuild with a new coach and quarterback.
Other backs taken in the top-10 during that span include Reggie Bush, Darren McFadden, CJ Spiller, Trent Richardson, and Leonard Fournette. In fact, of all the running backs taken in the top 10 over the past two decades, only two could be considered good picks for the team, coach, and front office that selected them. Adrian Peterson was selected seventh overall nearly 20 years ago, at a time when the world was completely different and a running back could still win MVP. Ezekiel Elliot was taken fourth by the Cowboys in 2016, but had they not gotten lucky landing a franchise QB in the fourth round of the same draft, it is fair to wonder how his career in Dallas would have gone.
But, we'll see...
Even with millions of dollars, countless manhours, and amazing technology invested in scouting NFL prospects, the draft is largely still as much of a crap-shoot as it ever was. Love could immediately be the elite weapon the Titans need. Or he could struggle without a great offensive line but pay dividends in the future. Or he could end up being the second-best Notre Dame running back drafted this year.
Every pick is a gamble, and while this pick may be better spent on a number-one receiver, an elite pass rusher, or an upgrade to the offensive line, at this point, Love feels unlikely to be a complete bust, if nothing else. And he would almost certainly be an immediate upgrade over the Titans' current RB room.