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Will Jeremiyah Love play for the Arizona Cardinals in 2026? Will Jeremiyah Love be healthy enough to play in Week 1? Andersen breaks down the latest Jeremiyah Love injury news for fantasy football.
The Arizona Cardinals selected running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Arizona has a relatively crowded backfield with James Conner (ankle) and Tyler Allgeier, but it was obvious that Love's selection in the first round made him the favorite to start at running back for the Cardinals in Week 1.
Unfortunately, Love's path to the starting job faces a new obstacle. The Notre Dame product picked up an ankle injury during the Cardinals' preseason opener, quickly sparking plenty of concern for fantasy football majors in redraft and dynasty leagues.
Love's injury has suddenly put his status in doubt for the rest of the preseason and the start of the regular season. Will Love play in Week 1? What's his fantasy football outlook for 2026?
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Will Jeremiyah Love Play In Week 1?
The Cardinals gave Love 14 touches in his first taste of pro action during Thursday's preseason opener. He had 11 carries, 58 rushing yards, three targets, three catches, and 14 receiving yards during the Cardinals' preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Unfortunately, Love picked up an injury along the way. In the days following the victory, head coach Mike LaFleur said that Love was dealing with an ankle injury and would be re-evaluated, but he declined to comment on whether it was a high-ankle or low-ankle ailment.
Now, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com is reporting that Love suffered a high-ankle sprain. The recovery looks different for every player, but the expectation is that Love will miss the remainder of the 2026 preseason. Arizona is hopeful that he'll be available to play in the team's regular season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 13, 2026.
Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love is dealing with a high ankle sprain, per sources. It makes it unlikely that Love plays again this preseason, with the team hoping he can return for the Sept. 13 regular-season opener vs the Chargers. pic.twitter.com/H0vb0R7x4k
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 17, 2026
Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com has confirmed that Love will sit out Week 2 of the preseason, and as LaFleur previously announced, the rookie will be re-evaluated next week.
Jeremiyah Love 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook
Love is a highly talented running back who excelled at Notre Dame. During the 2025 college football season, he tallied 1,372 rushing yards, 280 receiving yards, and 21 total touchdowns. He made 40 trips to the end zone over his final two seasons at school.
The 21-year-old has every-down potential in the NFL, which is why the Cardinals and first-year head coach LaFleur were so willing to draft him third overall.
It's worth noting that Allgeier — and Conner, to a lesser extent — could eat into Love's workload this year. We saw Allgeier maintain a weekly role in Atlanta despite playing behind one of the most dependable running backs, Bijan Robinson.
However, Love is the undisputed No. 1 running back in Arizona, both short-term and long-term. He possesses good vision at the line of scrimmage, decent passing-down skills, and the ability to pick up yards after contact. Even if Conner and Allgeier both carve out roles in Arizona, this backfield will belong to Love once he has a clean bill of health.
Jeremiyah Love making a couple of guys miss 👀
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/0zWxy27wgW
— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2026
Love is regarded as one of the top running backs in fantasy football. We're particularly intrigued about his upside in an offense that could lean on the rushing attack if Jacoby Brissett is unable to replicate his passing productivity from last season. He is the RB15 in RotoBaller's latest redraft rankings, and he's the overall RB4 in RotoBaller's dynasty rankings.
Currently, Love has an ADP of 29 in redraft leagues. That slot falls in the third round, and that ADP makes him the 13th running back off the board. Given that his injury concerns aren't overly serious, he's an intriguing RB2 target at his current price tag.
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Jeremiyah Love, James Conner, Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jacoby Brissett, Tyler Allgeier:
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