The New Orleans Saints finished the 2025 season on a high note, and the latest mock draft believes the team is just one elite playmaker away from getting back to the playoffs for the first time since Drew Brees was under center. Second-round pick Tyler Shough looks like the real deal, Kellen Moore had an impressive inaugural campaign as head coach, and the team has some promising playmakers. Now, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski believes this team should go after the best player available when New Orleans is on the board, regardless of positional value.
In his latest mock draft, Sobleski has the Saints selecting Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the eighth-overall pick. This is something of a surprise, as even though Love is a phenomenal prospect, running back is a luxury position, and it might not be wise for a team like the Saints to invest a top-10 pick in the position.
“With a potential franchise quarterback emerging, New Orleans can move beyond the game’s most important position and properly build around its promising signal caller,” Sobleski writes. “While the running back position tends to be devalued in today’s game, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love is viewed as a top-three prospect in this year’s class, according to the Bleacher Report Scouting Department.”
Saints Land Jeremiyah Love In Latest Mock Draft
Let’s start with the obvious: Jeremiyah Love is a great football player. He was clearly the best player on the offense the past two seasons, recording 2,497 yards and 35 touchdowns since the start of the 2024 campaign. He has the size to break tackles, the speed to outrun defenders in the open field, and the pass-catching skills to play on all three downs and be more than just a checkdown option. Additionally, while he has the talent to be a workhorse back, Notre Dame had him split carries throughout his collegiate career. This is good news for the Saints, as it should mean Love has more left in his tank for the professional level.
The biggest question is whether the Saints can justify taking a running back this early. A franchise quarterback like Shough can cover a lot of issues, but this roster is far from perfect. New Orleans doesn’t have a proven receiver outside of the oft-injured Chris Olave, and they could use another cornerback to solidify the secondary. Coincidentally, wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and cornerback Mansoor Delane are the next two players off the board in Sobleski’s mock draft, and both players would be better picks for the Saints in this mock draft.
The End of Alvin Kamara?
For the sake of argument, let’s assume this mock draft is correct and the Saints draft Jeremiyah Love. Love is an exciting prospect, but his presence could signal the end of the Alvin Kamara Era. Kamara has started to slow down in recent years, and he’s far past the age where running back production starts falling off a cliff.
It’s hard to imagine the Saints cutting Kamara right away, but selecting Jeremiyah Love would probably signal Kamara’s release in 2027. They’ll likely split work in 2026 before Love takes over as the main guy in 2027.
Main Photo: Michael Clubb – Imagn Images
