It's anybody's guess what the New York Giants will do with the fifth pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but John Harbaugh clearly wants to add to the running back room to enforce the identity he wants to build. That means RB Jeremiyah Love will be in play, but who knows if he'll even be on the board still.
However, that isn't stopping the Giants from doing their due diligence with one of this draft's premier prospects. According to South Jersey's Art Stapleton, Big Blue met with Love at the team training facility on Thursday to conduct an official pre-draft "30" visit with the Notre Dame star running back.
That gives Harbaugh and Joe Schoen a close look at the Heisman Trophy finalist, especially since he's gaining some steam to be the pick at No. 5. The only question is if he'll slide past the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans at picks 3 and 4, but if he's available, it'll force a difficult decision.
Jeremiyah Love would be a polarizing, yet still intringuing pick for the Giants at No. 5
For as talented as the 20-year-old is, some Giants fans can't help but be triggered by Saquon Barkley flashbacks. If he isn't the best RB prospect since Barkley, he's the best one since Bijan Robinson, so expectations are through the roof for a kid who was a Unanimous All-American for the Irish in 2025.
Across the last two seasons, Love has tallied nearly 2,500 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns. And he did all of this while Jadarian Price was eating into his snap share. If he were dominating the backfield usage, he could've put up similar numbers to the ones Ashton Jeanty did at Boise State.
The issue that remains is that drafting a running back this early is a luxury pick, especially given the holes the G-Men have on this roster. Dave Gettleman neglected those same holes to draft Barkley, and we all know how that ended up, even if he probably will be the most talented player available at 5.
The other thing is that RB doesn't look to be a major need to anyone besides Harbs. The Cam Skattebo-Tyrone Tracy tandem looked promising before Skatt's injury, and the Giants also agreed to a reworked deal to bring Devin Singletary back. And you're saying they need to bring in a fourth back?
I agree they need a bell-cow, and Harbaugh's systems in Baltimore often employed the usage of multiple RBs with several different skillsets. The last few seasons, Derrick Henry received the lion's share of the carries, but Justice Hill and even Keaton Mitchell rotated in to play the speedster role.
So if Matt Nagy and Greg Roman really want to go down this path (especially after missing on the free agent RBs), I understand. The reigning Doak Walker Award winner is a total stud, but even with all of this hype, I'm still not convinced that hype around anyone not named Caleb Downs is real.