Vikings Said to Desire the “Most Explosive Offensive Weapon”
The Vikings said over and over again that running the ball matters. Pretty soon into the regular season, reality arrives as Kevin O’Connell quickly veers away from any semblance of a healthy balance.
Does onboarding Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love in the 2026 NFL Draft do anything to insist on running the ball?
On The Athletic, Dane Brugler — one of the best in the business when it comes to draft prognosticating — mocked Mr. Love to Minnesota at No. 11. Consider the blurb: “Like [Caleb] Downs, Love is one of the best players in the draft but positional value will limit his landing spots in the top half of Round 1. Here, that just means the Vikings get value by adding the draft’s most explosive offensive weapon — a versatile back who’d help both the run and pass games.”
Vikings Said to be in Love at RB
No doubt, the numbers are sizzling for Mr. Love.
He is a key piece on Notre Dame’s impressive squad. He has carried the ball 199 times in 2025, picking up 1,372 yards while bringing the ball across the goal line 18 time. Ultra impressive stuff; the 6.9 yards-per-carry average is game-breaking talent. Go ahead and add on that he has caught 27 passes for 280 receiving yards (10.4 yards-per-reception average) and 3 touchdowns.
Love, quite evidently, is a playmaker worthy of going in the 1st.
As things stand, the Vikings’ ground game isn’t good enough, in no small part due to the coach calling the plays.
RB1 Aaron Jones and RB2 Jordan Mason are a strong tandem. Combined, the top pair of runners are reasonably efficient. The starter is a do-it-all player who is at his most dangerous when allowed to run routes. Meanwhile, Mr. Mason is more of a power back, someone who seldom falls backward when tackled. He’s a sturdy player, usually gaining ground by falling forward every time he gets taken down.
As a team, the Vikings are 26th in the NFL with just 1,193 ground yards. The discouraging part of that reality is that Minnesota averages 4.6 yards per carry, tied for 9th in the NFL. So, run the ball more and be rewarded for doing so.
In Jeremiyah Love, the Vikings would be getting a player who finished up in 1st in the college PFF rankings at RB. The 92.9 grade shouldn’t be expected to directly carryover as a pro, but the takeaway is simply that he had a marvellous season for the Fighting Irish.
At 6’0″ and 214 pounds, Love has a strong build and a history of fantastic play. He would form a three-head monster with Jones and Mason, both of whom are under contract for 2026. Pretty soon, Jeremiyah Love would likely demand a workload that sees him as the clear RB1.
Of course, the focus going forward is going to continue being on J.J. McCarthy. The No. 10 selection from the 2024 NFL Draft hasn’t shown an ability to justify that draft placement. Some of that is due to injury, some of that is due to awful play.
Jeremiyah Love could be of assistance as a weapon on offense who could lighten the load for Minnesota.
Next up for the 4-8 Vikings is a game against the 3-9 Commanders. Some will be cheering for Minnesota to win, but losing the game will mean moving toward a higher draft selection. As a result, more losing could mean having a better shot at making Jeremiyah Love a Viking.
Kickoff on Sunday is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT.
