Jadarian Price

What the tape shows

Perhaps the most talented running back in the class besides Love. Price is an explosive, instinctive runner with nice patience and vision, impressive quickness and physicality and the speed to hit home runs when he finds a lane. Now I have everything needed. Here are the full reports, in-chat: JEREMIYAH LOVE | RB | NOTRE DAME Measurables: 6-0 / 212 lbs | 40: 4.36 (2nd fastest RB at combine, matched Jahmyr Gibbs' 2023 time) | Track: 10.76s 100m (Missouri Class 5 state champion) | Career: 433 carries, 2,882 rush yds, 42 TDs, 63 receptions | Fumbles: 1 in three years | Doak Walker Award, Heisman finalist, unanimous All-American Overview Love is the cleanest evaluation in this draft class. There is no gimmick, no developmental gap, no character flag, no injury asterisk substantial enough to alter the projection — he is a three-down, bell-cow running back with elite speed, natural vision, legitimate pass protection, and production numbers that held up against SEC, ACC, and Big Ten opponents in College Football Playoff pressure games. Simply put, Jeremiyah Love is what a first-round running back looks like: frame, athleticism, coordination and playmaker mentality. Pro Football Focus He backed up a fifth-round pick as a freshman, took over as a sophomore, and immediately delivered back-to-back 1,100-plus-yard, 17-18 touchdown seasons. He was disappointed with a 4.36 forty. That context alone tells you what kind of player this is. Trait Grades TraitGradeNoteVISION8/10Patient reader; follows blockers; can get impatient vs. tight inside trafficEXPLOSION10/104.36 forty / 10.76 100m — legitimate track speed, not just workout juiceSHIFTINESS8/10Decelerate-reaccelerate ability; jump-cuts; hurdles defenders; gliding styleCATCHING8/1063 career catches; natural hands; lines up in slot; WR-quality route feelBALANCE/BREAK9/10Outstanding contact balance; spins, hurdles, bounces — multiple evasion toolsPASS PRO7/10Willing and increasingly effective; work in progress but trending correctly Tape Notes — Strengths ELITE SPEED / HOME-RUN ABILITY: Love ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, the second-best mark among this year's combine running backs. That time matches the one Pro Bowl Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs posted at the combine in 2023. NFL And it is not just a Combine metric — his background as a state champion sprinter allows him to erase pursuit angles on outside zone runs that are staples of modern offenses. Hogs Haven On tape vs. USC (2025), he took a designed outside zone, hit the edge before the cornerback could collapse the angle, and was simply untouchable in open field — no juke, no hesitation, just math. When Love finds the second level, the play is effectively over. CONTACT BALANCE / EVASION TOOLKIT: What separates Love from most speed backs is that he does not need a clean lane to make a big play. He has a gliding running style and a good ability to read and leverage space while being elusive in the open field. He has very good contact balance and excels at keeping his feet when he is not hit squarely and picking up big chunks after contact. Sportsinfosolutions He hurdles defenders at the second level, spins through contact in traffic, and bounces off arm tackles rather than absorbing them. On tape vs. Pittsburgh (2025), he made a safety whiff with a spin move five yards into the play, then used pure acceleration to turn a near-stop into a 56-yard touchdown. That sequence captures the full toolkit — patience, evasion, and finish. VISION / PATIENCE: Love is a patient ball carrier who didn't panic when a lane wasn't clearly available. He seemed committed to following his blockers at all costs, rarely freelancing when a lane wasn't present. CBSSports.com He reads zone-blocking schemes correctly — pressing the line until the crease fully develops — and triggers through it with immediate burst once it does. His active vision allows him to adjust run angles on the fly, a trait that shows up consistently vs. Big Ten and SEC competition where second-level defenders are disciplined. THREE-DOWN RECEIVING ABILITY: The receiving ability adds another dimension: 63 career catches and natural hands mean coordinators can motion him out or line him up in the slot to create matchup problems. NFL Draft Buzz He extends his hands and keeps his eyes on the football consistently — he is not a running back who body-catches or loses concentration on crossers. Out of the backfield, Love is a more than reliable pass-catcher. He consistently extends his hands and keeps his eyes on the football. After he hauls it in, he begins to turn upfield. Substack His 2025 stat line included 27 receptions for 280 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns — a sample that validates the scheme flexibility. PASS PROTECTION — DEVELOPING TO NFL STANDARD: Love was very impressive as a pass protector. He always scans and knows when to release. As a pass blocker, Love can help chip on the edge or pick up in a one-on-one. In one-on-ones, Love gains positional leverage, sets his base, and is willing to be physical with his hands or by lowering his shoulder. Substack This is not just effort — it's technique. His willingness to be a lead blocker on designed quarterback runs punctuates the point. A back who plays like this in college transitions to a three-down role in the NFL without a waiting period. BALL SECURITY: One fumble in 433 career college carries — and zero turnovers across three seasons. For a back who earns heavy yardage after contact, in traffic, and in contested situations, this is exceptional. Tape Notes — Concerns PATIENCE BETWEEN THE TACKLES — OCCASIONAL IMPATIENCE: He occasionally lacks patience when running between the tackles and gets too eager to bounce the ball outside rather than wait for blocks to develop. He also is not the quickest in short areas when cutting back in zone or making defenders miss in the hole. Sportsinfosolutions This is the one consistent technical critique across multiple film sessions: when his initial read inside gets clouded, he can bounce prematurely rather than trusting the back side to open. At the college level, his speed bails him out. At the NFL level, against defenses that track pursuit properly, the prematurely bounced run becomes a loss. SHORT-YARDAGE / GOAL-LINE POWER: Love is not the most powerful back who will consistently run through defenders and is not ultra effective on the goal line, but has enough power to finish off runs with attitude and fall forward consistently. Sportsinfosolutions He is not a physical mauler. Teams will likely want a short-yardage complement for the 1-yard line, which is a modest limitation given his effectiveness everywhere else on the field. OFFENSIVE LINE DEPENDENCY: Love last year ranked in the 84th percentile in yards before contact per rush. There have been countless examples of young running backs struggling behind weak offensive lines against tougher competition. CBSSports.com Notre Dame's offensive line has been among the best in the country during his tenure. The legitimate question is whether his vision and patience hold up the same way behind a mid-tier NFL unit. The tape suggests yes — he does not freelance away from his blocking — but it is a fair NFL-level concern that teams will stress-test in film evaluation. FRAME / DURABILITY: He is shade undersized. Didn't play like it in college, but it could be a problem in the pros where defenders are bigger, faster and stronger. CBSSports.com He suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in 2024 and a bruised rib in 2025 — neither was significant — but at 212 pounds absorbing 300-plus NFL-caliber touches per season, durability is a conversation worth having. Summary Love is the consensus RB1 in this class by a significant margin, and the gap between him and the field is real. He fits the profile teams want in 2026: a back who never has to leave the field because he can run between the tackles, catch the ball out of the backfield, and contribute enough in protection to stay out there on third downs. The speed is not a workout number that disappears on Saturdays — it shows up on tape every week. NFL Draft Buzz The most honest critique of Love's profile is the OL dependency question and the short-yardage power ceiling — both are real, neither is disqualifying. His ceiling in the right system is a perennial Pro Bowl back in the mold of Josh Jacobs with significantly more speed. The floor is a three-down starter who produces from Day 1. Draft Grade: 9.0 | Projection: Top-5 Pick, Round 1 | Comp: Jahmyr Gibbs with more power / Travis Etienne JADARIAN PRICE | RB | NOTRE DAME Measurables: 5-10⅝ / 203 lbs (combine) | 40: 4.49 | Vert: 35" | Broad: 10'4" | RAS: 8.58 | 2024: 120-746-7 (6.2 YPC) | 2025: 113-674-11 (6.0 YPC) | 3 career KR TDs | Achilles tear (2022, missed season) | 2025 fumbles: 3 on 113 carries Overview Price is the single most unfairly evaluated prospect in this class. He spent three seasons as Jeremiyah Love's backup at Notre Dame — a back who will almost certainly be a top-5 pick — and when evaluators watch the tape, they frequently come away saying the same thing: Price would have been the best back in the country at 99% of other programs. Perhaps the most talented running back in the class besides Love. Price is an explosive, instinctive runner with nice patience and vision, impressive quickness and physicality and the speed to hit home runs when he finds a lane. FantasyPros His combine weigh-in at 203 pounds — seven pounds lighter than his listed weight — and a 4.49 forty have kept him out of the first-round conversation despite tape that is among the cleanest in the class. While Price ran only a 4.49 40 at the NFL Combine, he plays faster than that. Price consistently shows the speed to turn the corner and defeat angles from defensive backs in open grass. Steelers Depot Trait Grades TraitGradeNoteVISION9/10Elite instincts; anticipates the crease; navigates the box naturallyEXPLOSION7/10Plays faster than 4.49; 3 KR TDs confirm open-field burst is authenticSHIFTINESS8/10Natural hip flexibility; patient/decisive balance; makes defenders missCATCHING6/1015 career catches — severely limited sample; receiving ability unprovenBALANCE/BREAK8/10Runs bigger than listed; behind his pads consistently; churns for extraPASS PRO6/10Understands schemes; technique needs refinement; Achilles affects explosion Tape Notes — Strengths VISION / INSTINCTS — ELITE TRAIT: Price is a natural, instinctive and patient runner with elite-level vision to navigate the box to exploit unoccupied lanes. He is a scheme-versatile runner who can execute both zone and gap concepts. Patience is on display when following lead blockers into daylight on pin-pull actions.