{"id":184327,"date":"2026-04-03T10:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T10:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/184327\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T10:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T10:36:06","slug":"mel-kiper-jr-joins-jeremiyah-love-to-new-york-giants-bandwagon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/184327\/","title":{"rendered":"Mel Kiper Jr. joins Jeremiyah Love to New York Giants bandwagon"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 3, 2026, 6:06 a.m. ET<\/p>\n

In his latest three-round 2026 NFL mock draft<\/a>, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 5 overall pick for the New York Giants<\/a>, signaling growing momentum for the dynamic playmaker landing in New York.<\/p>\n

Kiper, who typically avoids early-round running backs, made an exception for Love, describing him as far more than a traditional ball carrier.<\/p>\n

I know, I know. Kiper doesn’t like early-pick running backs. But Love is so much more than just a running back. He’s a dynamic playmaker who could elevate Jaxson Dart and this Giants offense to another level.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The 6-foot, 212-pound Love burst onto the scene in 2025, racking up 1,652 scrimmage yards and 21 touchdowns while showcasing elite speed with a 4.36-second 40-yard dash. His versatility as a receiver and big-play threat has drawn comparisons to Jahmyr Gibbs.<\/p>\n

Recent buzz has intensified the link between Love and the Giants. The team hosted him for a top-30 visit<\/a>, conducted extensive pre-draft due diligence, including NFL Combine meetings and Notre Dame game attendance, and saw head coach John Harbaugh express high praise, calling Love a “very, very good player<\/a>” and stressing a best-player-available philosophy.<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

League intel from Todd McShay<\/a> has also pinpointed the Giants among the top suitors for Love in the top 10.<\/p>\n

With quarterback Jaxson Dart at the helm and a run-oriented scheme featuring veteran Cam Skattebo, adding Love could provide the explosive element needed to transform the Giants’ offense.<\/p>\n

Kiper’s pick suggests even he views Love as an impact player who goes above and beyond positional value.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 3, 2026, 6:06 a.m. ET In his latest three-round 2026 NFL mock draft, ESPN draft analyst Mel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[679,9,11,10,1941,1942,27744,948,950,930,932,3712,1328,949,682],"class_list":{"0":"post-184327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-news","12":"tag-sstssportsnflgiants","13":"tag-sstsngiants","14":"tag-tag2026-nfl-draft","15":"tag-tagamerican-football","16":"tag-tagnational-sports","17":"tag-tagnew-york-giants","18":"tag-tagnfl","19":"tag-tagnfl-draft","20":"tag-tagoverall-positive","21":"tag-tagsports-news","22":"tag-typestory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}