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One of the major weaknesses in the Minnesota Vikings‘ offense in the 2025 NFL season was their running game. The Vikings ranked in the bottom 10 in team rushing yards (1,841) and had only seven carries of 20-plus yards, which ranked in the bottom seven in the league, per the NFL.
As a result, improving their run game should be at the top of their to-do list this offseason. The question will be whether Minnesota decide to use the draft or free agency to find a lead running back that can carry the rushing attack load.
If the Vikings opt for the draft route, former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Jeremiyah Love would be more than happy to be playing in Minnesota next season.
“I would be blessed to go there,” Love said in a Feb. 6 video from “The Paul Farrington Show.” “Lot of great guys.”
Love recorded 433 carries for 2,882 yards and has scored 42 touchdowns in 41 games for Notre Dame in his college career, per StatMuse.
Although Love would be a welcome addition to the Vikings should he fall to 18 and Minnesota decide that it would be too much to pass up, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t see the former Notre Dame standout falling outside the Top 10. In his Jan. 21 mock draft, Kiper has Love going to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Ignoring positional value, Love is the second-best prospect on my Big Board,” Kiper wrote about Love. “Vision. Burst. Power. Speed. Receiving skills. He has it all, and he ran for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns this past season.”
Jeremiyah Love Could Be Serious Draft Target for Vikings
Love has been in the draft speculation for the Vikings at No. 18. Recently, The Athletic’s Alec Lewis shared his take on the Vikings’ potential pursuit of Love at the 2026 NFL Draft on the Dec. 30 edition of “The Alec Lewis Show.”
“Jeremiyah Love is the Notre Dame product who’s going to be a first-rounder and, by all accounts, is one of the premier players in this draft,“ Lewis said. “It just becomes a question of whether he is going to be there when the Vikings are picking and, if he is, whether it makes sense for this Vikings team, given where the roster stands, to take a running back…
“I have always been a best-player-available guy. If your confidence level that Jeremiyah Love is going to hit as a premium-style player is, let’s say, 70 percent, that is probably the route you should go.”
Improving the Ground Game Via Free Agency
Nonetheless, the Vikings could be going the free agency route for a running back and use their first-round pick to fill another need. Furthermore, with so many names at running back and different profiles hitting the open market next month, Lewis believes this approach might be sensible for the team.
“If you look at the free agent positions of this upcoming offseason, running back is one where there is a lot of depth and a lot of intriguing players there,“ Lewis added. “So, if that’s where the Vikings wanted to save money and spend money, it would be a sensible spot.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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