Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love arrived with the kind of buzz that usually gets reserved for can’t-miss stars, and some around the league were already talking about him like a Pro Bowler in Year 1. But through the first week of training camp, the Cardinals are making one thing plain: they do not plan to hand him the backfield and let him run wild.
Head coach Mike LaFleur said Friday the team is heading toward a committee approach at halfback, and he was blunt about why that matters. “Not one RB can take all 65 snaps.
We've seen that story when guys are a little bit overloaded.” That message lands hard for anyone expecting Love to immediately become the centerpiece of the offense.
The workload so far backs up that approach. Tyler Allgeier has led the running backs with 21 carries in camp, while Love has 18.
Trey Benson and James Conner are also part of the mix, though both are working back from injury. In other words, the fourth overall pick is not being treated like a player who will simply be handed every rep.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett added to that reality by saying Love has looked like a rookie so far in camp. For a player carrying this much hype, that kind of assessment does not exactly fuel the fireworks show fans were hoping for.
The setup starts to look a lot like the situation Las Vegas faced with Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty entered the NFL as the most hyped running back in the 2025 draft and was expected to be a major difference-maker right away, but his rookie year behind a poor Raiders offensive line turned into a letdown for many observers, even though he still posted 975 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
That season still counted as a solid one by the numbers - Jeanty finished top 20 in rushing yards - but it also showed how fast expectations can outrun reality. For Love, the bar is even higher because he was the fourth overall pick and the seventh-highest paid running back in the NFL. That kind of investment creates a floor that starts with a 1000-plus-yard season in the minds of many.
The Cardinals, though, appear more interested in the long game than in feeding the hype machine. Their focus is on preserving Love’s durability and keeping him productive for years, not just forcing a splashy rookie season. That approach may frustrate fantasy managers and fans who want big counting stats right away, but it also reflects a clear priority: keeping Love at his best for 10 years, not three.
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Cardinals Fans Will Love How Mike LaFleur Is Changing Camp
Mike LaFleur is already putting his stamp on Cardinals camp in a way players and coaches can feel right away. The head coach has folded instant replay screens into the practice routine, using the big board at State Farm Stadium during early camp and smaller screens at the Tempe facility, a setup he said he had seen work before with the Rams.
For Arizona, the appeal is simple: coaches can correct mistakes on the spot, especially up front, and the whole operation moves faster once practice ends. LaFleur also made it clear he likes how the screens sharpen the teaching process, even if he could not resist a little jab about wanting even more display space at the teams practice sites. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Burch Is Suddenly Carrying Real Breakout Buzz In Arizona
Jordan Burch arrived in the NFL with real pedigree after a productive college career and a third-round selection last year, and the Cardinals kept him on the field for all 17 games as a rookie. The production did not match the draft slot, but Arizona never seemed to view that first season as the final word on what the edge rusher could become.
Now, during training camp, the tone around Burch has shifted from patience to possibility. Coaches Nick Rallis and Mike LaFleur have both pointed to his work ethic and steady progress, with the staff encouraged by the way he is developing in multiple parts of his game. The bigger question is whether that buzz turns into the kind of second-year jump the Cardinals think is there, and whether Burch can start turning all that promise into the impact they have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Former Cardinals Star DeAndre Hopkins Appears Headed For A Shocking Next Step
DeAndre Hopkins has spent the past few weeks sounding like a player trying to decide what comes next, and the answer may be moving closer to the sideline than the huddle. The former Cardinals receiver, now an unrestricted free agent, recently showed up at the start of Patriots training camp practices to explore coaching or scouting opportunities, a sign that his post-playing options are becoming more serious even as he keeps insisting he still has something left to offer on the field.
Hopkins has said he still believes he can play, describing himself more as a third-down specialist at this stage of his career, which is why the next step feels so unusual. For Arizona fans who remember the big 2020 trade that brought him in from Houston before the Cardinals eventually moved on from him, this is another twist in a career that has already taken plenty of sharp turns, and it now appears to be heading toward a place few would have expected. [Read more 🡒]