Jeremiyah Love finally got his first taste of NFL action, and the Arizona Cardinals saw plenty to like in a brief debut against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
After sitting out last week’s Hall of Fame Game, Love took the field with the Cardinals’ starters and stayed in for the entire first half before Arizona shut him down for the night. In that span, the high-profile draft pick looked every bit like the player the Cardinals believed they were getting.
Love finished with 11 rushing attempts for 58 yards, a 5.3-yard average and no rushing touchdowns. As a receiver, he was just as clean: three targets, three catches, 15 receiving yards and no receiving touchdowns.
The ground game gave him the best chance to show off. Love was especially effective on outside zone runs, where he repeatedly forced defenders to miss both in the backfield and in space.
Once he found a crease, he accelerated through it. When contact arrived, he kept driving, lowering his shoulders and fighting for extra yards.
His first two drives were enough to show off the traits that made him such a polarizing third overall pick. The burst was there.
The speed was there. The vision was there too.
Love also handled the passing game like someone who had been doing it all summer. His route-running matched what had been seen in training camp, and he secured all three passes thrown his way.
For a first NFL outing, there wasn’t much missing. If anything, the only real challenge is finding something to critique after such a small sample. But that says more about the debut than the player.
The Cardinals got the full package they were hoping for from the Notre Dame back, even if only for a half. If this is what Love brings once the games count, Arizona has every reason to be excited.
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