Cardinals draft elite RB who still won't run on the Seahawks' defense

The Seattle Seahawks will have to gameplan for another elite running back in the NFC West as the Arizona Cardinals selected Jeremiyah Love with the 4th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Love is arguably the most talented player at any position in the entire draft, and Arizona made the choice to go best player available over addressing other needs they had. Luckily for Seattle, this pick shouldn’t change their gameplan against them too much. Here’s why:

The Cardinals biggest weakness was their offensive line, which allowed two strip-sack fumbles last time the Seahawks played them in Week 10 this past year. Per PFF, they had the sixth-worst pass blocking grade and the fourth-worst run blocking grade in the NFL. There’s precedent for what plopping an elite running back talent into that type of situation looks like.

Last year, the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Ashton Jeanty 6th overall, but didn’t improve their offensive line. They ended up with the worst OL unit in the entire league, and Jeanty couldn’t help them to more than 3 wins. That’s why they were back picking first overall this year.

For Arizona, it’s hard to imagine a better result. Love might be a bit better than Jeanty, and their OL group might not be quite as bad as the Raiders last year- but they look primed to take a shot at a quarterback in 2027 by using 2026 as a developmental year. There’s more risk associated with that than building a team to win-now, but in a loaded NFC West, they might feel like they have no other choice.

They’ll have to hope the Seahawks run defense deteriorates by then, because it hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since midway through 2024 in any regular season or postseason game.

After seeing the Los Angeles Rams shock the world by selecting 13th overall as an understudy to , this draft is going as well as Seattle could've ever hoped. They have to feel great about their chance to own the division again in 2026.