Cardinals draft Jeremiyah Love No. 3: Highest RB pick since Saquon Barkley now among NFL's highest-paid

Love was CBS Sports lead NFL Draft scout Mike Renner's No. 7 overall prospect in the class.

Love is what everyone looks for at running back nowadays. He's a true home-run hitter with elite contact balance and explosiveness. With the rise of NFL defenses playing light boxes, Love can force teams to bring a safety into the box.

Overall, Love becomes the 24th running back to go in the top three picks in the modern draft era (since 1967). Only five of those 24 instances have been in the last 30 years.

Highest-drafted RBs since 1967

Along with the high draft billing, Love will get a major payday, too. Per Spotrac's rookie wage scale, Love will receive a four-year, $50.5 million deal as the No. 3 pick. That already puts him among the position's highest-paid players in terms of average annual value.

Highest-paid RBs

Also, because rookie contracts are guaranteed, he will have the most guaranteed money of any running back contract by a wide margin. Barkley's $36 million guaranteed was the highest in the league.

In Arizona, Love joins a backfield that also includes James Conner and others. As the first pick of new coach Mike LaFleur, Love will see a considerable workload immediately and look to provide a major boost to an offense that finished 31st in rushing yards and 27th in explosive rush rate last year.