Where’s the Love? NFL Draft Intrigue Lies With Its Best Player
As is often the case during draft week, there's no mystery as to whose name commissioner Roger Goodell will call first during round one of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. After a season for the ages, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is -100000 to be selected first overall, with the Las Vegas Raiders eagerly awaiting their next great hope.
But, despite Mendoza's staggering 99.9% implied probability of being the first selection, he isn't the unanimous top prospect. To many, that honour goes to Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. Unlike Mendoza, Love’s NFL future could end up being on a range of teams, leaving plenty of NFL Draft betting intrigue around the event’s most exciting, and arguably best, prospect.
Love is the betting favourite to be taken at two of the draft’s top seven selections—albeit with vastly different odds. And looking at the draft board, it’s easy to see why.
A -115 favourite to be taken fourth overall, with the next closest player David Bailey at +440, this would see Love go to his most frequently linked team: the Tennessee Titans. Love would immediately provide a dynamic outlet for last year's No. 1 pick Cam Ward, on the heels of an underwhelming rookie season. The value of taking a running back that high has been debated for years, but if it's in the name of empowering your previously high-drafted young passer, it gets considerably more justifiable.
Love's also the betting favourite to be taken in the seventh slot (+250), but with linebacker Sonny Styles (+275) and receiver Carnell Tate (+300) also in the picture. Currently, the Washington Commanders are slotted into the seventh pick and, like the Titans, have been linked to Love throughout the pre-draft process with the idea of taking pressure off a young passer. In this case, Jayden Daniels.
In order for the Commanders to sit at seven and come away with Love, a bit of draft night fortune may be needed. In chorus with his odds to be taken fourth overall, Love's draft line is currently set at pick 5.5, with the Under heavily favoured (-245, Over +180).
Whether Love starts next season in the backfield alongside Ward, Daniels, or a different lucky quarterback, he’s unlikely to wait long to find out his NFL destiny.
NFL Draft Odds
First overall pick: Fernando Mendoza (-100,000)
Second overall pick: Arvell Reese (-280), David Bailey (+180)
Third overall pick: David Bailey (+110), Jeremiyah Love (+225), Arvell Reese (+235), Francis Mauigoa (+900)
Fourth overall pick: Jeremiyah Love (-135), David Bailey (+280), Sonny Styles (+510), Arvell Reese (+850), Carnell Tate (+875)
Fifth overall pick: Sonny Styles (+140), Caleb Downs (+400), Francis Mauigoa (+475), Jeremiyah Love (+600), Jordyn Tyson (+600), Carnell Tate (+850)
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Odds as of April 20, 2026.