The New York Giants selected Notre Dame defensive back Julian Love with the 108th pick in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
Love joins a slew of young defenders brought in by the Giants over this three-day extravaganza, and despite going in Round 4, he could contribute immediately.
Background
Love is from Westchester, Illinois, where he attended Nazareth Academy. In 2015, he was named Chicago Sun-Times Football Player of the Year.
During his senior season, Love posted 92 tackles on defense and rushed for 1,087 yards and 18 touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball. This ultimately led to his commitment to the University of Notre Dame.
Recruitment
Love was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, where he received a scouting grade of 79 from ESPN.com. Love was also ranked 35th overall at his position and the 10th best player in Illinois.
College career
Love put up solid numbers as a true freshman for the Irish in 2016 recording 45 tackles and one interception in 12 games (eight starts). The defensive back came back the following year to put up even better numbers with 68 tackles, three picks, and 20 pass break ups, while making 13 starts.
In the final season of his collegiate career, Love was named a Consensus All-American and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award (best defensive back in college football) in 2018. In 13 games, he recorded 63 tackles, including three for a loss to go along with an interception and 16 pass breakups.
Pass breakup machine
Love set the all-time pass breakup record for Notre Dame with 39 for his career and 35 in the last two seasons. He led the team in this category last year with 16 and was ranked second in the nation with 20 back in 2017.
Physical traits and combine numbers
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Love brings good size to the Giants young defensive back group. The Notre Dame prospect also has 31 3/4” arms to go along with 9″ hands.
Love showed off his blistering speed at the combine running a 4.54 40-yard dash, 4.10 shuttle, and 6.72 second 3-Cone drill. He also put up a solid 121.0 broad jump and 14 bench reps.
