THERE IS NO QUESTION: QB JORDAN LOVE CAN LEAD GREEN BAY TO THE SUPER BOWL
With it becoming more and more apparent QB Aaron Rodgers has taken his last snap in Green Bay, it is time to start looking forward to the bright future the Packers have with QB Jordan Love.
On film Love, who was taken by Green Bay 26th overall in the 2020 draft, looks like he is ready. In fact, Love looks dramatically more ready than QB’s Zach Wilson or Trey Lance when looking at his 2019 game film from Utah State. He is young, athletic, decisive, confident, and he has a big-league-arm. He has swag and that is a big part of this. Love reminds me of a cross between Vince Young and Steve McNair.
Love played in a very similar system than Wilson and Lance while operating pretty much exclusively out of the shotgun formation, but he just stands out so much more than they do by comparison. Love, who finished as the second leading passer in his school’s history, actually looks and moves around like an NFL QB on film. He looks like he is in command of the offense. I would take Love over Wilson or Lance any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Plus, Love has now had a season to sit and learn under Rodgers, which will only help.
There just comes a time when teams are faced with crossing the bridge of change and that time has come for Green Bay. I mean as much as everybody wished legends like Bart Starr and Brett Favre could have played forever, the clock eventually struck midnight on both of their memorable careers. That time has now come for Aaron Rodgers (at least in Green Bay) and it is clearly time for everybody to move on. I have heard all the noise and chatter about Love leading up to this moment, but based on what I see on film, I believe Love is really going to surprise a lot of people.
And the timing for handing the reins to Love could not be better. In fact, it may very well prove to be the move that lands Green Bay in their fifth Super Bowl and gets GM Brian Gutekunst named as the 2021 NFL Executive of the Year. While Love absolutely has areas of his game that need to be further developed – and will be over time – Green Bay has the necessary surrounding talent level to get there. Being a talent evaluator who has been around many of the best minds in the game and as someone who has seen all of the QB’s over the past 40 years who have come through the league – the pick of Love by Gutekunst is a good one. With division rivals Chicago and Detroit also going with new signal callers and Minnesota struggling through yet another season of Kirk Cousins, the time to make this move – is now. Turning things over to a young and spry QB who is bright eyed and team focused will be a breath of fresh air after sitting through an off-season listening to Rodgers trying to damage the team’s chances in 2021.
Scouting Report
QB #10 Jordan Love 6’4″ 224 pounds
Game Film Reviewed: (2019) LSU, Colorado State, Nevada, Wake Forest and Fresno State
Grade: B (Good player, but not elite. Good enough to win with)
Confident and athletic signal caller with good mobility and with a strong arm who can get dangerously erratic at times due to overconfidence. Operated out of the shotgun formation at Utah State. Stands tall in the pocket and he showed a good amount of confidence and control of the offense. He looked both alert and decisive while moving around in the pocket. Good mobility and feel for the rush. Able to slide around, buy time, roll out and take off and run. Has some dual-threat to his game. Shows excellent ball handling skills – his play-action fake is actually convincing. Demonstrated the ability to go through progressions and reads, but occasionally can either lock in or wait until his receiver breaks, which spells trouble. Tends to make quick decisions with the ball. At times he can put too much heat on short throws. Does take chances with the ball – sometimes too much of a chance. Can get reckless and throw interceptions. (60 TD/29 INT college career). The interceptions are the biggest concern of his game. He has a big-league arm and can make all the throws. Can really lace it in there – especially on slants. Biggest concern are the out-routes. It feels he waits too long to throw those, which can allow corners to break on the ball. He does not need to set his feet to make the throws. Average placement and accuracy overall. Throws some beautiful looking and effortless deep passes. Can really unload it. Has the tools it will take to succeed in the NFL.
The main concern I have is the number of interceptions Love threw at Utah State. (2017 8 TD/6 INT, 2018 32 TD/6 INT and 2019 20 TD/17 INT). Love has a lot of confidence and a strong arm and to me it appears on film he takes chances he should not take. However, I remember another Green Bay QB who used to do the same thing – Hall of Famer, Brett Favre. Over his career he tossed 508 TD and 336 INT (probably half those were in the Pontiac Silver Dome in Detroit at least that is how I remember it). I would rather have a QB who is overconfident; rather than one who lacks confidence. Love has the look and feel of a gunslinger and I like what he has shown me on film. He just has that “feel” to him. I cannot even fully put my finger on it, but I know it when I see it. I also like how he got his team in position to come back and win against Fresno State.
Jordan Love has what it takes.
Daniel Kelly is a former NFL scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated Detroit Lions and he is a contributing evaluator for Draft Diamonds. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @danielkellybook and his Facebook page is WHATEVER IT TAKES NFL TALK.
