It seems to me that the chaos surrounding the Packers drafting Jordan Love and the subsequent Aaron Rodgers drama has obscured the original pre-draft evaluation of Love and his ceiling as an NFL QB.
We (at least I did) might have forgotten that Jordan was a true boom or bust prospect with elite physical traits. If not for inconsistencies between college years he would likely have been a top 10 pick. As we have seen him undoubtedly progressing from the Chiefs start in 2021 to the Eagles action in 2022, and on to 2023, it looks like we have an extremely talented QB project reaching that potential week by week. Thought it was particularly interesting to recall this given the recent copium dialogue (especially from NFC North fans) that Love’s ceiling is low to mid tier. On the contrary: he seems to be actively developing everything needed to accompany those incredible physical traits: poise under pressure, and the ability to calmly move through progressions and throw with anticipation. Obviously much credit to LaFleur and Tom Clements here.
TL;DR: Piss remains hot after researching Love pre- draft analysis
4 comments
Love never would have been available to us if Utah State didn’t hire Gary fucking Andersen, the worst head I’ve ever seen after his sophomore year. Seriously, the dude almost destroyed all the work Barry Alvarez did to build Wisconsin football in two fucking years, went 7-23 at Oregon State, and then somehow still got hired by Utah State, only to be gone in less than two seasons. I’ve never seen a more incompetent coach.
Here is what NFL.com said about Love:
“Love has ideal size, arm strength and athletic ability. He operated out of the ‘gun at Utah State and was very fluid and smooth in his setup. He throws from a variety of platforms and arm angles. The ball jumps out of his hand. He is at his best on skinny post drive throws and over-the-top deep balls. His decision making was very concerning this past season. He forced too many balls into crowds and didn’t ever give up on a play — to a fault. His supporting cast wasn’t very good, but he still fell into too many bad habits. He uses his athletic ability to escape and extend plays, but there are occasions when he fails to climb and reset his feet. Overall, Love is a raw prospect who will need some time to develop. There is risk with him, but the payoff could be huge.”
As Collin Cowherd said “there’s no juice there. I’m hearing he’s a backup quarterback”
You’re exactly right OP, Love’s physical ability and upside has been slept on heavily. There’s even jack wagons on here that compared him to Brett Hundley. I think it’s due to a number of factors including fans hoping he will suck, his lack of elite speed, his struggles with under throwing the deep balls, and his lack of playmaking when the pocket breaks down.
But when you watch this massive individual grip and rip a pigskin, I don’t understand how you can’t be wowed by the raw talent. The way that he can stand tall and throw side-armed darts with Chris Jones barreling down on him isn’t just encouraging, it’s special. This dude has the it factor and the raw throwing ability that few possess.
As someone who never researched Love predraft as I didn’t think there was a snowballs chance in hell we’d go for a QB that year, and someone who never researched him after because I spent most of the next few weeks wildly pissed off by all things 2020 draft, this article was a great read.
I thought this tidbit was interesting “Most troubling was his tendency to miss—or ignore—underneath defenders. A staggering number of Love’s turnovers came on throws that went directly to a linebacker parked in the middle of the field.” Mainly because it reminded me so much of that bizarre interception against the Raiders that really felt baffling to me at the time, and continues to perplex me as the LB was seemingly right in his field of view.
As far as this season goes that throw was just a weird one off and it seems like he’s gotten that random leak out of his system and is more than ready to flex that high ceiling this article mentions.