First in a series.
GREEN BAY — If you haven’t caught on to the just-before-the-NFL-season trend of any and all content platforms churning out lists in the weeks leading up to the start of training camps, here’s a little inside intel:
The vast majority of those lists are more space-filler than science. (Our annual list of the “20 Most Important Packers” being the obvious exception, of course.)
While the methodology of some is better than others — ESPN’s position-by-position rankings, for instance, are based on interviews with league general managers, coaches and personnel executives — smart Green Bay Packers fans don’t allow themselves to be rage-baited by where their favorite players land on said lists.
So the fact that quarterback Jordan Love was the No. 72 ranked player on the NFL Network’s list — and wound up outside of the top 10 and relegated to the “honorable mention” crowd on ESPN.com, should not be viewed as gospel.
That said, whether you’re in love with Love as he enters his fourth season as the Packers’ starter in 2026, or still have questions about his place in the franchise’s quarterbacking lineage, we should all be able to agree on this: It’s time for him to further elevate his game — and his team — to greater heights than the past two seasons.
“He’s just continued to grow. And I don’t see there’s any reason why we can’t just keep getting better and better every day,” said Luke Getsy, the Packers’ quarterbacks coach for Love’s first two NFL seasons (2020, 2021) before returning to that job this offseason.
“When I stepped away, it was [after] just two seasons with him, so there’s a pretty big difference in maturity, of the command of the offense. To see him really running the show and him in complete control and the comfortability [he has], it was really cool to see that when I got back.”
Love finished last season with career bests in quarterback rating (101.2), completion percentage (66.3%) and interception percentage (1.4%) while throwing for 3,381 yards with 23 touchdowns against six interceptions.
But he was knocked out of a Dec. 20 overtime loss at Chicago by a concussion, missed the following week’s loss to Baltimore and then suited up but didn’t see action in the nothing-to-play-for regular-season finale at Minnesota.
He returned for what turned out to be a season-ending 31-27 playoff loss to the Chicago Bears on Jan. 10, when the Packers built a 21-3 halftime lead before giving up 25 fourth-quarter points. Love finished that game having completed 24 of 46 passes for 323 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions (103.8 rating) but couldn’t conjure up a game-winning touchdown drive in the waning moments after the defense coughed up the lead.
“I was fortunate enough to be part of a Super Bowl-winning team in Year 2. Over the course of the career, you realize how hard it is to get back,” said new backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who is set to turn 37 in August and replaces departed free-agent Malik Willis, now the Miami Dolphins’ starter.
“You definitely try to look for teams that have the best talent, but that doesn’t always win championships. It’s about the nucleus. It’s about the chemistry. Obviously, it’s about staying healthy. Every team, this time of year, feels they have the pieces to do so. It’s about putting in the work, day in and day out.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Jordan. He’s played at a high level for many years. He has full command of the offense. [I’m] looking forward to working alongside him and being able to help the quarterback room and push everyone within this locker room to be better.”
Including Love.
After a torrid finish to the 2023 season, which ended with the seventh-seeded Packers routing the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Love’s first postseason start and Love putting his underdog team in position to reach the NFC Championship Game before a pair of costly late-second half interceptions against the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round, the last two years have been marked by instant exits.
To be sure, that is not entirely on him. But there’s a reason that old cliché about them — how quarterbacks get more credit than they deserve and more blame than they deserve — exists: While football is undeniably a team game, they play the most important position on the field.
“I think there’s a lot of areas [where I need to improve],” Love said after the season. “Just being more consistent as a passer, understanding every situation I’m put in and be the best quarterback I can be for the team. There’s a lot of stuff I’ll look at to keep improving on, but I think it always just comes down to being as consistent as possible.”
Depth Chart
No.
Name
Pos.
Ht.
Wt.
Age
Exp.
College
10
Jordan Love
QB
6-4
219
27
7
Utah State
6
Tyrod Taylor
QB
6-1
217
36
16
Virginia Tech
18
Kyle McCord
QB
6-3
218
23
1
Syracuse
13
Kyron Drones
QB
6-2
226
22
R
Virginia Tech
Burning Question | Just how much can Love elevate his game?
Amid the post-list debates that raged across the various sports TV shouting shows was how well Love graded out in the alphabet-soup categories of analytics — ESPN’s alternative passer rating system (QBR); expected points added (EPA); and Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA).
Love, of course, doesn’t need anyone defending his honor on television. He doesn’t lack for confidence, but he doesn’t lack for self-awareness, either. That’s why, when asked during the offseason what he was specifically working on heading into Year 4 as the starter, he had a clear answer at the ready.
“My biggest thing that I’ve noticed s is just my feet in the pocket, trying to be as smooth and consistent as possible,” Love replied. “When I go through my reads, get into my hitches, [it’s about] not getting antsy, not getting to that point where you’re trying to move through the pocket too fast. Just staying calm, staying relaxed, moving through my reads.
“If I’ve got to move around in the pocket, keeping those movements pretty tight and not running into where guys might be peeling off and able to hit you. So [I’m] just really trying to focus on my feet, my pocket movements. Obviously, all those things are tied to accuracy and just the timing of routes and things like that, so just trying to be as dialed in as possible. That’s the biggest thing I’ve been trying to work on.”
On the rise | Taylor.
Saying a soon-to-be 37-year-old is on the rise might sound ridiculous, but unlike Malik Willis, Love’s primary backup the past two seasons, Taylor has a proven track record of success. While Willis was outstanding when filling in for Love, there was nothing on his NFL resume that indicated he’d play at such a high level.
That’s not the case with Taylor, whose bona fides as a backup are well-established. While the fact that Love has missed time each of the last two seasons means Taylor must be ready to play when called upon, he also gives Love a different type of backup than he’s had before: A more experienced, older mentor type.
“[Taylor adds] a lot of value, just because he’s seen just about anything you can think of, and I think he’s got a really good way about himself,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “Certainly, Jordan’s got a wealth of experience now too, so he feels pretty comfortable talking about what he’s seeing and why he’s doing what he’s doing.”
Player to watch | Drones.
General manager Brian Gutekunst had vowed to draft a quarterback at least every other year, but now two drafts have passed without him picking one. Not doing so in April was understandable, since he wound up making only six selections, but Drones flashed some big-time arm strength and athleticism during the offseason program, and the undrafted rookie free agent is an intriguing prospect.
“It was good — some ups and downs, but that’s always learning the game and learning how the NFL really is,” Drones said in self-assessing his play during the offseason. “I’m excited for the opportunity and I want to make sure I come back to training camp knowing all what I learned here so far and hit the ground rolling.”
Key competition | No. 3 quarterback.
The Packers historically have preferred to keep only two quarterbacks on the 53-man in-season roster, although injuries last year had them carrying Clayton Tune and Desmond Ridder at different points last year.
That said, Drones and McCord, who was a fifth-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago, both have some intriguing traits that bear further evaluation, and with Taylor in year-to-year mode at this point in his career, developing a home-grown backup who could be ready to carry the clipboard behind Love in 2027 would be smart.
Bold prediction | Love will finish in the top 5 of the NFL MVP balloting.
That might seem to be a pie-in-the-sky prediction given that Love has yet to earn a Pro Bowl selection, but with what could be one of the NFC’s best — albeit currently underrated — pass-catching groups with tight end Tucker Kraft and wide receivers Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden, Love feels he has the top-tier weaponry necessary. And his teammates agree.
“I think there’s no limit, man. We can go above the sky. That’s what I believe,” Reed said. “We put it all together, it can be very dangerous. It’s really no limit to it. I really don’t [need] to explain what’s understood. You can watch the tape. You can tell what kind of players we are.”
Next: Running backs.
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