Twitter is still beside itself over the Green Bay Packers drafting Jordan Love in the first round of the NFL Draft. Anyone who has a pulse and watched a football game in the past ten years is dishing out hot takes about how the Packers’ front office should Lambeau Leap off a cliff. It’s understandable. It’s also an overreaction.
This isn’t to say Love is a great prospect, or will even be a viable NFL starting quarterback, but clearly Green Bay General Manager Brian Gutekunst thought enough of the Utah State product to make a move.
We know the best- and worst-case scenarios for drafting a QB towards the back end of the first round. These are talented, but flawed players that require work. The best case scenario is that Love turns into the next Lamar Jackson or Aaron Rodgers. Of course, he could easily turn out to be another Brady Quinn or Paxton Lynch.
No matter how this plays out, the Green Bay Packers drafting Jordan Love makes sense.
2 reasons the Green Bay Packers drafting Jordan Love isn’t stupid
1) Aaron Rodgers isn’t who we thought he was
When most people think of Aaron Rodgers, they envision the quarterback launching majestic Hail Mary passes and doing special things on the football field. No one has seen that player in a few years. The State Farm commercial star only had five games with more than 250 passing yards last season.
He is also far less mobile and elusive than he was in his peak. Rodgers put up 183 rushing yards in 2019, his lowest ever total in a season in which he started 16 games. The yardage numbers aren’t all that important, but they show a player that has lost a step and may decline even further.
The days where he could elude defenders for eight seconds and make something happen are gone. It’s easy to blame the supporting cast or lack thereof around Rodgers for all this. However, he hasn’t really changed his game to accept the fact his athleticism isn’t what it was five years ago.
2) Tom Brady just changed the game for NFL front offices
Given what transpired between Tom Brady and the New England Patriots during the past 12 months, the Green Bay Packers drafting Jordan Love is at the very least a rational move. Rodgers could best be described as persnickety and clearly wasn’t on great terms with the team to begin with. The draft probably hasn’t helped the relationship all that much.
More importantly, he can get out of his contract after the 2021 season. All of these factors make him a flight risk. Sure, the Packers could have drafted a wide receiver or linebacker in the first round, but without a quarterback those are luxuries if Rodgers pulls a Brady and leaves town in next two years.
Everyone is putting the Green Bay front office on blast. However, those same people would be bitching if Rodgers left in 2021 and the only quarterbacks on the roster were Tim Boyle and someone like Brett Hundley who was doing Cameo videos for 25 bucks up until recently (He’s getting $45 now).
At the end of the day, the Green Bay Packers drafting Jordan Love looks bad in a vacuum. But nothing happens in a vacuum. The decision is rational if you look at the big picture. Was this the right move? Probably not unless you’re a big fan of Love. But it isn’t as terrible or stupid as most people make it out to be.
