Being a new quarterback for the Green Bay Packers has to be one of the toughest gigs in sports. Maybe not for Brett Favre, but certainly for Aaron Rodgers, who had to follow a Hall of Fame fan favorite. But now Jordan Love is in the same boat, trying to fill the cleats of a Lombardi Legend in Wisconsin.
While we can’t act like Love doesn’t have the chops, he was the 26th overall pick in 2020 for a reason, right? We just haven’t had a chance to see what the 24-year-old former first-round pick can do yet.
Now with Rodgers jettisoned to the Big Apple, Love is finally getting that opportunity four years after being drafted by the Packers.
We’ve seen Love in limited action, he’s attempted 83 passes in the regular season, appearing in ten games, but that’s not nearly enough to form a fair opinion on his ability. Yet, with how reactionary and impulsive we are today, it’s hard not to have some sort of preconceived notions about how the new Packers starter will handle having the keys to the offense.
But there’s little concern for the Packers, with head coach Matt LaFleur throwing his support behind Love, noting just how far the young QB’s development has come in the past few years.
“Just watching him last year. I think Jordan’s made some huge strides. I really do and I think a lot of it is a credit to Tom (Clements), and just, he knows how to train these guys. He knows how to drill them and he’s very, very consistent. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He just is matter of fact and I think there’s no doubt.”
Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Jordan Love’s growth
Coach LaFleur credits QB coach Tom Clements, who’s worked with Favre, Rodgers, and most recently, Love while helping develop other Packers signal-callers over the years. He has nearly 30 years of hands-on experience, and perhaps Love will become the latest success story for the well-traveled coach.
It’s clear the Packers are big believers in their new QB, even recently agreeing to an extension that keeps Love under contract through the 2024 season. Quietly working on his game behind the scenes, we’ll finally see how much the training pays off for Love later this fall.