The Green Bay Packers executed one of the most shocking moves of the first round, trading up to No. 26 to draft Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.
The Packers gave up a fourth-round pick to move up four spots and get Love, who is now anointed as the long-term replacement plan for future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Here is what several of the prominent draft analysts said about the new Packers quarterback:
Dane Brugler, The Athletic (draft guide): “Overall, Love is still very raw as a passer and his inconsistent decision-making is a concern, but he has immense, high-ceiling talent that is ready to be cultivated, projecting as a high-risk, high-reward NFL prospect.”
Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com: “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.”
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com: “Challenging evaluation for quarterback-needy teams balancing traits and potential against disappointing 2019 tape. Staff turnover and new starters across the offense are partly to blame for his regression, but self-made flaws in process were also concerns. Love’s accuracy took a step back, and his delayed reaction from “see it” to “throw it” when making reads is troubling. He has the arm to stick throws into tight windows but needs better eye discipline and anticipation to keep windows open. His size, mobility and arm talent combined with his 2018 flashes could be a winning hand that leads a team into the future or a siren’s song of erratic play and unfulfilled potential.”
Mike Renner, Pro Football Focus (draft guide): “It’s difficult to blame Love too much for taking a step backward in 2019. He lost his coaching staff and much of his offensive personnel. We’ve seen time and time again how important situation is for the quarterback position, so expecting him to have better numbers than in 2018 was outrageous. What we can blame him for, though, was how precipitously he fell off. Love very much compounded his bad situation by pressing and trying to do too much within the Utah State offense. While we here at PFF care about on-field performance a ton, the NFL is more lenient, which means Love is still a candidate to go first round.”
Josh Norris, Rotoworld: “While Herbert has questions on his confidence to ‘win the play’ when off script, Love might be at his best out of structure. It’s like he watched a Patrick Mahomes highlight reel prior to every game and said ‘I’m gonna do that today!’ Love tried to do too much in 2019 after losing so much around him in college. But there were plenty of times where Love compounded the problem instead of improving it.”
Jordan Reid, The Draft Network: “Opinions about Love will remain mixed, but there’s no doubting his arm talent and other traits that are already present. Of any prospect in this draft, no career none other than Love’s will be more dependent on their landing spot. His production fell off of a cliff following the 2018 season, but there will be some teams that feel as if that was his true form and that they could eventually help him return to it. Firmly believing that Love will eventually become a top-15 selection, he will need at least a year to sit behind a well-established veteran before he’s ready to take on a role as a full-time starter. His decision making and footwork need refinement and that time as an understudy will help him. If shown the right amounts of patience also while nurturing him along the way, a team could turn him into a high-end starting QB that turns into a face of the franchise type of player.”
Matt Miller, Bleacher Report: “Love is a case study in traits vs. production. He has the traits scouts love (arm strength, mobility, big-play mentality), but he threw 17 interceptions in 2019. No matter which team drafts him, Love is a sit-and-develop type quarterback, not a rookie starter. He must work on cleaning up his decision-making while also growing into a professional quarterback after coming from a conference where his arm strength and athleticism were good enough to win. Love is a major boom-bust prospect who could end up being the best quarterback from the class or a journeyman backup.”
Jacob Infante, Draft Wire: “Love has the upside to develop into a franchise quarterback at the next level. His regression in 2019 is cause for concern, but his top-notch arm strength, mobility in and out of the pocket and the flashes of elite touch behind his throws make him an enticing prospect. The bust potential is definitely there, but his ceiling is as high as any quarterback in this class.”
[lawrence-related id=43584,43580,43575,41961]