Scout's view: Why Packers should stick with Jordan Love

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love

Daniel Kelly spent four years in pro scouting with the New York Jets. He is the published author of the book “Whatever It Takes,” the story of a fan making it into the NFL.

Following in the footsteps of Hall of Famer Brett Favre and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, as Jordan Love has for the Green Bay Packers, would be daunting for almost any quarterback. Clearly, Love has struggled at times, but the third-year quarterback’s play overall isn’t as bad as some might believe.

Some of Love’s raw numbers — a 59.7% completion percentage (30th in NFL) and 10 interceptions (tied for second in NFL) in 2023 — are concerning. His completion percentage is well below the league average (64.9, per StatMuse). However, I’m optimistic the play of the 25-year-old former first-round pick will improve if the Packers stick with him. (In May, Green Bay signed Love to a one-year extension through 2024 instead of picking up his fifth-year option.)

Over the past several days, I studied film of Love from games this season against the Bears (Sept. 10), Falcons (Sept. 17), Saints (Sept. 24), Lions (Sept. 28), Raiders (Oct. 9), Broncos (Oct. 22), Vikings (Oct. 29), Rams (Nov. 5), Steelers (Nov. 12) and Chargers (Nov. 19).

First, let’s review the negatives.

One of the reasons for Love’s low completion percentage is the struggles of a relatively inexperienced receiving corps. Green Bay is tied for the eighth-most drops (15) in the league. Love, however, often doesn’t help himself. When passing, he sometimes awkwardly torques his upper body, even falling backward when throwing.

I’m also concerned about the placement of Love’s feet as he throws. At times, his feet are too close together and even parallel when throwing. A QB ideally wants a wide lower-body base while pushing off his back foot. This provides velocity and aids in accurately delivering a ball downfield.

Love’s funky footwork leads to inconsistent ball placement, passes defended (he has 29, per my film review) and interceptions. Balls too high or low can also result in incompletions or prevent a receiver from picking up all-important yardage after a catch.

These faults can be corrected with hard coaching, playing experience and a willingness by the QB to take direction.

Early in the season, Love seemed to press as the replacement for Rodgers, who’s now with the Jets. Of course, Love doesn’t have the game experience (only 11 NFL starts), accuracy (59.8% career completion percentage) or touch to pull that off. Only a handful of QBs on the planet, however, can play at Rodgers’ level.

At the same time, I see evidence of Love recently playing at a higher level. In a Week 11 win over the Chargers and their terrible secondary, he threw for a career-high 322 yards. In a Week 9 win over the Rams, he went 20-of-26 (a career-high 76.9% completion percentage) for 228 yards.

With this in mind, here’s my take on Love’s three best attributes:

1. He’s highly instinctual 

When relaxed, Love makes sweet-looking short-to-intermediate (1-19 yards) throws not necessarily dependent on footwork. Love can improvise — he has even thrown passes under duress left-handed — and is adept at making side-armed, off-platform throws or flipping the ball to a running back at the last second.

Although he is not nearly as good as Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Love occasionally shows flashes of Mahomes-like ability. He will even throw it back across his body, as he did against the Chargers.

2. Stellar athleticism 

Like Mahomes, Love has dual-threat ability — not at Mahomes’ level, mind you, but good enough to be an above-average weapon in the NFL. This season, Love has rushed for 182 yards, including runs of 24, 24 and 26 yards. His pocket mobility allows him to roll out to throw and avoid a rush. (Defenses have sacked him 22 times, tied for 13th in the NFL, per StatMuse.)

3. He aggressively stretches the field 

I love Love’s aggressiveness and the fact he likes to take shots downfield, a characteristic of top-tier QBs. He has the No. 4-ranked “intended air yards per pass attempt — average depth of target, whether completed or not.” That’s an advanced stat from Pro Football Reference that shows the quarterbacks who most aggressively drive the ball downfield.

Bottom line

In a 2021 scouting report, I wrote Love could lead Green Bay to a Super Bowl and described him as a hybrid of two former NFL QBs — Vince Young, who flamed out of the league, and Steve McNair, who had an above-average career with the Titans and Ravens.

With only 11 starts, Love needs more time to develop. If the Packers stick with him, however, I’m confident they’ll reap the rewards that McNair delivered for Tennessee and Baltimore: multiple 10-plus-win seasons and an occasional deep playoff run. I’d advise Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst to continue to build around the former Utah State star, focusing especially on improving the receiver corps.

I think Love will always take dangerous chances with the ball — that’s who he is — but that’s who Favre was, too. He turned out OK, didn’t he?

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