The quarterback position is the one position where the Green Bay Packers have seen not just a lot of success, but also tremendous consistency in terms of quality. Before Jordan Love took over the reins in 2023, the Packers saw legendary quarterback play from Aaron Rodgers for 18 seasons. And even before that, Green Bay had 16 seasons from Brett Favre.
As one can imagine, the anxiety among Packers fans after the departure of Rodgers was justifiable given that they had barely seen Love despite him being drafted three years earlier. There was a bit of speculation as to how good Love would be and whether or not he was the right choice to lead the franchise.
As things started out, Love struggled to get any momentum going, and there were days when several people may have thought the Love experiment was not here to last. However, things changed pretty quickly in the second half of last season, and it sure seems as if Love has a whole lot of years left on his Packers career.
Jordan Love learned from the best
Probably one of the best things that happened to Love after being drafted was the ability to sit and learn from one of the greatest to ever do it in Rodgers.
Although there are mixed opinions about how rookie quarterbacks should develop once drafted in the NFL, there really is no right answer. Some coaches prefer to play their rookies from the get-go and let them learn from their on-field experiences, while others prefer to give their newly drafted players a year or two to get the hang of the professional level.
In the case of Love, he had probably the best example in front of him, as he could watch from the sidelines and catch the best view of how Rodgers went about his business.
Jordan Love overcame mistakes quickly
An important reason why Love is the real deal is because of how he learned from his mistakes within his first year as a starter. Love and the Packers got off to a slow start, eventually falling to a 3-6 record by Week 10 before everything turned around.
In the first nine games of the 2023 season, Love had 14 touchdowns as opposed to 10 interceptions. After playing in all 17 games by the end of the season, Love increased his touchdowns to 32 while limiting his total interceptions to just 11. The major transformation in his passing game also resulted in the Packers finishing 9-8 on the year and entering the playoffs which at one point seemed impossible.
Jordan Love led a young Packers receivers group
Despite Love not being up to the mark in the initial games of the season last year, he was also dealing with one of the youngest receiving units in the league. To put that into perspective, the leading receiver for the Packers last season was Jayden Reed, who caught 64 passes for 793 yards. Reed was in his rookie season in 2023.
Following Reed, the second-highest pass catcher on the team was Romeo Doubs, who caught 59 passes for 674 yards. Doubs was only in his second year in the league. Dontayvion Wicks and Christian Watson who finished third and fourth in receiving yards were in their first and second seasons, respectively.
Thus, the entire receiving core that Love was throwing to had a maximum experience of one year in the NFL.
He went toe-to-toe with the best
One of the highlights of Love’s 2023 season was his ability to take the game to the other greats.
For example, Green Bay took on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a Week 13 home game while they were struggling with a 5-6 record. This game was a complete confidence booster for Love, as he not only guided the Packers to a victory but also did it by outshining Mahomes. Love’s game stats read three touchdowns, no picks, 267 passing yards, and a passer rating of 118.6.
He followed up this performance when he took on Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Round. Guiding the team, Love threw for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no picks to post a passer rating of 157.2 on his way to a huge playoff win.
Leadership qualities
While Love has several other qualities, one of the most important ones for a team is leadership. Love has demonstrated his leadership skills and efforts in gathering the team around him.
A classic example is his reaching out to the 2024 rookie class after the draft. Multiple players praised his decision to do so even while stating that it was not required. However, such acts will go a long way in team-building, and that is what being a true leader is about.
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