Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love shocked many fans and analysts last season. When he was first drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, he was far from a finished NFL product. Three seasons of learning from future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the tutelage of Matt LaFleur were needed before he would be ready to take over the starting job.
When the Packers, led by general manager Brian Gutekunst, made the controversial decision to trade Rodgers to the New York Jets in favor of Love, it was met with a great deal of criticism by the national media and a good portion of Green Bay’s own fans. However, Love ended up putting together the best season by a Packers’ quarterback in his first year starting in the team’s long history:
Quarterback | Completion % | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Passer Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jordan Love | 64.2% | 4,159 | 32 | 11 | 96.1 |
Aaron Rodgers | 63.6% | 4,038 | 28 | 13 | 93.8 |
Brett Favre | 64.1% | 3,227 | 18 | 13 | 85.3 |
Despite this production, Love still has his fair share of critics, one of whom put him on blast in a social media post on Sunday.
NFL Writer Claims Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love Has “No Argument” to Be Considered Better than Brock Purdy
One of the better feel-good stories in the NFL has been the success of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. The last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy ended up as the 49ers’ starting quarterback late in the 2022 season due to injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.
Purdy finished third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting that year and following it up by completing 69.4% of his passes for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his first full season as the team’s starting quarterback.
On Sunday, a debate was waged between fans over who was the better quarterback, Purdy or Love? David Lombardi, who covers the 49ers of The Athletic, posted:
“Since I see this being discussed for some reason: Brock Purdy is better than Jordan Love and it’s not even debatable. Anyone who disagrees with that cares about draft position more than actual production, which is the incorrect way of looking at this.”
In other words, Lombardi believes that anyone who thinks Love is better than Purdy only believes that because Love was a first round pick and Purdy was a seventh. His argument is that Purdy’s production is better than Love’s and, therefore, is the better quarterback.
But is that really true?
Comparing Jordan Love with Brock Purdy
Here is a look at Love’s and Purdy’s numbers from 2023 side-by-side:
Quarterback | Jordan Love | Brock Purdy |
Completion Percentage | 64.2% | 69.4% |
Yards | 4,159 | 4,280 |
Touchdowns | 32 | 31 |
Interceptions | 11 | 11 |
Pass Rating | 96.1 | 113.0 |
QBR | 62.1 | 72.8 |
As one can see, Purdy has better stats in most categories save touchdowns and interceptions. That being said, Lombardi’s statement, as well as the numbers, do not take several important factors into consideration.
Perhaps the most notable of these factors is the team that each quarterback had around them. Sure, it is easy to say that Purdy was more productive and point to his numbers, but look at who both quarterbacks had as offensive weapons.
The Packers’ 2023 season saw a massive youth movement. Not a single [healthy] wide receiver or tight end had more than one year of NFL experience. Love’s primary running back, Aaron Jones, was injured for most the season and did not hit his stride until the last three weeks of the regular season.
Purdy, meanwhile, was the beneficiary of an offense that boasted two All-Pro wide receivers in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, an All-Pro tight end in George Kittle, and an All-Pro running back in Christian McCaffrey.
Now, this is not a knock against any of the Packers’ young pass catchers. Rather, it is a testament of how good Love really was. He led a young inexperienced offense to a Wild Card berth and nearly upset Purdy and the 49ers in the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs.
In fact, one might ask why Purdy wasn’t even better in 2023 due to the talent around him. If Love had any one of Purdy’s All-Pro teammates on his offense last season, his numbers who have easily exceeded Purdy’s.
Who knows? Perhaps he will even do it next year now that the young pass catchers have a year together under their belt.
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