The Green Bay Packers have had a nearly unprecedent run of success at the quarterback position. Of course, this string of great quarterback play started with Brett Favre, ran through Aaron Rodgers‘ tenure as the team’s starting quarterback, and is currently ongoing with Jordan Love.
While Love has been the starter for just one season, his level of play (especially late in the season) gave fans and the organization the assurance that they have their next franchise quarterback. A huge reason for this run of success has been quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, who first came to Green Bay in 2006 and has played a role in coaching each of the last three stars.
Clements is currently in his second tenure with Green Bay, having come out of retirement in 2022 to coach Rodgers and Love. His previous stint with the Packers lasted from 2006 until 2016. During that time, he held the titles of quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, and assistant head coach.
The Green Bay Packers Want to Draft and Develop Quarterbacks
Despite having their franchise quarterback in Love, the Packers have shown that they are not going to stop drafting quarterbacks. Last year, they took Penn State’s Sean Clifford in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. At the time, this pick made sense because they were without a backup quarterback.
However, prior to the 2024 NFL Draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst said that he wants the Packers to go back to becoming a sort of quarterback factory. In other words, he wants to keep drafting and developing quarterbacks that the team can then flip in trades for more draft capital.
That is why, in this past draft, the Packers took Michael Pratt out of Tulane in the seventh round. It is yet to be seen if Pratt will unseat Clifford as the second quarterback behind Love, but according to Clements, Clifford has a great deal of things going for him.
Tom Clements Compares Sean Clifford to Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Matt Flynn
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As previously noted, Clements has been around the Packers for a long time. Not only does he work with the team’s starting quarterbacks, he works with the entire position group. As such, he has coached many quarterbacks that have been drafted or signed to backup Packers starters.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Clements compared Clifford to one of Green Bay’s better backups of the last two decades, Matt Flynn. He said: “[Clifford has] a little bit of Matt Flynn in him.” According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, “Clements called Clifford a ‘gamer’ who made plays and impressed on scout team last year.”
Flynn, like Clifford, was drafted in the same year as a new quarterback took the reigns in Green Bay. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft, the first year that Rodgers took over as the starter. In the same way, Clifford was drafted last year as Love took over for Rodgers (as previously mentioned).
Flynn served as Rodgers’ backup from 2008 until 2011 and then from 2013-2014. In the final regular season game of the 2011 season, the Packers decided to sit Rodgers and gave Flynn the start. He used the opportunity to throw a franchise-record six touchdown passes against the Detroit Lions.
Knowing this about Flynn, if Clifford is anything like him, it is easy to see what the Packers like about the Penn State product.
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