It has been no secret in the NFL that Aaron Rodgers is making a decision in the coming days about his future with the Green Bay Packers. WIll he be back in the green and gold or will he be playing in a different jersey this season? There hasn’t been much love for former first round pick Jordan Love but is there a way the Packers could compete this season with Love being just average?
Hypothetical Rodgers Trade
For Jordan Love to be the starter one of two things would have to happen. Rodgers would have to retire or request a trade. For this argument we’re going to assume Rodgers is traded to the betting favorite the Denver Broncos. The Packers are going to receive a package that includes a talented receiver, an athletic tight end and a combination of picks.
Denver gets
-2022 4th round pick
-2022 7th round pick
Green Bay gets
-2022 1st round pick 9th overall
-2023 1st round pick
-2022 2nd round pick
-2023 2nd round pick
-2024 4rd round pick
-Receiver Jerry Juedy
-Tight end Albert Okwuegbunam
Why Would the Broncos Make This Trade?
The Broncos would make this trade because they would immediately compete for a Super Bowl. They would still have an extremely talented receiver room after the loss of Jeudy with Tim Patrick and Cortland Sutton and they would have an extremely athletic tight end in Noah Fant. They also wouldnt be mortaging thier future. It is assumed Rodgers would play into his 40s, he has said that. This would mean that after 2 years of Rodgers their draft capital cabinet would no longer be barren.
Why Would Green Bay Accept This Trade?
Green Bay would be forced into making a trade if that is what Rodgers demands. This trade gives a talented young receiver assuming Adams leaves in free agency with no Rodgers. The trade would also give them a young athletic tight end to fill in for Robert Tonyan who presumably leaves or misses the first part of the season. The draft capital allows the Packers to reset if Love doesn’t perform well by being able to target a QB in the draft or allows them to put young cheap resources around Jordan Love while he continues to develop.
Next Steps
The next steps for the Packers would be to target a free agent receiver. There are a few very good ones but the best option considering age and production has to be Chris Godwin. For the Packers to sign Godwin it would have to come after a Rodgers trade is executed and they would use the cap space gained from that trade, roughly 20 million. Godwin is a fantastic receiver, a quality route runner, has strong hands, and could come cheaper than some other options because of his ACL tear this season.
Keeping the Defense Together
With the cap space and Rodgers saying he’s leaving the Packers would have to look back on this past year and try to keep the defense together that held the 49ers offense to only 6 points in the playoffs. The assumption would be the defense would be even better based on familiarity in Joe Barry’s system and growth from 2nd and 3rd year players.
Weapons for Love
In this scenario the Packers would have 2 of the top 50 receivers in the game when healthy in Jeudy and Godwin, an athletic TE to push the seam, a move TE to confuse defenses in Josiah Deguara, and potentially the best two back tandem in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. The defense would be a top 10 unit if they were to stay healthy and develople. Special Teams would be better, because let’s be honest they can’t be worse. This is a Packers team that could win 9-12 games with Jordan Love just being average. They would most likely still be heavy favorites to win the NFC North even without Rodgers, and they would have draft capital to move forward with. Even if you take Godwin away from this team, it is a really good offense with weapons who can make plays and win games.
Conclusion
This is just one example of how the Packers could win with Love being an average QB. The reality is this is an extremely talented roster, and no mattter who the QB is they should still be a winning team. And if Jordan Love isnt average, the Packers will have enough draft capital to target “thier guy” and get him in the 2023 draft.
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