Jordan Love was taken in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, number 26 overall to the Green Bay Packers. In that round of the draft, he would be one of five quarterbacks taken, all of whom have either been to the playoffs at some point and in the case of two of them (Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow), made to the Super Bowl (they both lost).
This season, Love was named the starter with Aaron Rodgers departing for the New York Jets. Many analysts didn’t have the Packers going very far, certainly not into the playoffs. But Love had other plans. Not only did the Packers defeat the Cowboys, 48-32, in the first round of the playoffs, but now they look to go into to San Francisco and do the same there. With Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts both losing in the first round (Burrow’s Bengals and Herbert’s Chargers didn’t make the playoffs), Love is the only quarterback left from the first round left in the 2020 draft class in the playoffs.
Jordan Love Is Already A Top-5 Quarterback In The National Football League.
It may be a bold claim, but what other quarterbacks in the National Football League are capable of tossing for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns nearly every game since Week 9? The Packers needed a major turnaround in order to make the playoffs. The coaches started this process mid-season. Love caught fire and the Packers won two of their last three to grab the final playoff spot in the NFC.
The 2020 QB Draft class is one of the best:
Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow
Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa
Chargers’ QB Justin Herbert
Packers’ QB Jordan Love
Eagles’ QB Jalen HurtsWho are you taking as your QB for the future?
— NFL Talk (@NFL_Talk_Sports) January 19, 2024
With the fact that we now have a season’s worth of data at least for all five quarterbacks, we can begin to compare where they stand in ranking.
First, Bengals’ Joe Burrow was the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and was the first to do a lot of other things as well of these five quarterbacks. He was the first to appear in a championship game, losing his first one and winning the second. He would be the first to appear in a Super Bowl, losing to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56. However, his career has also been riddled with season-ending injuries in two different seasons (his rookie season and this year).
Second is Miami Dolphins’ quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa, like Burrow has had many injuries including many head-to-head collisions last year that put his career in question on whether he would play again. However, he has returned with a vengeance this season. The Dolphins quarterback led his team into the playoffs where they were knocked off in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs at Geha Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Dolphins now have the longest drought without a playoff win due to the Lions winning their playoff game against the Rams. If that doesn’t tell you anything about how Tua’s career has gone so far, I don’t know what to tell you.
Why Jordan Love Excels Where His Other ‘Draft-mates’ Fail.
Third is the Los Angeles Chargers’ quarterback, Justin Herbert. Justin Herbert is a quarterback that is a victim of his circumstances. Whenever the Chargers find a new head coach, it will be Herbert’s third coach in 4 years. Anthony Lynn was fired after his rookie year and he has had Brandon Staley for the last three years. If the Chargers continue to waste the Herbert, it would not be surprising to see him walk after his contract is up to have a better chance of competing for a title.
Next, on to the NFC. The Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts and he took them to the Super Bowl and nearly won it last year against the Chiefs. Though he couldn’t replicate the same success this season as Hurts and the Eagles were bounced in the first round of the NFC playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 32-9. Since then, many Eagles fans have been calling for head coach Nick Sirianni’s job as the Eagles lost 6 of the 7 to end the season. Another factor is the looming presence of Bill Belichick who is a head coaching free agent on the market right now.
Jordan Love Is No Ordinary First-Year Starting Quarterback.
One thing the Packers got right is the fact that Jordan Love sat behind one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time in Aaron Rodgers. Because of this, Love is perhaps more prepared than the other four quarterbacks when they started to play their first games. Not only were they all tossed into the deep end at some point of their rookie season, but they were expected to do well. Love was never expected to touch the field and only did so when a Rodgers injury kept him out a game in Love’s second season.
Love also has a great sense of building chemistry, with coaches and players alike. It has allowed him to play better with his teammates as well as understand where his head coach, Matt LaFleur, is coming from. It is a stark difference from the Aaron Rodgers era.
Love will continue to progress at a rate that hasn’t really been seen before and could, barring injuries, put him at the top of the NFL.
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1 Comment
Yeah Love passed for over 300 yards a game for the last 9 games. Oh except for the last 2 when he faced real defensive play.