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Utah State was the only FBS program to offer Love a scholarship despite his excellent play at Liberty High School in Bakersfield (2,148 yards, 24 passing touchdowns; 806 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns). He looked like a future NFL starter while earning second-team All-Mountain West honors for the Aggies in 2018. Love ranked eighth in the FBS with 32 touchdown passes in 13 starts (267 of 417, 64.0 completion percentage, school single-season record 3,567 yards, six interceptions). His statistical production declined in 2019, garnering just honorable mention All-MWC honors as he threw an FBS-high 17 interceptions on the year (293 of 473, 62.0 completion percentage, 3,402 yards, 20 touchdowns; 81 carries, 175 yards, 2.2 ypc). Love showed glimpses of his talent as a redshirt sophomore in 2017, starting six of 12 games played (129 of 235, 54.9 completion percentage, 1,631 yards, eight touchdowns, six interceptions). Love was cited for marijuana possession in December but the case was dismissed in January.

Overview

Challenging evaluation for quarterback-needy teams balancing traits and potential against disappointing 2019 tape. Staff turnover and new starters across the offense are partly to blame for his regression, but self-made flaws in process were also concerns. Love's accuracy took a step back, and his delayed reaction from "see it" to "throw it" when making reads is troubling. He has the arm to stick throws into tight windows but needs better eye discipline and anticipation to keep windows open. His size, mobility and arm talent combined with his 2018 flashes could be a winning hand that leads a team into the future or a siren's song of erratic play and unfulfilled potential.

Strengths
  • Tall in the pocket and smooth, natural thrower
  • Keeps ball tucked and secure while scanning the field
  • Tight spirals come from a variety of arm slots
  • Offenses built upon intermediate and deep reads/throws
  • Confident passer attacking between the hashes
  • Makes athletic pocket exits when scrambling
  • Good open-field vision and speed to move the sticks
  • Arm strength to dime it into windows
  • Drops deeps balls in with plenty of air and touch
  • In 2018, trusted big receivers to make plays on 50/50s
  • Arm talent and swagger to attack field side Cover 2 hole
  • Has access to expedited, compact release when pressured
Weaknesses
  • Consistency and production took massive step backward in 2019
  • Looping windup part of slower operation time
  • Too much staring and telegraphing
  • Six games with multiple interceptions, including three pick-sixes
  • Below-average decision-making against zone looks
  • Allowed coverage to swarm due to lack of anticipation
  • Unusually spotty ball placement forced targets to work for catches
  • Completed just 31.8 percent of his deep throws
  • Doesn't slide to safer launch points enough
  • Will void viable pockets at times
  • Needs to use eyes to hold safeties longer
  • Issues bringing in off-target snaps, leading to fumbles

Last edited by packerboi
Original Post

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15 years ago I hated the Rodgers pick, I hate this one even more.  Let's just hope it turns out as good as it did with Rodgers.  

Rodgers had a much better final college season than Love did though.  20 TDs to 17 INTs.... that is not good.  He does have some impressive physical gifts, but the NFL is littered with failed QBs who had physical gifts but were poor and slow decision makers. 

I will root for the kid and hope he proves us all wrong, but wow he really has a lot of negatives working against him.  Maybe the one saving grace.... he is only 21 years old so he is significantly younger than a guy like Joe Burrow and that has something to do with his lack of polish.  

If you think about it, the timing makes sense.  Rodgers turns 37 in December meaning he'll be 40 after Love's third season in 2022.  At this point, they can move on from Rodgers with a $2m dead cap hit.  

Who know if Love is going to turn out though.  I don't know much about him, other than he sounds like your classic boom or bust pick from a small school.  

Ironic though, that this might be how Rodgers gets shown the door.  History may repeat itself.......hopefully.  

@Tdog posted:

I'm not happy that they traded up.  What for?  No one in front of them was going to pick Love.  Hope they're right.  I woulda rather had some beef.

@Boris posted:

Colts & Seattle had a deal worked out Colts have 34 & 44 so they had ammo to move up. 

Once Packers jumped Seattle & selected Love, Colts pulled out of trade. Pretty simple. 

Seattle was definitely trading out before Packers traded up. Packers screw Seattle......AGAIN

Last edited by Boris

Here’s the thing. 

At some point, Rodgers replacement has to happen. The longer you wait, the smaller the window is for his heir apparent is able to sit. With Love, he can sit 3 seasons. You wait another 2 years to find a future QB, that rookie won’t be able to wait that long. 

The parallels between 2005 vs 2020 are glaring. With nearly the same needs in 2005 as they had in 2020. 

Verdict: Love is absolutely worth the gamble, but he has a long way to go

If there was ever a potential franchise quarterback who HAS to have at least a year or two of sitting on the bench, it’s Love. There’s so much to like about his game and the way he approaches it, but he’s simply not ready right now.

No team should be targeting Love as a rookie starter. That isn’t to say he wouldn’t look good occasionally — there’s too much innate talent for him to fail outright. However, there would
be more ugly moments, and it would be detrimental to his growth.

He’ll have to be coached up an awful lot, but his ceiling is extremely high. He just needs to land in the right place — a team that believes in its quarterback room and its own process to develop him into a star

@packerboi posted:

Here’s the thing. 

At some point, Rodgers replacement has to happen. The longer you wait, the smaller the window is for his heir apparent is able to sit. With Love, he can sit 3 seasons. You wait another 2 years to find a future QB, that rookie won’t be able to wait that long. 

The parallels between 2005 vs 2020 are glaring. With nearly the same needs in 2005 as they had in 2020. 

So 30 consecutive seasons of HOF QB play and two Lombardis. Cool.

@fightphoe93 posted:

15 years ago I hated the Rodgers pick, I hate this one even more.  Let's just hope it turns out as good as it did with Rodgers.  

Rodgers had a much better final college season than Love did though.  20 TDs to 17 INTs.... that is not good.  He does have some impressive physical gifts, but the NFL is littered with failed QBs who had physical gifts but were poor and slow decision makers. 

I will root for the kid and hope he proves us all wrong, but wow he really has a lot of negatives working against him.  Maybe the one saving grace.... he is only 21 years old so he is significantly younger than a guy like Joe Burrow and that has something to do with his lack of polish.  

I think he's English has more to do with his lack of Polish.

@PackLandVA posted:

So 30 consecutive seasons of HOF QB play and two Lombardis. Cool.

 I almost responded with virtually the same language PackLandVA.

Hall Of Famers at QB for 27 straight years ... and 2 SB wins.

Always building for the future ... while getting to 1 Super Bowl in 20 years this century is not exactly something the organization should be patting its back about.

 

 

Last edited by SteveLuke

There's a lot of people wishcasting that this is the next Mahomes, yet the results and production and competition in college is not at all similar. Mahomes was light years better against FAR better competition than Love. 

If the Packers would have done anything in Free Agency to improve the massive holes, drafting a QB at some point makes a bit of sense.  But, after losing Bulaga this team has MORE holes today, even after FA and round 1, than they did after getting murdered by the Niners in the playoffs. Which makes picking any QB in round 1 crazy. Picking a Qb that looked bad against MWC competition as a junior makes it ludicrous.

If you really wanted a development QB, go get Fromm or Eason or Hurts in the 2nd or 3rd. Hell, I'd argue all 3 are much better than Love anyway. 

Boom or bust pick. Gutters takes a chance on spending a R1 — and moving up, at that — for a position GB doesn’t need right now with a HOFer in place. Yet, Rodgers isn’t getting younger and the dings are starting to add up. They have the luxury of a couple years to develop Love, but if he doesn’t develop then Gutters and Lefleur are going to look very bad. Perhaps most interesting will be Rodgers’ reaction. He’s said all the right things before the draft, and maybe he gets that big chip back on his shoulder and refocuses for a year or two and GB returns to the SB. Then he can ride off into the sunset, legacy complete. If Love can step in at that point and play like top-12 starter,  then Gutters and Flower come off like geniuses.

@Timpranillo posted:

There's a lot of people wishcasting that this is the next Mahomes, yet the results and production and competition in college is not at all similar. Mahomes was light years better against FAR better competition than Love. 

If the Packers would have done anything in Free Agency to improve the massive holes, drafting a QB at some point makes a bit of sense.  But, after losing Bulaga this team has MORE holes today, even after FA and round 1, than they did after getting murdered by the Niners in the playoffs. Which makes picking any QB in round 1 crazy. Picking a Qb that looked bad against MWC competition as a junior makes it ludicrous.

If you really wanted a development QB, go get Fromm or Eason or Hurts in the 2nd or 3rd. Hell, I'd argue all 3 are much better than Love anyway. 

I think Love with be better than the three you listed but who the F really knows?

To me, this move speaks volumes of the mindset in GB.  Rather than going all out in FA and the draft to fill a few holes and make a serious run at a SB, GB chose to draft what they hope to be their future QB in a few years.  No WR, no TE, OT, no LB, no DL... nothing.  

This tells me that Rodgers will absolutely not win another SB in GB.  Drafting Love might turn out to be smart in years to come, but we can all rest assured that the remaining years Rodgers has in GB will produce good teams but not good enough to compete for a SB... not even close.  

@packerboi posted:

Here’s the thing. 

At some point, Rodgers replacement has to happen. The longer you wait, the smaller the window is for his heir apparent is able to sit. With Love, he can sit 3 seasons. You wait another 2 years to find a future QB, that rookie won’t be able to wait that long. 

The parallels between 2005 vs 2020 are glaring. With nearly the same needs in 2005 as they had in 2020. 

I don't think it's so much the timing as the player.  Bad decisions, bad habits.

If the 2020 season is canceled (which is certainly possible) this is actually a pretty smart pick.  There wouldn't be any college players to scout next year which means the next time you can confidently draft a QB with tape is 2022, and there's no guarantee there's a good prospect then.  Love is also only 21.  He's 2 years younger than Joe Burrow.  He has time on his side.

If you like a guy enough to think he's a future starter and you can grab him, given all else that's going on right now in the world, it may have been a pretty smart move to pull the trigger now.

I know the comparisons are fun, but the big lead up to the draft in 2005 was which QB would go #1 - Smith or Rodgers.  After Smith was taken, teams just passed on AR for other players of need until he made it to the Packers.  

There’s not a recent mock out there that had Love in the top 20, and everyone knew Burrow, Tua and Herbert were Top 10 QBs. So it’s not like the Packers are getting a steal or that Love fell.  If anything, he got picked higher than a lot thought.

At least Lazard/EQS will be the #2/#3 combo we’re all looking for.  Or that savior at MLB should be there in the 2nd.  DL help? Wide body in the 3rd shouldn’t be a problem. And everyone knows OL isn’t a need until the late rounds.  By the way, what’s up with Gary Rashan?

@packerboi posted:

Verdict: Love is absolutely worth the gamble, but he has a long way to go

If there was ever a potential franchise quarterback who HAS to have at least a year or two of sitting on the bench, it’s Love. There’s so much to like about his game and the way he approaches it, but he’s simply not ready right now.

No team should be targeting Love as a rookie starter. That isn’t to say he wouldn’t look good occasionally — there’s too much innate talent for him to fail outright. However, there would
be more ugly moments, and it would be detrimental to his growth.

He’ll have to be coached up an awful lot, but his ceiling is extremely high. He just needs to land in the right place — a team that believes in its quarterback room and its own process to develop him into a star

Kind of like Rodgers

Packerswire has some promising information on Love.  He's a boom/bust prospect but scouts indicated that his ceiling is very high.  Some think he can be a franchise QB and the face of the organization if he goes to a place where he can sit and learn for a few years.  Looks like GB is the perfect destination for him.  

Apparently his regression last season was partly due to losing a ton of players and most of his coaching staff.  I think the season before he had around 30 td passes and around 6 interceptions so there's obviously talent there.

All that said, it is going to be very interesting how Rodgers handles this.  He's a very arrogant person and there's little doubt in my mind that he will take this just as personal as Favre did... whether he shows it or not. 

Like everybody else when we traded up I already was texting my Friends that we had our own Queen in GB but that quickly went to WTF.  I am praying this works out as well as 2005 but I still remember the year we drafted Javon Walker.  All week I was fantasizing about Ed Reed and when we traded up to get in front of Baltimore (sound familiar)  I was like a kid in a candy store for 5 minutes.  Then when it wasn't Ed Reed I was crushed.  Not hoping for deja vu but really hoping Love uses his pine time to develop, and in three years I can say I am happy with this pick.  Obviously everybody else has picked Loves Flaws over already so I will leave it for time to tell.  I also remember how harsh the community was on Rodgers and his mechanical flaws and yet we see how that turned out- I just hope JL is AR.1.

 

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