This week marked the dawn of a new era for the Green Bay Packers. They traded future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, opening up the starting spot for 2020 first-round pick, Jordan Love.
Love has some huge shoes to fill, similar to the situation Rodgers found himself in when taking over for Brett Favre. Green Bay can only hope that things go as smoothly for Love as they did for Rodgers when he began his journey in 2008.
So far in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Packers are doing what they can to ensure Love is in a position to succeed right away. They have done a great job upgrading the pass-catching talent around him, selecting two tight ends, Luke Musgrave in Round 2 and Tucker Kraft in Round 3, and two wide receivers, Jayden Reed in Round 3 and Dontayvion Wicks in Round 5.
Joining the team 10 picks before Wicks in the fifth round was Penn State quarterback, Sean Clifford. The Packers used the No. 149 overall selection on him, which drew some interesting reactions on social media.
One funny one came from Matt Reynoldson, a sports anchor for CBS in Green Bay. He relayed something Rich Eisen shared about the Clifford selection, saying that Love will now be looking to get traded to the Jets.
Some fans were left surprised at the deal. One person, who rooted for Clifford at Penn State, said, “As a Penn State fan I can honestly say I didn’t think he would get drafted but congratulations to Sean and his family.”
Another fan was critical of the selection, as they also didn’t believe that Clifford had much of a pro future. “Well he is about 46 years old at this point. Nice of the Packers to give him a chance to play the game he shouldn’t anymore.”
While most of the reactions poked fun or made jokes, there was one person who felt the Packers made a good choice. They commented on Clifford’s leadership skills and what he can bring to the table despite his limitations physically on the field.
“Excellent pick. Clifford is the ideal QB backup/locker room guy who can come on the field and hold his own when needed. So happy for him.”
People are looking to get a reaction out of others, which is why so many jokes were being made. But, at the end of the day, this is Love’s team. Clifford has virtually zero chance of changing that and the Packers did have a need behind him on the depth chart.
A veteran quarterback could be brought in at some point, but if we learned anything this past season it is that the backup quarterback position is extremely important. We saw franchises in the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins head in opposite directions dealing with injuries to their starting quarterbacks, as the 49ers thrived and the Dolphins struggled.
