The 2023 season is a big one for the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love. The 2020 first-round pick out of Utah State will have his first opportunity at being the full-time starter, stepping into the lineup for Aaron Rodgers. The future Hall of Famer was traded to the New York Jets, paving the way for Love.
There is a lot of pressure on Love to perform right out of the gate. The Packers are far from rebuilding and the team already committed an extension to him. As if the pressure wasn’t high enough naturally to replace a legend of Rodgers’ stature, those things will add to it.
So, what is the feeling around the league about Love? It is tough to gauge as he is shrouded in mystery given how little playing time he has received in the first three seasons of his career. A majority of his tape is from the preseason with one regular season start and nine more relief appearances under his belt.
Having the opportunity to learn and soak things in behind Rodgers will certainly help Love, so there is optimism he will be able to get the job done. Recently, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner broke down some tape of provided some analysis on what he thinks of him.
Warner has a YouTube series called “Study Ball” in which he breaks down and analyzes film of certain players. Love was someone he recently went to work on, covering everything from preseason snaps to relief appearances in the regular season. There were things that Warner liked, but he also identified areas of improvement.
“You see with him there is a lot of good stuff with recognition, understanding a lot of the safety movement, etc. Obviously, there are some times where he tried to force the ball instead of letting the game come to him. Technique-wise, it can get away from him on the deeper balls thrown where they came out flat.
Those are some of the things I want to see improved from him but overall, when you look at the growth he has made, there is a lot to like in the dropback game, him being able to see different indicators to get the ball out of his hands accurately.”
The Packers are set up to find some success down the field with a burner such as Christian Watson in the lineup. If Love can continue improving in that regard, Green Bay should find plenty of success with big plays, something that was commonplace with Rodgers running the show.
That play recognition that Warner mentions plays into something that a lot of professionals discuss as a big difference between a rookie and deeper into their careers. The game finally slows down, which leads to them being able to execute at a higher level.
That is something that will occur with preparation and practice reps, but the only way to truly develop in that regard is with live, game snaps. Love will have plenty of those coming his way in 2023 as the unquestioned starter and leader of the Packers’ offense.
