The Green Bay Packers quarterback depth chart is going to look vastly different in 2023 than it has in years past. With Aaron Rodgers now a member of the New York Jets, this year is the dawn of a new era in Green Bay.
Jordan Love will be taking over as the team’s starter, replacing Rodgers who had been under center since 2008. That is some large shoes for the 2020 first-round pick to fill but the organization is confident in him being able to succeed.
While his status as the starter is locked in, who Love’s backup will be is undecided. The Packers have opted to go young behind him as they didn’t sign a veteran to round out the depth chart. Instead, they used the No. 149 overall pick to select Sean Clifford out of Penn State.
Clifford will be battling it out with Danny Etling, a seventh-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2018 out of LSU. Etling spent the entire 2022 season on the Packers’ practice squad, so he will have a leg up on Clifford in the competition for the No. 2 spot as he already has a year under his belt learning the system.
But, Clifford knows that he has a great opportunity ahead of himself. He recently spoke about his early thoughts on being in Green Bay and having the chance to earn the backup quarterback spot.
“It’s all opportunity,” Clifford said, via Bill Huber of SI.com. “Coach [Matt] LaFleur put up yesterday, ‘Opportunity is either nowhere or now here.’ It’s really about the opportunity is now here.
“For all of us – not only myself but the other guys in the class – just being able to really come in and show the staff and the front office and the NFL what we did in college and how we’re going to get better in the NFL. I don’t look at it as pressure. I’m trying to focus on what I can do first and how I can help others. I really don’t look at it as I’m trying to win this, win that. I’m just trying to get better every single day.”
Clifford had a productive career with the Nittany Lions, completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 10,661 yards, 86 touchdowns and only 31 interceptions while going 32-14 as a starter. While there are some limitations in his game, the experience and tools are there for him to be a capable backup at the next level.
While Etling has a leg up being in the building for a year, he has as much regular season experience as Clifford down. Etling has never attempted a pass in a regular season game, so in that regard, the two are on an even playing field.
Bringing in a veteran behind Love is certainly still possible, but for now, it will be Clifford and Etling battling it out. It will be something to keep an eye on throughout the offseason as we saw just how important backup quarterbacks are during the 2022 season with the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins heading in opposite directions once starting quarterbacks went down with injuries.
