Jordan Love was one of the more interesting prospects heading into this year’s NFL Draft, and as soon as commissioner Roger Goodell called his name on Thursday night, his journey became even more intriguing.

When the quarterback out of Utah St. was selected 26th overall by Green Bay, I, along with many other avid football fans, was shocked. Love, to me, seemed like a guy who would either go between the 15th and 20th picks or leak into the second round, since his accuracy problems kept him from being in the elite category and teams drafting late in the first round mostly had their quarterback situations under control.

The Surprise: What it Means

The Packers were one of the teams I considered to be set. I was wrong. With an aging quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur saw the opportunity to begin turning over a new leaf. 

While pessimistic fans are considering this as another example of the organization failing to get the right pieces around a generational quarterback, other, more optimistic fans are seeing this as Gutekunst’s attempt to hit replay on the Packers’ successful transition of 15 years ago. 

Back in 2005, when Gutekunst was a scout for the Packers, the team was in a situation where time was creeping up on Brett Favre, who was 35 at the time. It was time to think about moving forward, so they drafted Rodgers with the 24th overall pick. With Rodgers turning 37 this season, the team has begun to move the chains.

The Future: What it Holds

It’s important to note that filing Rodgers’ shoes will be a monumental task for Love, and that it would be naive to expect him to do so. At the same time, though, it seems like the perfect situation for Love, who isn’t ready to be a starter right now, considering his rocky 2019 season in which he had 20 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions.

Those struggles potentially cost him a top draft pick, especially bearing with in mind that he was electric his sophomore season. Leading the Aggies to an 11-2 record in 2018, he was a top-15 quarterback with a 158.3 passer rating, 8.6 yards per attempt and 32 passing touchdowns. This guy will strive.

The Long Road

It won’t be immediately, nor should it be. Love isn’t ready to be a NFL starting quarterback right now, and if he went to a team without a solid foundation at quarterback and needed to step up right away, he likely would have struggled. That’s why Green Bay is so perfect. Rodgers is on contract through the 2023 season, and barring a major injury, he will be there until at least then.

In other words, Love will have three years to grow and learn from one of the most accurate quarterbacks of all time. Rodgers’ 64.6 completion percentage ranks 10th all-time, and while accuracy is difficult to teach, Love will be able to improve as he serves as the backup.

Perhaps the most notable of the similarities revolves around the ability to extend plays with their feet while remaining the pass-first quarterbacks they are. The other quarterback in that category is Patrick Mahomes. 

But Love’s touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2018 — which was better than five to one — topped what Mahomes and Rodgers had in any college season. 

He has all the tools; he just has to shine them up a bit.