The Green Bay Packers may have really wanted Jordan Love, but it sounds like they definitely panicked a bit in their move up to get him in the first round.
Nobody was going to draft Jordan Love in the first round, except the Green Bay Packers.
Though four quarterbacks went in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, it took a while for the Utah State product to come off the board. The Packers traded up from No. 30 to No. 26 with the Miami Dolphins to draft Love late into Thursday night. While they certainly coveted him, there was no market for him in the first round and the Packers clearly panicked in their efforts to get him.
According to The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Packers were set on drafting Love in the first round and were looking to do everything in their power to trade up to get him. They felt a team like the Indianapolis Colts could trade back into the first round, but nothing ever materialized. Green Bay even tried to move up to No. 25 in a deal with the Seattle Seahawks for him.
Indianapolis ended up taking wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. out of USC at No. 34 instead of moving back into the first round for Love. While Pittman can come in and help the Indianapolis offense right away, Love won’t even be expected to get anything close to serious playing time for at least a few years in Green Bay. They still have a perennial Pro Bowler in Aaron Rodgers!
So the Packers were infinitely ridiculed for this draft-day decision on Thursday night, and rightfully so. This is a team that is in win-now mode and just played in the NFC Championship. Instead of getting Rodgers the weapons he needs or the defensive personnel to back him up in a chase for a title, the Packers prioritized their future by taking a serious developmental project at quarterback.
Though Love did show promise during his sophomore year at Utah State, that was two years ago. Once the entire Aggies staff followed Matt Wells to the Texas Tech job ahead of last season, Love’s play and production cratered. While having the luxury of a fifth-year option at their disposal is key in all this, Green Bay could have just stayed at No. 30 and not giving the Dolphins another pick.
If Love becomes the next Rodgers, Brett Favre or Bart Starr in Titletown, then the move up to get him was absolutely worth it. But until he becomes an MVP-level quarterback and leads the Packers to the Super Bowl, it’ll be challenging for everyone to not pile on their botch-job of a 2020 NFL Draft.