Revisiting Packers pick of Jordan Love in 2020 NFL Draft How Green Bay got last laugh vs. Aaron Rodgers

Revisiting Packers pick of Jordan Love in 2020 NFL Draft How Green Bay got last laugh vs. Aaron Rodgers

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The Packers got ripped when they drafted "quarterback of the future" Jordan Love with the No. 26 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft while Aaron Rodgers still was an MVP-caliber signal-caller. Although the bold move irked Rodgers and led to his eventual exit from Green Bay, the team should have no regrets now.Love sat on the bench for three seasons behind Rodgers, who won two more NFL MVP awards in 2020 and '21. That old-school decision to make Love wait paid off, as he enjoyed an immediate breakout season after replacing Rodgers as the full-time starter in '23.The Packers, under GM Brian Gutekunst, followed the winning blueprint laid out by late predece sor Ted Thompson, who stashed Rodgers as a late first-round pick behind Brett Favre in 2005. Coach Matt LaFleur was patient until the team got an opportunity to move Rodgers and had Love developed and ready to execute the offense when getting the chance.Here's revisiting how the Packers surprisingly and wisely drafted Love, the latest addition to the strong 2020 QB cla s:RELATED: Jordan Love's 2020 draft valueLove (6-4, 219 pounds) was one of the cla s' most polarizing prospects at any position coming from Group of Five program Utah State. He shined when doing all the pa sing and testing drills at the NFL Combine, confirming he would be one of the Ghana Jersey top five QBs off the board.The question then was whether he could go as high as the first round. Joe Burrow (No. 1 overall, Bengals), Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5 overall, Dolphins), and Justin Herbert (No. 6 overall, Chargers) all went around where expected. Love was right up there with Jalen Hurts (No. 53 overall, Eagles) as the next most intriguing option, albeit more developmental than the trio taken early.The Colts (No. 34) and Patriots (No. 37) looked like good second-round fits for Hurts or Love. After Burrow, Tagovailoa, and Herbert were taken quickly and no team from No. 7 to No. 32 had a glaring need at QB, it didn't look good for a fourth first-rounder. Green Bay sensed some team might get aggre sive to get Love's upside late, so it jumped up four spots from No. 30 to No. 26 in a trade with Miami.The Packers saw Love as the best available player after the top 25 picks and tabled what were perceived as more critical offensive needs. They kept up that theme in adding running back AJ Dillon in the second round despite having elite feature back Aaron Jones and dependable No. 2 Jamaal Williams.Packers' 2020 draft needsThe Packers, between taking Rodgers No. 24 overall in 2005 and Love No. 26 overall in '20, went 14 years without drafting an offensive skill player in the first round. Along the way, they did get Rodgers plenty of help by drafting Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Eddie Lacy, Davante Adams, Jones, and Williams deeper in drafts. They also landed two key offensive tackles in Bryan Bulaga and David Bakhtiari.Some of those players were gone, and the rest were aging, England Jersey so it was fair for GM Brian Gutekunst to wonder if they needed to restock acro s the board around Rodgers. However, the Packers saw coveted wide receiver prospect Brandon Aiyuk go one pick earlier to the 49ers. They were red flags for offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson, who wound up being a ma sive bust at No. 29 for the Titans. They also ended up getting the ideal complementary back in Dillon late in the second round.Hindsight says the Packers could have jumped on either Tee Higgins (Bengals) or Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts) at wideout or even Cole Kmet (Bears) at tight end. At running back, they also didn't land D'Andre Swift (Lions) or Jonathan Taylor (Colts) behind Jones. Those players all went in the range of No. 33-No. 43 overall.The Packers didn't take a wideout in any round, indicating they weren't hot on the cla s after the first-rounders. They also had just drafted three in 2018. They did that again for Rodgers in 2022 and then for Love in '23. Love was seen as a luxury project pick, but looking back, he made the most sense vs. forcing other positions too earlyWhy the Packers drafted Jordan Love behind Aaron RodgersRodgers' 2019 season at age 36 didn't indicate that he had two more elite MVP seasons left in him. He leaned a lot on the rushing succe s of Jones under new coach Matt LaFleur in the transition from Mike McCarthy. There also were big initial questions about just how well Rodgers was meshing with LaFleur.In retrospect, the Packers had enough reasons to consider lining up Rodgers' succe sor at some point in the draft. Had Love not been taken in the first round a la the Eagles stashing Jalen Hurts behind Carson Wentz in the second round the visceral reaction to taking a "project QB" would not have been so big.The surprise benefit of the shocking pick is how it would motivate and rejuvenate Rodgers for more terrific play in the 2020 and '21 seasons. Since his draft slide in '05, Rodgers has thrived with a chip on his shoulder, so the Packers also pushed the right button in that sense. Then, when the 39-year-old Rodgers was not feeling it with another uncharacteristically shaky season in '22, Love's presence made it the right time to part ways.Jordan Love's promotion, Aaron Rodgers' tradeRodgers was traded last offseason, along with two draft picks, for four draft picks from the Jets. When looking at the swap, the true net result was the Packers getting two extra second-rounders, No. 42 overall in 2023 (tight end Luke Musgrave) and No. 41 overall in '24.The Packers gained draft capital and were fine eating $40 million in dead money on Rodgers in relation to getting $12.4 million in salary-cap relief. That was how confident they were in Love thriving in LaFleur's system and playing better overall than Rodgers did in 2022.They also realized Love was the future last offseason when they drafted wide receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. They piled on with wide receivers Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks in 2023 and also addre sed tight end twice with Mugrave and Tucker Kraft. The result was providing Love with unprecedented rookie and second-year receiving production in the Super Bowl era.Meanwhile, Rodgers was trying to make it work with two of his former Packers wide receivers, Cobb and Allen Lazard, in key roles with the Jets. After Rodgers went down with his torn Achilles' against the Bills in Week 1, those targets faded out of the Jets' limited pa sing game.While Rodgers was plotting his exit, the Packers were employing a better entrance strategy for Love. Gutekunst loading up a young Love with support an older Rodgers didn't get is also telling, as there was a sense of freedom for the Packers to lift their QB instead of counting on their QB to lift them.Green Bay is in the divisional playoffs with a healthy Love in 2024. New York didn't sniff the playoffs without a healthy Rodgers. The Packers didn't want to become the Patriots minus Tom Brady, searching for a QB solution for years. The fact they had the foresight USA Jersey to jump on Love should now be applauded and appreciated for seasons to come.
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