The Green Bay Packers are very pleased with Jordan Love’s development. General Manager Brian Gutekunst aims to finalize a contract extension before training camp begins later this week, suggesting a deal will be completed soon. However, there are still questions about Love’s future performance around the NFL, primarily due to the small sample size of his play.
Although drafted in 2020, Love spent three years as Aaron Rodgers’ backup. He became the full-time starter in 2023 and, after a rocky start, played at an elite level in the second half of the season.
Due to this limited sample size, Love missed the top 10 in ESPN’s rankings, which are based on the opinions of NFL executives, evaluators, and coaches. He was an honorable mention, recognized for his performance last year.
An AFC executive told ESPN, “I think that’s real,” when asked about Love’s potential to maintain his level of play. “He has arm talent, confidence, and a good system. He’ll make some turnovers because of his confidence, but that’s manageable. It’s a short sample size, so he needs to prove it again. But I believe he will.”
The notion that Love needs to demonstrate his abilities over a longer period is reasonable. He ranked 25th in EPA+CPOE composite between weeks 1 and 8, behind players like Daniel Jones, Bryce Young, Justin Fields, and Derek Carr.
However, this analysis seems inconsistent when considering that Houston Texans’ quarterback CJ Stroud made the top 10 as the seventh-best projected quarterback for 2024. Stroud ranked 16th in EPA+CPOE composite between weeks 1 and 8, while Love was third from weeks 9 onwards, and Stroud was eighth. While Stroud might be more valuable considering his contract and age, the ESPN rankings do not seem to account for these factors.
