While there are always surprised during the first night of the NFL draft, nothing came as more of a surprise than the Green Bay Packers taking Utah State QB Jordan Love with their first round choice on Thursday.
A triumphant moment for the 6’4” QB who only had one scholarship coming out of high school, the standout gun slinger is now the heir apparent to longtime Pack QB Aaron Rodgers.
Not only did the Packers shake up the league with the choice, but GM Brian Gutekunst informed him that they traded up four spots to get him with the 26th pick.
Love journey to first round draft pick is far from normal. When Love was 14, he lost his father, making him lean more on his family, friends and football to power through.
“My journey has been pretty crazy. Under-recruited, not a whole lot of offers, and finally getting to college and making the most of it as a first-round pick. It’s a pretty crazy journey,” he said.
Love immediately proved doubters wrong during his college career, breaking into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman for Utah State. The once-overlooked QB, ended up starting his final 32 games and set school records with 9,003 total yards and 12 career 300-yard passing games.
During his second year, Love began establishing himself as one of the best QB’s in the nation, throwing for 2,567 yards, 32 touchdowns and only six pics. HIs final season, he threw for 3,400 years and 20 TD’s, before deciding to declare for the 2020 draft.
Gutekunst offered up some praise to Love after their choice on Thursday night, saying, “as far as his skill set, he’s a very natural thrower, can make all the throws, he’s a very good athlete, he has the kind of size we look for.”
Love was a highly-touted prospect after finishing his career at Utah State, which was new for him considering four years prior with almost no attention coming out of high school. In this year’s Combine, Love ran a 4.74 40-yard dash time and posted a 35.5 inch vertical, which really stuck out to league scouts.
Apparently, Love also performed well during the online meetings with teams.
Since the pick, Love has spoken on his admiration for legendary Packers frontman Rodgers, saying that as a kid growing up in California, he watched Rodgers his “whole life.” Rodgers, of course, was a QB at California before following in Brett Favre’s footsteps in Wisconsin.
“Being able to be in Green Bay and be behind Aaron Rodgers. That’s one of the guys I grew up watching, learned hot to do it from. I would say that this is a really good situation to be in, not being thrown out there,” he said.
While the excitement is still riding for all the first rounders from this year’s draft, the months following will be unlike any draft class in NFL history, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Love will have all the time in the world to rock his new Packers gear and dive head first into the playbook.
