Getty QB Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love didn’t compare himself to Patrick Mahomes — but he sees some similarities.
It all started last year, when a few draft analysts made comparisons between the current Green Bay Packers quarterback and the Kansas City Chiefs MVP back when Love was entering the draft in 2020.
In the June 11 episode of draft analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks’ Move the Sticks podcast, both Love’s collegiate and professional careers were examined by the two draft experts. Jeremiah, who pegged Love as a perfect fit for the Packers even before the draft occurred last year, dug into his archives to play snippets of his interview with Love just before the 2020 draft. In the interview, Jeremiah brings up the parallels some analysts drew between Love’s game and that of Mahomes, and when asked about the similarities in their games, Love didn’t hesitate to embrace the comparisons.
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Jordan Love: I Think You Can Compare Me to Mahomes
When asked if he thought the comparisons to Mahomes were legitimate, Love answered in the affirmative and got specific:
“Yeah, I mean, I just look at a guy like Mahomes, crazy arm strength, crazy ability to throw the ball different angles and stuff like that. I think I have that. That’s where I see similarities. And just being able to make plays, you know? Throwing sidearm, throwing crazy, deep passes just being able to make plays. That’s where I think you can compare us. I feel like that I’m comparable to him in that aspect.”
Love has yet to take an NFL snap after sitting his entire rookie season. The former Utah State quarterback saw a drop in his play his senior season due to a huge personnel turnover, losing nine starters along with several coaches. As a result, he had an up and down senior year, throwing for 3,402 yards, 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. The year before, in 2018, however, he threw for 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns and six picks, displaying a wicked arm and savvy playmaking ability with his legs. The Packers are hoping that with some continuity, Love will produce 2018-type numbers once he’s the guy in Green Bay.
After sitting behind league MVP Aaron Rodgers last year and digesting as much as he could, Love says he’s 100 percent ready to take the reins if Rodgers doesn’t return. Still, Twitter had some thoughts about the Mahomes-Love comparison:
@Pat_Thorman @PFF “Me and Pat have both backed up QB’s from the 2005 class”
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Love Has Been Trying to Master LaFleur’s Offense
“The biggest thing I’ve been trying to work on and improve is just taking another step in the offense and understanding it, understanding what I need to be doing, my reads, my progressions, where the ball needs to go, breaking down defenses,” Love told Jeremiah in a more recent interview during Packers OTAs.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur says his young quarterback has had a ton to learn and digest, but so far, so good. “We installed our offense and kind of threw everything at him,” LaFleur said, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
“We’ve got to get him multiple looks at many different plays and really find out what he does best and what our team does because every year things change in the National Football League,” LaFleur added. “Just trying to get a feel for how much he can really handle, and I think he’s done a great job of being intentional about his work, how he goes out to practice every day, and I think it’s paying off for him. I think he’s made some progress.”
It’s important to stress that Love did not compare himself to Mahomes, nor did he initiate the conversation about it. He was asked a question about what other draft analysts had said, and he responded. In the middle of an extremely complicated situation, the young quarterback has come to work and done nothing but keep his nose to the grindstone. We’ll know soon enough what kind of quarterback he is when he hits the field, but so far, Love has done everything that has been asked of him this offseason — and more.
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