The debate over where Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love ranks amongst the league’s best has raged on for three years, going on four. If you ask one analyst, you might hear that he is an MVP candidate and a fringe top five player. Another qualified analyst might call him below average and a product of his environment. A recent quarterback ranking by CBS Sports might have found the right place for Love, though.
Rather than ranking every quarterback, Bryan DeArdo put quarterbacks into tiers. So, while Love might not have an exact ranking, the tier that he belongs in explains why that debate is so highly contested.
Love is in a tier called the ‘Borderline Stars.’ This tier is directly below the top five quarterbacks, who are deemed transcendent talents. It is also a tier that makes up 12 quarterbacks, essentially one-third of the NFL.
Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love is a Borderline Star
GettyJordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers
This ranking makes it hard for Packers fans, or most fans, to get mad about. There is a tier of five quarterbacks that appears to be ahead of all of the current options. Matthew Stafford, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Joe Burrow have long track records and win consistently enough that they are apart from the rest. Very few, if any, quarterbacks in the next tier can argue with those five.
Then, a good portion of the league is in the next tier. The borderline stars are the players who can go on hot runs and, at times, look like top-five quarterbacks. However, they are reliant on the pieces around them, and too often they have stretches of below-average play as well.
This accurately describes Jordan Love. So, Packers fans might argue with other names on the list, but they agree that Love is not in the top five, and he is in the tier right below. That tier just so happens to range from the sixth-best quarterback to the 18th-best quarterback.
Jordan Love Can Be a Star and Can Be Below Average
That is why this ranking is so perfect. All of these quarterbacks can be the number six quarterback in the NFL on their best day. Some have surely ranked them there. However, when things go wrong, they can easily be viewed as below average. That can even drag on for stretches at a time.
The list of borderline stars includes Jalen Hurts, Sam Darnold, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Trevor Lawrence, and Love.
If you pull up any list of quarterback rankings, you will find them in some order between sixth and 18th. The order changes, but these are the core players in that range. Depending on the analyst, or even the portion of the season, any of these quarterbacks could be as high as sixth or as low as 18th.
All 12 have the chance to step out of this tier and into the transcendent. Can Love separate himself in 2026?
CBS Sports Finally Settles Jordan Love Debate