Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love needs to have a breakout year in his third season as a starter, but has the team hindered him from reaching his ceiling?
That’s what one coach claims in The Athletic’s annual quarterback tiers rankings. Voted on by 50 NFL coaches and executives, Love landed at No. 13 overall and on the bottom end of the Tier 2 tier of quarterbacks.
While some coaches went on the record arguing that Love is not so much a threat and is elevated by the Packers system, an offensive coach argued that it may be the other way around — Green Bay is hindering Love’s development.
“Jordan does a great job,” the coach told The Athletic’s Mike Sando. “He has a mastery of their offense, he handles multiple cadences and tempos well, and if anything, I think his growth is stifled a little by playing the coach’s offense as opposed to doing more of what Jordan would excel doing.”
Packers Offense Has Protected Jordan Love, Could Pivot to Leaning on Young Gunslinger
Last season, the Packers offense ranked No. 5 in total yards through a balanced attack on the ground and through the air.
Green Bay ranked fifth in carries and rushing yards and was among only a few teams that ran the ball more than they threw it. The Packers attempted the third-fewest passes of any team in the league last year. However, the passing game was still potent with Love, ranking No. 3 in net yards per attempt.
Love completed 35 passes of 30 or more yards last season, the most by any quarterback in the league.
“When we played them, I was like, ‘Man, this ball is going downfield — he don’t give a s***,’” another coach told Sando. “You don’t see a lot of quarterbacks play like that these days. It’s almost like they build it into their offense and see the benefits of making you defend the whole field and hitting a couple in exchange for a pick or two. It was interesting playing him. I came away thinking there is something different about this kid.”
Love’s deftness throwing the ball deep has forced defenses to respect him, opening up more room for the running game.
That’s been productive and also aided Love, who has not had to shoulder the offensive load like he would in an air-raid offense.
However, there is an argument that the Packers should put more on Love’s plate entering his third season as a starter with a stronger supporting cast in the passing game.
Packers Show Potential Offensive Shift by Drafting Matthew Golden
Throughout Love’s tenure, the Packers have shown a preference for drafting receivers who are at least 6-feet tall and 200-plus pounds. This has provided a nice floor for run-blockers but has not proven to produce true gamebreakers at the receiver position.
That could change with Matthew Golden, who is no runt at 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, but does fall outside of the prototypical receiver for Green Bay. Jayden Reed is also undersized compared to the rest of the room.
While the Packers could get away with one smaller receiver on the field, the combination of Reed and Golden on the field will embody a schematic change to find receivers whose M.O. is to create separation and take the top off the defense.
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