Utah State Football: Jordan Love was most head-scratching 2020 draft pick

Instead of giving Aaron Rodgers more help, the Green Bay Packers looked toward the future with Utah State football’s Jordan Love.

While the Packers may not have been as good as their 13-3 record suggested last year, they were still one game away from earning a trip to the Super Bowl.

The fact that star quarterback Aaron Rodgers is not getting any younger, you would have thought that they would look to add another talented receiver opposite of Davante Adams or a tight end for Rodgers to throw the ball to. Instead, they decided to trade up a few spots and grab who they hope will be their quarterback of the future in Utah State’s Jordan Love.

Many scouts and analysts were split on Love. There were some that looked at his potential and upside and thought that he could even be taken as high as the top 10. There were others — like me — who thought that Love was not really a first-round prospect and thought that he was going to need some serious development if he was going to ever be successful.

Pros and cons of drafting the Utah State football star

Love has some skill sets that are very intriguing, including the fact that he can escape the pocket and make plays on the run and he had one of the — if not the — strongest arms in the draft class.

Some of the downsides to Love were that he turned the ball over at an alarming rate (17 interceptions last season) and that his accuracy and decision making was not where it should be for someone who was not playing the best competition in at Utah State. Love threw for over 3,400 yards last season and 21 touchdowns, but was much more inconsistent than he was in 2018 when he threw for over 3,500 yards with 32 touchdowns and only six interceptions.

The Utah State star was much better in 2018 and that should both worry Packers fans and give them hope. He has shown potential for elite-level play, but the inconsistency from year to year should be a red flag.

There is nothing inherently wrong with looking towards the future and wanting to put your franchise in the best possible position to succeed, but Rodgers still has 3-5 years of quality football and management should be putting him in the best possible position to succeed because the Packers do not have enough viable options for their offense right now and that is one of the reasons that his play has dipped in recent years.

Adams is one of the most underrated receivers in the league, but there is no clear No. 2 behind him even with the offseason signing of Devin Funchess.

If the Packers’ offense struggles at times like it did last year and is not able to get them to the Super Bowl, many people will look back at their decision to trade up for Love and will be left wondering if it was the right decision. Only time will tell.