Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur recently explained how quarterback Jordan Love spending the bulk of his first three pro seasons serving as a backup for Aaron Rodgers helped Love become one of the more promising players at the position in the game today.
During the latest edition of The Athletic’s “Scoop City” podcast, Love shared how he received somewhat of a needed reality check during his rookie year thanks to working alongside Rodgers.
“When I went into the draft, getting ready for the NFL, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m ready. I’m confident,'” Love said. “I get to Green Bay, and those first couple days, to see Aaron work, see the things he’s doing in practice, you’re like, all right, well, I’m not even close. I’m definitely not there. It was an eye-opening experience for me, to see him work, see the confidence he has and the balls he throws and just the control he has of the offense.”
Rodgers responded to the Packers making Love a 2020 first-round draft pick by earning regular-season Most Valuable Player Award honors across Love’s first two NFL campaigns. The future Hall of Famer later signed a massive extension with the Packers in March 2022 ahead of what became his final year with the organization.
Green Bay traded Rodgers to the New York Jets in April 2023, and Love then lost five of his first seven starts last season. Podcast co-host Chase Daniel noted how Love being an “identical clone” of Rodgers regarding footwork and throwing motion played a part in the 25-year-old turning things around and guiding the 2023 Packers to a playoff victory.
“I would say that’s just a lot of me sitting there watching Aaron, watching him and his footwork and the way he’s able to be off-platform, be facing this way and complete passes going the other way. Just watching him and kind of just seeing it,” Love said about mimicking Rodgers. “And now I get on the field, and my muscle memories are starting to do it.”
The Packers locked Love down this summer via a four-year, $220M deal that was signed before new conversations about whether or not teams should immediately start rookie quarterbacks selected with high draft picks generated headlines.
While there’s no one right or wrong way for clubs to handle such situations, Love is an example of how sitting behind a proven star can ultimately benefit a young signal-caller who admittedly isn’t fully ready to face live NFL defenses in meaningful games.
