The dude has been balling out, period. We have zero stars playing on this offense. Not within our WR core. Not in our TE group. Not on the line. Not in our RB squad. The only player that would rightfully be considered a star is Aaron Jones, who has missed most of the season due to injury and has not performed well while he’s been on the field this year (likely due to health).
Do we have players that look like they could grow into stars? For sure. Musgrave, Reed, and others could definitely become special players in the years to come. But they aren’t there yet.
With all that, said, Love, a 2020 26th overall pick, has been able to lead this team to a 5-6 record, same record as last year with Rodgers at the helm, with 19 passing TDs, 2 rushing TDs, 10 INTs, 2599 passing yards, and 221 rushing yards.
Let’s compare that to QBs that have been drafted after Love’s 2020 class:
- Trevor Lawrence (2021 1st overall pick): Pretty good, but the verdict is very much still out on him. 11 TDs, 6 INTs on the year.
- Zach Wilson (2021 2nd overall pick): A verifiable bust.
- Trey Lance (2021 3rd overall pick): Appears to be a career backup.
- Justin Fields (2021 11th overall pick): A disappointment at best, a bust at worst.
- Mac Jones (2021 15th overall pick): Career as a starter feels like it’s over. A likely bust.
- Kenny Pickett (2022 20th overall pick): Has not passed the eye test or the statistical test. 13 TDs, 13 INTs through his career thus far.
- Desmond Ridder (2022 74th overall pick): Again, nothing we’ve seen of him suggests he has a future as a starter in the league. 6 TDs, 6 INTs on the year thus far.
- Brock Purdy (2022 262nd pick): This dude’s a Tom Brady-esque anomaly. Appears to be a great starter/potential star despite being the final pick of the 2022 draft. No one saw this guy coming.
- Bryce Young (2023 1st overall pick): He’s on a bad team so the verdict is still out, but hasn’t impressed thus far. Time will tell.
- C.J. Stroud (2023 2nd overall pick): Appears to be a future star. The only legitimate WIN of a pick out of all the QBs drafted after Love’s 2020 class.
- Anthony Richardson (2023 4th overall pick); On IR, has hardly played any snaps.
- Will Levis (2023 33rd overall pick): Has been up and down but has shown some nice flashes.
- Oh and for shits and giggles, I’m also throwing in Deshaun Watson, who’s sitting on a $230 million contract with the Browns, the most lucrative in NFL history, and has looked like dogshit and is on IR for the rest of the year.
So with all that said, the Packers find themselves in a very desirable position with Love. You’ve got the youngest team in the league, a ton of cap room opening up over the next couple of years, and a quarterback that’s already shown more potential than the vast majority of QBs that have been drafted since his 2020 class.
Doubters have been silenced. Gutekunst wins. Go Pack Go.
I think Love has proven he can win games and play without a true star at the skill positions, but he looks so much better when our oline has their pass protection on point. I actually am rooting for us to try and grab a top 3 tackle in the draft and see if a top level guard is there in the second round. I want the packers to bring back a focus on having a premiere oline.