Jordan Love had the look of a franchise quarterback, while leading the Green Bay Packers to the NFC Divisional round in his first season as a starter, and may be primed to elevate his game to even loftier heights this fall.
Love completed 64.2 percent of his passes in 2023 for 4,159 yards and 11 touchdowns while guiding the Packers to a 9-8 finish and road playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card playoffs.
Still, despite his success and amid the revolving door at receiver and tight end due to injuries plaguing the Packers’ pass-catchers, Love was only middle of the pack in terms of his deep-ball passing ability.
Where Jordan Love Has Chance to Make Biggest Strides for Green Bay Packers
Love finished last season ranked 14th in Yards Per Attempt (7.2), and 10th in Adjusted Yards per Attempt (7.1). However, only six other quarterbacks averaged more than Love’s 8.4 air yards per attempt, and if he’s improved in that regard, it could be bad news for defenses across the NFL.
“I think a lot of it with him early last year, he was kind of forcing balls down the field,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich told ESPN. “Once he just understood, ‘OK, it might not be there. Bang, hit your checkdown.’ So he was hitting a lot more checkdowns. And then, when the open balls were there, he was hitting them, you know what I mean? He wasn’t forcing it. So I think it was just basically taking what the defense gives you and having that understanding of being patient. I think that was big for him.”
If Love’s top receivers, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks and Luke Musgrave can stay healthy, it sure sounds like Love is ready and willing to stretch the field far more often this upcoming season.
“I have a better feel for where guys are going to be at, where I need to put the ball on some of those deep balls, what the leverage might be of the [defensive back], and just playing with confidence,” Love told reporters earlier in training camp. “I’m just putting it out there as far as I can, and letting them go out there and make a play and try not to overthrow them.”
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