One former general manager is praising Jordan Love after seeing his recent great play.
Rick Spielman, the former general manager of the Vikings from 2012 to 2021, stated he would choose the 25-year-old quarterback
above a number of other extremely skilled quarterbacks as Love and the Packers prepare to play the 49ers, the top-seeded team in the
NFL divisional round.
Spielman ranked Love as the number one quarterback in the 2020 class when asked to rank the class in order of player he would want
on his team for the next five years on the CBS podcast “With the First Pick.” Joe Burrow of the Bengals took the lead at second,
followed by Justin Herbert of the Chargers, Jalen Hurts of the Eagles, and Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins.
Spielman’s placement is unexpected for a number of reasons. Love was selected with the 26th overall choice in the 2020 NFL Draft,
placing him in second place out of the top five quarterbacks. Hurts was the only player chosen after him; the Eagles chose him with the
53rd overall pick in the second round.
Of the QBs discussed above, Love also has the least amount of starting experience. The Utah State graduate finally got his opportunity
to start in 2023 after spending the first three seasons of his NFL career sitting behind four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. Love has played
in 27 games over the previous four seasons, compared to 52 for Burrow, Herbert, Hurts, and Tagovailoa.
And there are the honors these quarterbacks (who aren’t called Love) have received.
The 2020 quarterback class has recently had two strong representatives in the Super Bowl: Burrow and Hurts, who both ultimately
lost, led their teams to the big game in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The two were also nominated finalists for the 2022 AP MVP
award, but Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won by a narrow margin.
In their brief careers, Herbert and Tagovailoa have also done a great deal. While the latter was selected an AFC starter in the Pro Bowl
this season after leading the NFL in passing yards (4,624), the former has the most passing yards by a quarterback in his first four
seasons (17,223).
Love is the only franchise quarterback still standing in the playoffs, despite the presence of several others. The Packers became the
first No. 7 seed to win a playoff game and the youngest team (average age: 25 years, 214 days) to win in the postseason since the
NFL/AFL merger in 1970 with a 48-32 victory against the Cowboys in the wild-card round.
Love may further establish himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league and in his draft with an unexpected victory over the
49ers.
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