The Packers are likely taking phone calls on potential trades for Jordan Love.
And why not? The 2022 NFL Draft is nine days away and quarterback-desperate teams are even more desperate. According to Scouts Inc., Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett both have a grade of 90. Last year, Trevor Lawrence (97), Zach Wilson (93), Trey Lance (92) and Justin Fields (91) all graded out better than 90.
And, ironically enough, Love registered a grade of 90 in the 2020 class that had Joe Burrow (94) and Tua Tagovailoa (93) ahead of him. Love was ranked as the 20th overall player that year — which is better than Willis or Pickett this year.
This may sound crazy, but if Love was in this draft, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the first quarterback off the board. Teams love intangibles and there are so many things that he can project to do.
Does that mean that he’s a long-term NFL starter? No. He needs to work on being a leader and being able to respond to an eroding pocket. Any quarterback can succeed when the pocket is perfect, but in the NFL, the pocket is rarely perfect for an entire quarter, let alone an entire series of downs.
If you aren’t sure about how serious the NFL is with quarterbacks, look to the Cleveland Browns. They gave $230 million guaranteed to a quarterback that is facing 22 civil lawsuits and still doesn’t know what his NFL punishment will be. The Browns wanted to win right now and they knew what position needed to be fixed. So they put their morals on pause and signed what looks like the best franchise passer since Bernie Kosar — who was the last quarterback that led Cleveland to back-to-back playoff berths.
The NFL Draft is the biggest stage for general managers. They are out to prove that their scouting and prep work on players matter and they know the secret sauce to get their team over the hump.
How many people thought that Mitchell Trubisky would be competing for the starting job with the Steelers this upcoming summer? He was a disaster in Chicago and obviously it didn’t help that Matt Nagy never really wanted him.
The Atlanta Falcons make the most sense for Love. Bring him in to compete with Marcus Mariota for the starting job. Seattle wouldn’t be a bad landing spot either. The Seahawks have Drew Lock and Geno Smith, but neither of those guys has shown any serious amount of consistency. Granted, the Falcons are not going to trade the Packers uber talented tight end Kyle Pitts and Gutekunst isn’t going to want D.K. Metcalf’s impending contract, which could wind up being over $22 million a year.
But if the Packers could get a second rounder, that would fit perfectly. Mainly because this isn’t a top-heavy draft with plenty of elite prospects. This is a draft that is filled with quality at the mid-level. The Packers could trade Love and get defensive tackle Travis Jones and wide receiver Christian Watson in the second round.
And don’t worry about the backup quarterback, because he’s already on the roster. It’s Kurt Benkert’s time. I really like Benkert’s mobility and from what I’ve seen, the players respond to him.
It’s all setting up perfectly for Gutekunst and the Packers. Now he just has to swallow hard and make the final decision. You can say by doing that trade means that drafting Love was a mistake, but this is the best way to flip the script.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on “Clubhouse Live” and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn