It must be nice to be a Green Bay Packers fan.
While other fan bases constantly have to worry about whether they have the right quarterback to lead them into the future, the Packers have had astonishing continuity for the past three decades.
First, it was Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre. Then, future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers took the keys. And when Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets in 2023, the Packers handed the keys to 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love, who appears to be the long-term franchise QB.
After a successful first season as the starter in 2023, Love is looking to build upon the progress he made from the beginning of the season to the end. But he has already garnered the respect of a league-wide panel of insiders, ranking 56th on ESPN's 2024 Top 100 players list.
"Love was as good as any quarterback in the league -- and perhaps better than all of them -- over the final eight games of last season," ESPN's Rob Demovsky said. "There's little reason to think that version -- not the quarterback who struggled out of the gate last year -- won't continue into this season. After all, that's why the Packers paid him."
Love, 26, signed a four-year, $220 million extension with Green Bay on Jul. 27, tying him with the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow and the Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence for the league's highest-players on an annual salary basis.
Overall, Love finished the 2023 season with 4,159 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. But over the aforementioned final eight games, he threw 18 touchdowns to just one pick, and parlayed that success into a promising postseason debut.
Now in year two, Love is out to prove that he's among the elites at the quarterback position. If he continues to improve, he could rank much higher than 56th when similar lists come out next August.
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