Three reasons why Packers can win with Jordan Love in 2021

2. Jordan Love spent a year learning from the master

Far too many young quarterbacks aren’t given the time they need to develop. Oftentimes, first-round QBs are thrown into starting positions long before they are ready. In some cases, they learn on the job and develop while making mistakes in regular-season action. For others, it backfires and they never truly reach their potential.

Don’t underestimate how valuable last season would’ve been for Love. He was under no pressure to start or enter games. He was inactive every week as the Packers named Tim Boyle the backup behind Rodgers. It’s the kind of long-term vision few teams can work towards as they don’t have a player on the level of Rodgers leading the offense while they develop a young QB.

“You can tell he’s just a lot more comfortable out there, even from communicating in the huddle to the command of the huddle to just everything,” said teammate Aaron Jones last week, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.

Head coach Matt LaFleur also praised Love for his offseason work and spoke about noticeable improvements in his game. LaFleur said during OTAs that “the ball is really jumping out of his hands well right now”.

Love got some time to work on his game with the coaches but, just as importantly, he saw Rodgers up close every single day in practice. And in an MVP season. He saw how Rodgers thinks, how he practices, and how he prepares for every game. In the same way Rodgers learned by watching Brett Favre, Love will have taken a lot in from Rodgers during his third MVP year.

How often do we see rookie quarterbacks spend their first year on the bench? Not enough. How many are promoted to start in Week 5 when their team is losing games? Patrick Mahomes sat out his first season behind Alex Smith and that turned out OK.