The Green Bay Packers made a respectable, if measured, move when they signed Tyrod Taylor this offseason to be Jordan Love's primary backup.
It's a safe, passable option to employ the soon-to-be 37-year-old, but Taylor is hardly a difference-maker. At this juncture of his career, he should be viewed as a de facto assistant coach, not someone who you'd count on in any capacity to win a game or two if Love goes down.
Considering the only two QB options behind Taylor are Kyle McCord and Kyron Drones, it'd behoove Green Bay to think outside the box, especially with where Taylor checks in on some fresh-pressed backup quarterback rankings.
Tyrod Taylor listed as ultimate mid backup QB in latest power rankings
SI.com's Gilberto Manzano made a rather, shall we say, interesting list of power rankings for every backup QB in the NFL. Agreeing to disagree on a number of his picks, Taylor landing smack-dab in the middle at No. 16 out of 32 feels bang-on.
Here's what Manzano had to say about Taylor, which really is a fitting encapsulation of the wily vet:
"Taylor is the perfect median for backup quarterbacks. He’s not a gunslinger, but his coaches love how he prioritizes playing under structure and protecting the football. There’s not much coaches hate more than a chaotic backup not sticking to the plays called. The mild-mannered Taylor never threw more than six interceptions in the three seasons he started for the Bills between 2015 and ’17. Overall, Taylor has made 62 career starts with 73 touchdowns and 34 interceptions. While he’s a cautious quarterback, he usually gives his team a chance to win because he rarely goes away from the guardrails."
This is quite the antithesis of Love's style of play. It's not like the Packers have some phenomenal running game to lean on at the minute, especially with Josh Jacobs' legal situation still up in the air.
Oh, and Taylor, to reiterate and specify, turns 37 in August. He's predominantly been a second-stringer at best of late, yet even without the typical wear and tear of a starter, Taylor has lost at least a step, which limits some of his upside as a dual-threat runner.
Given the success the Packers just had with developing a supreme athlete in Malik Willis, it's shocking that they didn't pull the trigger on, say, trading for Anthony Richardson. If nothing else, Taylor could be an invaluable mentor to Richardson and give him some reps. Plus, Richardson's dynamic athleticism could score him some subpackage plays to give that Green Bay ground attack a little bit of juice.
A player like Richardson is much more in the J-Love mold of a risk-reward, arm-arrogant, high-upside field general.
And shoot, what about Spencer Rattler in New Orleans? Sure looks like the Saints are handing the reins to Tyler Shough. Rattler has legit starting upside, could probably be had for peanuts at this point, and could eventually be flipped for a higher draft pick after going through Green Bay's QB school.
For what it's worth, Richardson checked in at 10th on the backup QB list; Rattler was sixth. Perhaps their high standing and how their current teams value them made them less tradeable. Maybe the Packers didn't want to part with future draft compensation, given that Love is the unquestioned starter, and Taylor is just a one-year stopgap plan.
Ideally, Love is in the lineup for all 17 games and it's all a moot point. Having Taylor as the low-ceiling QB2 could come back to bite the Pack at some point, though.
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