Jordan Love is still one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the NFL, but that may not last much longer.
Most of the NFC North quarterback hype surrounds Caleb Williams, who is featured on the cover of Madden NFL 27 and produced some playoff magic. But most of Williams' best work came in the fourth quarter to clean up the mess the Chicago Bears' offense had put them in to begin with.
Love? He quietly outproduced almost the entire league in several metrics. All the ingredients are there for him to level up again and force his name into the MVP conversation.
Why Jordan Love is finally poised to join the MVP conversation in 2026
What does it take to become a serious MVP contender, and what is Love missing? Let's break that down.
First, it takes production. Last year's MVP, Matthew Stafford, threw for a league-best 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns with just eight interceptions, good for a 109.2 passer rating.
Rightly or wrongly, it also takes team success. Myles Garrett set the NFL single-season sack record, but he never had a realistic chance of winning the MVP award thanks to, well, playing for the Cleveland Browns. If he posts similar numbers for the Los Angeles Rams in 2026, we could be having a different conversation.
Stafford's Rams went 12-5. The past nine NFL MVP winners have played on teams with at least 12 victories. Those winners' teams averaged 13 victories in their award-winning seasons.
The two ingredients Jordan Love needs to join the MVP race, and why it can finally happen
What's Love missing? Exactly that.
The first is volume. Love was as efficient as just about any quarterback last season. He threw 23 touchdown passes to just six interceptions, good for an outstanding 101.2 passer rating. Love finished second in EPA/play while earning Pro Football Focus' third-best passing grade. Per PFF, Love had a turnover-worthy play percentage of just 2.6 percent (tied for the ninth lowest) and a big-time throw percentage of 5.9 percent (the fifth best).
He needs more volume to increase his overall stats. Love attempted just 439 passes last season, ranking 19th in the NFL. Compare that to Stafford, who had 597 attempts.
The Packers may need to throw more often in 2026. A shaky offensive line still has questions, as does the running back depth. Green Bay's offense runs at a snail's pace far too often, but Matt LaFleur may have no choice but to adapt.
Green Bay just handed big-money deals to Jayden Reed and Christian Watson. Tucker Kraft is next. The Packers also need to give more opportunities to 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden. LaFleur has to adapt his offense to go through the air at a faster tempo.
The second part for Love to join the MVP race? Wins. Green Bay has hit a wall at the nine-victory mark in three straight seasons.
The Packers looked poised to shatter through that ceiling after defeating the Bears and improving to 9-3-1 on December 7 last season. Love surged to No. 3 in the MVP odds. Granted, he was a fairly distant third behind Stafford and Drake Maye, but Love's stock was soaring.
He was producing at a ridiculously high level, even if the volume wasn't there, and the Packers were winning games.
Then came the injuries, and so, too, did the defeats. Green Bay lost its remaining four regular-season games, suffered a one-and-done playoff exit, and that was that. While MVP should be purely an individual award, it's no secret that team success is required too. Love needs to lead his team to the top of the NFC North and comfortably move the win column into double digits.
The path to reaching those heights couldn't be clearer. Love has the talent, as he displayed throughout last season.
And he did that despite missing Christian Watson for the first half of last season, Tucker Kraft for the second half, and Jayden Reed for 10 games. All three should enter Week 1 at 100 percent (or very close, in Kraft's case). That's huge.
Add in a potential necessity to throw more often, and Love should thrive. The offense is far more efficient when LaFleur hands his QB the keys, and he may need to do so this season.
Love briefly put his name into the MVP mix last year. With more volume and team success, he can go from underrated to undeniable in 2026.
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