Scouts acknowledge the athletic brilliance and mental growth fueling Jordan Love’s ascent, even as he battles the daunting shadows cast by the Green Bay Packers' legendary MVP predecessors.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is ranked as the No. 72 player in the NFL heading into the 2026 season, according to his peers.
For times during the 2025 NFL season, he played like a legitimate MVP candidate. His numbers from last season put him amongst the best of the best in the league, especially when it comes to the advanced metrics.
And yes, the jury is still out regarding the question of whether or not the Packers have their third-straight Hall of Fame quarterback in a row, but Love has absolutely been a success for Green Bay so far.
By all accounts, Love is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He's not a Top 10 quarterback in the league, though, according to a recent ESPN ranking that utilized surveys from NFL executives, coaches, and scouts.
Notably, two NFC North quarterbacks bring up the back end of the Top 10. That would be Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions at No. 9 and Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears at No. 2.
A ton of proverbial ink could be spilled about the strength of the NFC North based on these rankings alone, because Love checked in on this list as an honorable mention.
"I don't think he gets enough credit for playing the position consistently well, and he has got the athletic traits to match it," an NFC scout told ESPN.
It's not a homer take to say that Love has been consistently undervalued by the pundits during his come up in Green Bay.
There have certainly been several reasons for that, but the biggest have been the otherworldly expectations placed on him due to his circumstances.
Place Love on any other franchise and he'd be viewed as elite. Compare him to Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, though, and it appears as if he's coming up short — if even just subconciously.
It's easy to forget that Favre and Rodgers have seven league MVP awards between the two of them, though, and Love is the direct replacement for the quarterback Tom Brady recently called the GOAT.
“I think there’s no greater passer of the football than Aaron Rodgers,” Brady said recently, via the "Stick To Football" podcast.
“There’s certain people, you see everyone do it, and then you see one person throw the ball that much better. Aaron Rodgers was incredible," Brady explained. "(It’s) hard to put into words how incredible he passes the ball. The way it comes out of his hand, the way it spins and delivers with pace and accuracy. There’s only probably three people in the history of the NFL that could do it like him.”
Dec 4, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) and quarterback Jordan Love (10) during warmups before a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images.That endorsement pales in comparison to another anonymous endorsement of Love in the ESPN rankings, but that doesn't make the positive take any less true.
"Control of the offense, protection and route adjustments, he has really grown in those areas," a veteran NFL offensive coach told ESPN.
Love does everything good, if not great. The only thing he needs to work on is his consistency, and if he can figure that out, he's well on his way toward filling the cleats of the two legendary quarterbacks before him.
Even then, though, he's always going to fall short of the legend. That's just the way it works when you're "the guy" who replaced "the guy", who just so happened to also replace "the guy".
PackersRoundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Packers. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.
