Can Jordan Love follow the Aaron Rodgers route to success with Packers?

So the Green Bay Packers traded up to draft quarterback Jordan Love? Will he go on to have success in Titletown as Aaron Rodgers’ eventual successor?

The Green Bay Packers shocked folks by trading up from No. 30 to No. 26 to draft quarterback Jordan Love out of Utah State.

Love was seen as the fourth-best quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft and did end up being the fourth quarterback off the board on Thursday night, but it was the destination that surprised. Of course, he now joins Aaron Rodgers‘ team in Titletown. What are the chances he ends up having success going the Rodgers route – as a late first-rounder replacing a franchise great – in Green Bay?

Rodgers too was a late first-round pick by the Packers way back in 2005. He could have gone as high as No. 1 to the San Francisco 49ers, but plummeted down the draft board. Rodgers too went into a tough situation, as he was asked to eventually replace a legend in Brett Favre. While he didn’t play hardly at all during his first three years in the league, it was his job in 2008.

Rodgers is now roughly the same age as Favre was, in his mid-to-late 30s. Though Rodgers is under contract through the 2023 NFL season, he has a potential out after the 2021 campaign. He could enter free agency before his age-38 season or his age-40 season if he does play out the rest of his Green Bay deal.

While Rodgers will likely be unbelievably passive aggressive with his eventual successor in the quarterback room, it’s not like Love is ready to start right away. Though he had success during his sophomore year at Utah State, Love regressed tremendously as a junior, largely because the Aggies’ entire coaching staff went to Texas Tech ahead of last football season.

In short, Love will need at least two or three years before he’s ready to be an NFL starter. The talent is there and it’s also smart for a team to draft him in the first round so they have the luxury of the fifth-year option. Of course, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst could have used that late first-round pick to get Rodgers a weapon or a defensive playmaker to chase a Super Bowl.

Overall, Green Bay is in win-now mode with Rodgers in the twilight of his prime. If everything hits right, Green Bay can totally win another Super Bowl before Rodgers either retires or signs somewhere else in free agency. Unfortunately, his clock is ticking in Titletown, as his success is now in the building.

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Love has massive shoes to fill in Green Bay, but he does have time on his side, just like Rodgers did in the mid-to-late 2000s. Rarely does an NFL team replace a legend with a legend, but to replace a legend who replaced a legend at quarterback seems almost impossible. But that’s exactly what the Packers are trying to do by drafting Love as Rodgers’ undisputed successor.