The Green Bay Packers understand their best chance to win a Super Bowl is for Jordan Love to take a step forward at the game's most important position. If he can make the jump from good to great at quarterback, it could propel his team to lift the Lombardi Trophy this year.
There's little cogent debate over whether or not Love has the arm talent required to make elite NFL throws. His highlights can be breathtaking. Love is comfortably in the top-echelon in the league when it comes to fitting the ball into tight windows with excellent arm strength.
The challenge for head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff is to put Love into situations where he can improve the floor of his game. Eliminating mistakes and errors could do wonders to improve the team's offensive efficiency. Avoiding errors may not be as exciting as producing more big plays but it should be the area of focus for Love this year.
Packers fans should keep a close eye on the following three ways in which Love can improve. His progress on these fronts should have a massive impact on their favorite team's win total in 2026.
1. Increase his completion percentage
Love only managed to complete 63.1% of his passes last year. That was the lowest mark since his rookie season. The Packers hope their recent investment at the wide receiver position can help their most important player become more efficient.
Drafting Matthew Golden in Round 1 should give Love a receiver he can go to on more short and intermediate throws. His outside receivers struggled to create quality separation last year. Golden being a quality option as a rookie can give Love's completion center a big boost.
Some of the responsibility does fall to Love. His mechanics in the pocket got loose at times last year which negatively influenced his accuracy. More attention to his footwork could help improve his ball placement which would make his passes easier to catch while also allowing his receivers to produce more yards after the catch.
It might be too much to ask Love to get to the 70% mark this year but getting over the 66% mark should be enough to keep the chains moving more often. That might not seem like a big jump but it would have a big impact on the offense's overall effectiveness.
2. Protect the football
Love will always throw interceptions because of his desire to push the ball down the field at a high rate. That does not excuse the 11 turnovers he handed to opposing secondaries in 2025.
That graded out to an interception rate of 2.6% on the year. That also represented the worst mark Love has posted since his rookie season. Cutting out two or three turnovers could give the Packers an extra win or two during this regular season.
A slight uptick in discretion could bring Love's interception total down. He's never going to throw the ball out of bounds a lot, but he should be encouraged to accept more checkdowns. A slight increase in conservatism can help Love round out his efficiency as a passer.
3. Better effectiveness in play action
The Packers rely on Josh Jacob to bludgeon opposing defenses on inside runs. That should make Green Bay one of the best play action teams in the league.
A closer look at Love's numbers out of play action show that it's not nearly as productive as one might expect. He only threw 89 passes out of play action last season for 825 yards. The Packers should try to increase his total number of attempts and the number of explosive plays they can produce in 2026.
Tucker Kraft is the sort of tight end who should really be able to hurt opposing secondaries down the seam via play action. The Packers might lack the classic, big-bodied wideout to hurt opponents over the top but the sheer volume of carries they give Jacobs should suck safeties towards the line of scrimmage at a high clip. Guys like Golden, Kraft and Jayden Reed should be able to get past one-on-one defenders to give Love some easy, deep throws.
Green Bay worked hard to get the ball out of Love's hands faster last season but they might need to dial that back this year. Holding the ball a bit longer in play action could be just what Love needs to power his offense to big leads. Fans should keep a sharp eye on how much the Packers use play action early in the season. Expect it to be a bigger part of LaFleur's game plan against quality opponents. It should be a key part of the team's strategy to knock off the Lions in Week 1.