Green Bay Packers trying to save face with Jordan Love?

Are the Green Bay Packers merely saving face with Jordan Love and his role?

Basically from the moment the Green Bay Packers traded up from the No. 30 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft up to the 26th overall selection and nabbed Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, there have been strong opponents to the move.

The most succinct argument against the pick has been that Aaron Rodgers is still capable of winning a Super Bowl and likely will be for the next 2-3 more years, at minimum. So the Packers essentially used a first-round pick, not on a much-needed pass-catcher, but on a player who shouldn’t see the field until the end of his rookie contract.

Well, that may not actually be the case. On Sunday evening, Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman noted that Love is a “lock” to get on the field as a rookie and will play a “significant part of the offense” in special packages.

While that may be heartening to hear that the Packers didn’t use a first-round pick — one they traded up for, no less — on a player who won’t be on the field, it’s also worth noting that there might be more than meets the eye with this situation.

Green Bay Packers trying to quell Jordan Love controversy

The inescapable fact with Green Bay and love is that fans and analysts alike remain befuddled by the decision-making in the draft from general manager Brian Gutekunst. It was painfully clear that the Packers needed to draft Rodgers a weapon on offense to give him someone other than Davante Adams to rely on in the passing game. So the fact that the team took a possible — not even a sure — successor to the quarterback is hard to swallow.

Because of that, a report of this nature screams that the franchise is trying to save face. They don’t want to hear about how the selection was bad or wasted, so they generate buzz that they have an immediate plan for Jordan Love beyond him just being a developmental quarterback that may supplant Rodgers down the line.

This isn’t to say that head coach Matt LaFleur and the Packers coaching staff won’t have a role for Love. However, considering that Love was not necessarily a prolific runner in college (only 170 attempts over three seasons) and never caught a pass, it’s strange to think that he’d be coveted as a first-round pick because of the role he could play outside of quarterback.

Maybe this was the Packers’ plan all along, to use Love in a gadget capacity while grooming him behind Rodgers. Even still, getting this out about his role in the offense is a clear attempt to save face. Furthermore, it won’t change anyone’s minds. No matter what role has in 2020 (or 2021), it’s going to still be hard for many to swallow how Green Bay handled this offseason.