Jordan Love, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, surprised many fans and observers last season. When he was initially selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, he was far from a finished NFL product. Three seasons of learning from future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers and under Matt LaFleur’s instruction were required before he could take over as starter.
When the Packers, led by general manager Brian Gutekunst, made the contentious decision to sell Rodgers to the New York Jets in exchange for Love, the national media and a sizable section of Green Bay’s own supporters reacted harshly. However, Love ended up having the best season by a Packers quarterback in his first year of starting in the team’s long history.
Despite this production, Love continues to face criticism, with one critic blasting him on social media on Sunday.
NFL Writers’ Claims Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has “no argument” for being considered better than Brock Purdy.
Brock Purdy’s accomplishment as a San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been one of the league’s best feel-good tales. Purdy, the last player taken in the 2022 NFL Draft, became the 49ers’ starting quarterback late in the season owing to injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.
Purdy placed third in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting that year and went on to complete 69.4% of his throws for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in his first full season as the team’s starting quarterback.
On Sunday, fans debated whether quarterback was better: Purdy or Love. According to David Lombardi, who covers the 49ers for The Athletic, Brock Purdy is unquestionably better than Jordan Love. Anyone who argues with it is more concerned about draft position than actual production, which is the wrong way to look at it.”
In other words, Lombardi feels that anyone who believes Love is superior to Purdy does so just because Love was a first-round pick and Purdy was seventh. His thesis is that Purdy’s productivity is higher than Love’s, and so he is the superior quarterback.
But is this truly true?
Comparing Jordan Love and Brock Purdy
Here’s a look at Love’s and Purdy’s 2023 numbers side by side:
QuarterbackJordan Love, Brock. Purdy
Completeness Percentage64.2%69.4%
Yards4,1594,280 touchdowns.32-31 InterceptionsPass Rating: 96.1–113.0 QBR: 62.1–72.8
As can be seen, Purdy has higher stats in most categories except touchdowns and interceptions. However, Lombardi’s assertion and the data fail to account for a number of crucial aspects.
Perhaps the most prominent of these considerations was the team that surrounded each quarterback. Sure, it’s easy to claim Purdy was more effective based on his numbers, but consider who both quarterbacks had on offense.
The Packers’ 2023 season featured a significant youth movement. No [healthy] wide receiver or tight end had more than one season of NFL experience. Aaron Jones, Love’s primary running back, was sidelined for the majority of the season and did not find his rhythm until the final three weeks of the regular season.
Purdy, meantime, benefited from an offense that included two All-Pro wide receivers, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, an All-Pro tight end, George Kittle, and an All-Pro running back, Christian McCaffrey.
Now, this is not a criticism of any of the Packers’ young receivers. Rather, it demonstrates how good Love truly was. He led a youthful, untested offense to a Wild Card berth and nearly defeated Purdy and the 49ers in the NFC Playoff Divisional Round.
In fact, one could wonder why Purdy didn’t improve even more in 2023 given the talent around him. If Love had any of Purdy’s All-Pro teammates on his offense last season, his statistics would have easily surpassed Purdy’s.
Who knows. Perhaps he’ll try it again next year, since that the young pass catchers have spent a year together.
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