Did the Packers’ Jordan Love fall off ESPN’s top 10 QB rankings?

Jordan Love had an excellent transition to the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback in 2023 after sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for two years. While Love’s year started slowly, he got better each week and finished strong with 32 touchdown passes, which ranked him second in the NFL.

Love finished seventh in the league with 4,159 passing yards and led the Packers to a wild-card victory over the Dallas Cowboys (on the road) in his first postseason appearance. A year ago, no one was sure who or what Love was on the field.

Today, Love is one of the NFL’s most promising young stars at its most prominent position. But despite these positive qualities, it’s obvious that not everyone feels the same way about Love. In ESPN’s latest poll, NFL executives, coaches and scouts ranked their top ten quarterbacks.

“I think that’s true…arm talent and confidence and a good system around him. He’s going to lose the ball a couple of times because he’s so confident. He’s going to miss here and there. But you can live with that. The sample size is small, so he’ll have to do it again. But he’ll do it,” an AFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler when asked if Love could maintain the level of play he had last year.

Although Love has only one season under his belt as QB1, some could argue that he already has a more impressive playoff record than at least one other QB in the top 10 and beat another in a head-to-head matchup in January.

Justin Herbert is considered by many to be the next great NFL QB, but his first playoff appearance in 2022-2023 was nothing special. After building a 27-0 lead in the first half of this year’s wild-card game against Jacksonville, Herbert and the Chargers scored three points in the second half and ultimately lost 31-30.

Certainly the defense is to blame for giving up such a lead under then-head coach Brandon Staley, but that the offense only scored three points in the second half is a bad mark on Herbert’s resume. In contrast, last postseason he led the Packers to a dominating victory over America’s Team in Love’s first playoff game.

Love and the Packers also built up a 27-point lead in this wildcard game, but unlike the Chargers, Love and the Packers did not let up. At halftime of the game in Dallas, they led 27-7 against Dak Prescott’s Cowboys. Love was at his best, throwing three touchdowns over 272 yards.

Of course, these rankings aren’t based solely on postseason performance, but it certainly factors in. The playoffs are where legacies are built. More games are played in the regular season, but some players are known for performing at their best even when the spotlights aren’t as bright.

Prescott is one whose reputation has suffered because he couldn’t get Dallas over the hump in the playoffs. He’ll get it done in the regular season, but when it’s at its brightest, Prescott isn’t reliable.

After this performance against the Cowboys, it was clear that Love is not afraid of the big moments.

So was it a shame that Love didn’t make ESPN’s top 10? The argument for a short sample size is justified, as it was his first year starting a full NFL season. However, for a player who got his first opportunities last season, Love has proved many critics wrong.

If Love carries his momentum from the end of last season and the postseason into the 2024 regular season, his inclusion in the top 10 in a year should be automatic.