Packers Training Camp Preview: Quarterbacks

With the first practice of Green Bay Packers training camp set for July 22, here is a look at the strengths, weaknesses and question marks at quarterback.

Packers QB Jordan Love / USA Today Sports Images

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. – What a difference a year makes.

Entering training camp in 2023, Jordan Love not only was the Green Bay Packers’ biggest question mark. He was one of the biggest question marks in the entire NFL.

Questions remain about Love ahead of the start of Packers training camp on July 22, but they are much different after playing at a sublime level down the stretch last season.

Here is our training camp preview of Love and the Packers’ quarterbacks.

Packers Quarterback Depth Chart

Jordan Love: Love more than filled the shoes of Aaron Rodgers. He statistically was superior to Rodgers in 2008, the future four-time MVP’s first season as the starter, and he was vastly superior to Rodgers in 2022, when the Packers missed the playoffs. Love finished a mediocre 11th in passer rating and 21st in completion percentage, but was elite during the final eight games, when he was second in rating and third in completion percentage.  

Sean Clifford: As a fifth-round rookie, Clifford was the runaway winner in the battle to be the No. 2 quarterback. His production in the 2-minute drill during training camp, in particular, was a big reason why the team didn’t sign a veteran to serve as Love’s backup. He threw one pass during the regular season, his 37-yard completion to Bo Melton giving him the highest yards per attempt in NFL history.

Michael Pratt: General manager Brian Gutekunst wanted to get back to drafting quarterbacks with regularity, so he used a seventh-round pick on Pratt. Some teams had him in contention to be the first quarterback selected after the top six passers were taken in the first round. Instead, he was the 11th and final quarterback selected. Among his career highlights at Tulane was outdueling USC’s Caleb Williams in the Cotton Bowl.

Biggest Strength: More Than Jordan Love

The easy and obvious name under this heading is Love. So, let’s take the less-obvious path and highlight coach Matt LaFleur’s quarterback room.

Longtime quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, thrilled with Love’s growth and the progress of the team, elected to return at age 71.

“I’m at the point really where it’s year to year,” he said at the start of OTAs. “The way we ended, it really wasn’t that tough of a process to decide to come back. I think we’re poised to be a good team. Obviously, we have to work at it. Every year is a new year. We don’t know what’s going to happen.

“But it’s a lot easier compared to last year because we had a lot of guys that had no experience whatsoever in the NFL. A lot of rookies. For Jordan, it was his first year as a starter (and) he was seeing things for the first time. But, obviously, as the year went along, we started to develop and we were pretty good at the end of the year. So, we know we can be pretty good. Now we just have to work to get to that same spot, and it is a process. It’s not easy but I think we have the guys that can do it.”

Plus, LaFleur added one of his former pupils, Sean Mannion, to the staff. A third-round pick in 2015, Mannion started three games in his career but should bring some fresh wisdom to the team.

“It’s nice because he’s played with Matt, he’s been a quarterback with Matt, so being able to ask him a million different questions,” Clifford said. “There’s a good three weeks where we were getting an extra meeting every-other day – just the two us. We weren’t even going over our concepts. We were just going over ball. Watching situations, being able to talk through those different situations. It’s been a blessing to have him.”

Biggest Question: Will Jordan Love Be Worth the Money?

Love is expected to get an enormous contract extension sometime before the start of training camp. Will he be worth the $275 million that might be coming his way?

There’s a chance Love will wind up the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL based on a half-season. During the first nine games, 34 quarterbacks threw at least 100 passes. Love was 27th in rating, 33rd in completion percentage and 34th in interceptions. During the final eight games, he was second in rating because he was a league-best plus-17 in touchdowns (18) vs. interceptions (one).

Being that good for 17-plus games would be unrealistic for just about any quarterback in the history of the sport. So, can he be close to that good? If so, the Packers could win this year’s Super Bowl – and any year’s Super Bowl. If not, it’s going to be almost impossible to overcome a mediocre quarterback getting a superstar salary.

Biggest Battle: Sean Clifford vs. Michael Pratt

It’ll be for a backup position, but there won’t be many training camp battles more important than Clifford vs. Pratt to be Love’s primary backup.

Love got through last season unscathed, so Clifford didn’t have to play an important snap. That’s rare, though. Last season, Love was one of nine quarterbacks to start all 17 games. A total of 67 quarterbacks started at least one game, including 45 with at least four starts and 39 with at least six.

The Packers are high on both players, but can either one of them – with no real NFL experience – come off the bench to win a game?

Biggest Key: Jordan Love Under Pressure

Great quarterbacks make plays when under pressure.

First, there’s the physical pressure. Last season, 33 quarterbacks were under pressure on at least 100 dropbacks. According to Pro Football Focus, Love was 18th in completion percentage (49.0) and 17th in turnover-worthy-play percentage (defined by PFF as a pass with a high chance of being intercepted or fumbling). That’s about on par with Aaron Rodgers in 2022. So, not terrible but certainly room to improve through experience.

Then, there’s the big-moment pressure. Love soared down the stretch last year and destroyed Dallas in the playoffs. Talk about rising to the occasion. But he seemed overwhelmed by the moment with the game on the line against San Francisco. The final interception, with Love under pressure and forcing the ball to a well-covered Christian Watson, was a first-half-of-the-season type of mistake.

The Packers need Love to be better on both fronts this season. With a year of seasoning, the Packers are counting on it.

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