The 2020 “Virtual” NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night. Finally there was some sort of live sports on television.
The first round of the draft seemed to last forever. It was also pretty predictable. No real surprises. I mean the Bengals selected Joe Burrow with the first overall pick, but the pick wasn’t announced until the the clock almost ran out. There was also some mishaps, like commissioner Roger Goodell announcing Las Vegas will be awarded the 2020 NFL draft, when he meant the 2022 NFL draft. The biggest surprise of the first round was the Green Bay Packers trading up from the 30th pick to the 26th pick and selecting quarterback Jordan Love.
The Packers had not selected a skill position player in the first round of the draft since they selected Aaron Rodgers in 2005.
Aaron Rodgers is still playing at an above-average to high level. This pick draws comparisons to when the Packers then General Manager Ted Thompson selected Rodgers as Brett Favre was still playing at an above-average. At the time Favre was 35 years old when Rodgers was selected. Rodgers is now 36 years old.
This selection was not made for an immediate impact in the upcoming season. This pick is a long term pick. Jordan Love can sit back and learn behind one of the best to ever play the position. Love will not be QB1 any time soon. Rodgers even acknowledged that this off-season when you stated that whoever the Packers selected, they would not replace him.
The Packers need a back-up quarterback to Rodgers. They have not had a serviceable back-up in years. If Rodgers gets injured and misses some games, Love could be serviceable to keep the team afloat, and possibly win a couple of games until Rodgers gets back. He could also develop into a trade piece to help the team down the road or he turns into the next franchise quarterback. Either way it will be a win for the Packers.
Now that the Packers got the guy they were after, what will they do in the second and third rounds tonight? Well, I think they will try and appease Rodgers. The draft is deep on wide receiver talent, so I think they will draft a wide receiver at some point tonight.
It is too early to call this draft a bust. Let’s see what they do the rest of the draft and decide on the quality of picks when we look back in a few years. Jordan Love has talent and General Manager Brian Gutekunst definitely sees something in him to take him with his first pick. Let’s see what happens this weekend before we criticize Gutekunst and call the entire draft a bust.
Go Pack Go!
Anthony Haag is a writer for PackersTalk.com. He has been a Packers fan since the day he was born and truly bleeds green and gold. He makes annual visits to Lambeau Field and has attended his fair share of games. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthony_haag
1 response to “Packers make surprise move by trading up and selecting QB”
OK first every one need to know that trading or cutting aaron rogers means all his bonus money that was pushed back immediately is added to the cap. I believe that is over 40 million dollars and 20 million next year for someone who is not playing for you. So he is staying. So Love probably wont play for 3 years. Nothing against Love but this is about the worst pick they could make based on team needs. 2 years in a row they take a player in a position where they can be only a backup with their first pick of the draft. gute needs to go but like thompson it will take years for them to realize it. I have been a packer fan since 1964 and i am ready to choose another team to follow. what do you do when they continue to screw up the draft and mismanage the teams personnel. When does the CEO take any responsibility Its so frustrating to see this for several years in a row. TED is finally removed 3 years too late and now TED Jr strikes 2 years in a row.