The expectations entering the 2023 NFL season were unfairly high for the first season as a starter for Jordan Love in Green Bay. And while it was a tough start to the season, it’s fair to say that Love has looked exactly like the quarterback he was drafted to be.

Having had both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers dominate at QB over the past 20-plus seasons, this fan base certainly is used to successful signal callers. The selection of Love was a heavily scrutinized one, especially with a backup QB not being what was needed back in 2020, but look how taking that route to draft Rodgers turned out.

2023 Progress

In his first season as the starter, Love has been a work in progress, but over the past two weeks, his progress has been ten-fold.

Facing the Los Angeles Chargers and the Detroit Lions during their two-game winning streak, Love’s poise and composure in the pocket has been on full display. Five touchdowns to zero turnovers speaks to his growth of how to be successful, especially understanding how dump offs are better than forcing plays.

While Love has only one game over 70 percent completion percentage this season, he has shown improvement in his target progression and how he runs the offense, even if Matt LaFleur and some of the play calling still tends to hold him back. It isn’t a secret that the youth of this offense has made for some bumps in the road, but the future of this team depends on the growth of its youth in the present.

Deep Ball Accuracy

A big part of Love’s growth this year relied on his deep-ball accuracy, and while that is still one of the weakest parts of his game, his Week 12 performance against the Lions was a step in the right direction. On passes of 10 yards or more, you can see how much it’s improved.

There are plenty of areas that Love can improve in, and some of those areas are big reasons why Green Bay still struggles on offense. But the type of growth that Love has shown this year shows the type of player he is and how much he still can grow. If Green Bay wants to continue its winning ways, it will be reliant on Love’s right arm and decision making.

With matchups against the Chiefs, Giants, and Buccaneers next up, the Packers have plenty of chances to remain in the playoff hunt. The growth of Jordan Love has given this offense its identity, and it looks likely (at this point) that Love will remain this team’s starter heading into next season – and beyond.

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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23

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