Jordan Love took over as the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback this season after sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for the first three seasons of his NFL career. Through four games, the Packers are 2-2. Love has completed 74-of-132 passes for 901 yards. He has thrown eight touchdowns and three interceptions and has a quarterback rating of 88.0. He has also run for 72 yards and two scores. While Love is still learning and developing in his first year as a starter, here’s a look at what Love is doing well so far and what he still needs to work on:

First Thing Packers QB Jordan Love Is Doing Well: Leadership

Love has clearly established himself as a leader on this team on and off the field. He led the Packers to a dramatic comeback win over the Saints by scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 17-0 deficit. Love never gave up despite the offense’s struggles early in the game.

His teammates have had his back since last season when veterans De’Vondre Campbell and Aaron Jones were among the players who sang his praises.

Off the field, Love has done all the right things. This included inviting his young receivers and running backs to work out with him independently in California during the offseason. He also showed up to all voluntary OTAs and seems to encourage his teammates rather than freezing them out when they make mistakes.

Love has established himself as the leader of this young football team and it didn’t take long for him to accomplish that goal.

First Thing Jordan Love Needs to Improve: Completion Percentage

Right now, Love is completing just 56 percent of his passes through four games. In the modern NFL, even an inexperienced quarterback should complete at least 60 percent of his passes.

Love has missed some makable throws but there are some reasons why Love’s completion percentage is lower than desired.

He is throwing to inexperienced receivers and tight ends who don’t always make the right reads and adjustments yet.

Furthermore, Love is throwing the ball downfield more than most quarterbacks. The Packers have thrown long more than most teams and that clearly lowers Love’s completion percentage.

While these things have reduced Love’s completions, he does need to improve his accuracy.

Second Thing Packers QB Jordan Love Is Doing Well: Finding Second and Third Options

When Love first came into the NFL, he needed to improve his ability to read defenses and find second and third receivers if his primary target is covered.

This season, the former Utah State star has kept his cool and found second and third options with regularity. It helped that in the first three games, he had enough time to throw which certainly makes it easier to find other options.

Love has also effectively spread the ball around to a variety of Packers receivers.

This is a skill Love needed to develop and he seems well on the way to getting there. He is running the plays Matt LaFleur calls well and making his reads.

Second Thing Love Needs to Improve: Long Ball Accuracy

Love has thrown deep downfield often, and he’s drawn a lot of pass interference calls, but he’s struggled to complete his long passes.

He completed one long pass to Luke Musgrave on a play where Love went off script and Musgrave stumbled over his own feet. The play should have gone for a touchdown but still gained 37 yards.

Then against Detroit, Love found Jayden Reed for a 44-yard gain deep downfield.

But those two plays are the exception rather than the rule and Love needs to be better at hitting open receivers downfield to take his game to the next level.

Third Thing Packers QB Jordan Love Is Doing Well: Using His Mobility

Love has run the ball well this season. While he has gained 72 yards on 16 carries, his mobility is more than just scrambling for gains.

The former first-round pick has used his mobility to escape pressure and prolong plays to find receivers downfield. He has also occasionally run the option although the results have been mixed.

Love adds another dimension to the offense with his ability to use his legs to his advantage. It is something his 39-year-old predecessor was less able to do in recent seasons.

Through four games, Love has shown he is capable of being a quality NFL starting quarterback. He has the arm strength and leadership to be better but still has some areas to work on to take his game to the next level.

 

 

Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers

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