From the moment the OTAs kicked off, it was clear a new leader had emerged in Green Bay. Jordan Love took control, setting the standard and leaving no doubt about his readiness to captain the offense. The 25-year-old QB has been in the news with talks over a contract extension, but that hasn’t stopped him from giving it his all in the Packers OTAs and the minicamp, something that his teammate Rashan Gary was keen to point out.

Last season, the 49ers ended the Packers’ post-season run in the Divisional Round. This time around, Jordan Love is keen to put things right and improve on the 2023-24 season. The first step in that journey has already concluded with the mini-camp ending on June 13. When asked what Love was doing differently from last season, Gary said,

“Last year, he took control, you know, from day one of offseason OTAs. And he started off right off the same foot, the same way, bringing it up, breaking it down, and talking about the standard and what it needs to be and I just love it.”

Replacing New York Jets bound four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers was not going to be an easy task. But after three seasons as the backup, Love was ready to take center stage in the NFL’s smallest city.

After a challenging start, that saw him ranked last in completion rate among QBs, Love turned around his and his team’s fortunes starting from week 11 till the end of the regular season. He threw 18 touchdowns, and just one interception and completed 70.3% of his passes in that period. For fans hoping he would keep up the same form, Gary’s words of how the best is yet to come from Love and that he is eager for everyone to witness what he is capable of will give them belief.

“People haven’t seen nothing yet. You know the things that he’s been doing in camp, that y’all can’t see in the practice, y’all can’t see the throws that he doing and how he’s putting them on the money. Man, it’s ridiculous right now, and I just can’t wait till the season so he can display it, but he’s in store for a hell of a season for us,” said Gary on The Rich Eisen Show.

Love ended last season as No. 10 among NFL quarterbacks in passing yards, second in touchdowns, 10th in passer rating with at least 300 attempts, and eighth in completions of 20-plus yards. But it is his leadership qualities that could drive the team’s success as well.

Gary further mentioned how Love is developing as a leader of men at the Packers. He added, “He’s a guy you could talk to, man. I’m talking about from team’s defense to offense man. All guys you know believe in him and you can have a conversation with him. I’m talking about anytime at lunch table, you know you have any question you sit down and talk to him. Those type of guys that men go to war and play for.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by wideout Christian Watson, who has seen firsthand how Love’s off-the-charts football IQ and dedicated preparation over three years have primed him for stardom. “His knowledge of the game and our offense…he has that standard set in his mind,” Watson affirmed to pressers last week. But what does Love himself think about the Packers OTAs and minicamp?

The defeat to the 49ers was hard to take. During the third quarter, when the Packers had a 21-14 lead, Love came under pressure and made an ill-timed pass that linebacker Dre Greenlaw intercepted. This proved costly, as it allowed the NFC top seed to get the ball and they ended the drive with a field goal. In 2024, Love is determined to right the wrongs.

Speaking after the mini-camp last week, Love said, “The main thing for me is understanding where to go with the ball, always making the right decision, not forcing the ball downfield, and trying to fit it in certain windows. Things like that.”

Going by this, Love has amped up the play during the mini-camp as he prepares for the training camp, slightly over a month away. Coach Matt LaFleur has also raved about his QB’s “accuracy, throwing on time, making the right decisions” against lockdown corners like Jaire Alexander. LaFleur has also said that he has entrusted Love to call his own plays in certain two-minute drills in practice, to understand his thought process in certain situations.

The work Love is putting in with the Packers may also hint at a suitable contract extension in the offing. He signed a one-year extension worth up to $22.5 million in March 2023. Instead of picking up the fifth-year option for 2024, the Packers signed him to an extension last May on his rookie deal. But the QB is hopeful of a contract extension being agreed by the time the training camp starts.

Love’s journey from Rodgers’s apprentice to a leader on the field began last season. Having learned from one of the best, we may get to see more of his strengths in the new season. A pivotal season awaits him. But what has been the reason for his success so far? Tom Brady had the answer.

Jordan Love learned the chops through the ultimate apprenticeship

Speaking of preparation, few understand its value better than Tom Brady. The GOAT credits his success to the right mentors at key stages, from Bill Belichick’s strategic brilliance to the veteran savvy of Drew Bledsoe.

For Love, that mentor was none other than Aaron Rodgers. Brady emphasized how priceless it is in The Herd with Colin Cowherd back in May “to watch someone else do it at a very high level and then try to emulate them with your own personality.” This is an opportunity Love seized to the fullest under the future Hall of Famer’s tutelage.

As Brady noted, “Jordan Love got that’s that’s the best type of training, in my opinion. Watch someone else do it at a very high level and then try to emulate them with your own personality.”

The results have been on full display at minicamp, where Love has been surgically dissecting elite cover men. It’s a challenge Coach LaFleur welcomed, focusing more on Love’s “process” than scorecard statistics.

Because when the process is dialed in, blitzing linebackers and rangy cornerbacks can only do so much to disrupt a quarterback dropping dimes all over the field. Just ask Gary, who can’t wait for Love to go from Lambeau’s practice paradise to opposing teams’ hell.

With the it-factor, the blueprint from an all-time great, and a Terminator-like focus, Jordan Love is looking to prove who the new gunslinger in town is. The journey from Rodgers’s understudy to Green Bay’s leading man is complete; now it’s showtime for the NFL’s next quarterbacking phenomenon.