2020 NFL Draft: Is The Pre-Draft Hype Of Utah State QB Jordan Love A Real Thing?

With roughly two and a half weeks till the 2020 NFL Draft, there are many intriguing prospects who can either make or break the draft. Could Utah State Aggies quarterback, Jordan Love be one of them?

Love, a 6’4, 225-pound QB out of Bakersfield, CA, has seemingly caused a proverbial tizzy as to where he might land. Some draft experts have him going as high as No.5 overall to the Miami Dolphins ahead of Tua Tagovailoa, as low as No.23 to the New England Patriots as a possible heir to the now-departed Tom Brady or even the second round.

Wherever he lands, Love displayed a very unique and eye-catching skill set, a la two-time Super Bowl champion QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger of making off-schedule throws, impressive arm strength in making NFL-type throws and a knack of mobility and escapability.

If he somehow is not taken in the top ten, Love could potentially fall all the way down to the 20’s, where a team like New Orleans or New England could grab him—unless either one trades up from him first.

And thanks to his NFL-type size, athleticism and big arm, Love threw for 3,402 yards, 20 touchdowns while completing almost 62 percent of his passes (61.9). What may be alarming to some NFL execs is the dropoff in his production from his sophomore year where he threw for 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions while posting a passer rating of 158.9 during his breakout sophomore campaign, per Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus.

Should potential buyers beware of Love?

They say that love hurts. The question is is whether or not this kind of Love will cost an NFL scout, front office executive or even a general manager his job if it goes sideways?

While tape doesn’t lie in evulating prospects, while Love does show some flashes of Big Ben-like backyard style of play, at others, he looks like—and has been compared to former first-round pick, Blake Bortles.

Some will say that Love’s drop-off was due to a coaching change at Utah State that saw his former head coach, Matt Wells leave for Texas Tech and one-time Aggies head coach, Gary Andersen return to Logan after stints at Wisconsin, Oregon State and Utah, along with learning a new system and working with new starters could be a valid reason and excuse.

However, it still doesn’t explain some of his weaknesses and tendencies such as staring and telegraphing some of his throws and below-average decision-making against zone looks, which is what he will see a lot more of on Sundays.

Potential and upside are two of the biggest buzzwords thrown around this time of year, and both of them apply to the former Aggies QB. The question that needs to be answered is whether or not he will live up to both of them?