Jordan Love, Utah State

Height: 6’4″
Weight: 224 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.69 seconds
Hand Size: 10.5 inches

For those who tuned into the NFL Combine, you heard some extremely nice things being said about Love and his potential in the NFL. He’s a big-armed quarterback who’s known to be a gunslinger, but there are many quarterbacks who’ve come and gone through the league rather quickly despite those traits. Is Love just another big arm or is he more than that?

After posting wonderful totals in 2018, Love regressed more than anyone thought possible in 2019, as he threw just 20 touchdowns in 13 games while being intercepted 17 times. There were just four games where he didn’t throw an interception, as well as four games where he completed less than 52 percent of his passes, highlighting major concerns about his mental processing and consistency.

Here’s my detailed scouting report on Jordan Love (ratings out of five stars):

Arm Strength/Throwing Mechanics

If there’s one thing you know after watching Love, it’s that he has a strong arm that can sling the ball down the field. The issue is that he doesn’t have any touch to his passes and doesn’t put enough air under his ball. He doesn’t understand the term “touch pass.” That’s under accuracy, which is not arm strength, but it needs to be noted. He has plenty of arm strength while moving to both his left and right. He has a wind-up when throwing the ball, drops the ball well below his elbow, which takes a bit to get it out, though his arm generates plenty of speed. His arm strength alone is five stars, though his mechanics ding him in this category, as he relies too much on his arm.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Accuracy

He leaves far too many passes up to chance, which is what led to turnovers. In the NFL, this will only get worse. He also struggles to adjust the velocity of his passes depending on where he’s throwing on the field, as he’ll rifle a pass into the flats that simply doesn’t need to be. His accuracy is too hit-or-miss, as he’s more of a vicinity thrower than a precision passer. Has no touch to the ball. He sees, he throws. Saw far too many times where he didn’t even give his receiver a chance to make a play on the ball. This is the area of his game that will limit his potential.

RATING: ⭐ 1/2

Mobility 

He’s got plenty of mobility to extend plays and has the arm strength to make it count while rolling out of the pocket. I also believe he can create yardage on the ground, though he wasn’t used in that regard nearly enough while at Utah State.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Pocket Awareness

He’s extremely jumpy in the pocket, doesn’t operate with a calm nature. The best way to describe his style of play is that he’s twitchy. With all that being said, he does sense pressure and have good awareness of where defenders are, though. He does a good job of rolling out when he feels pressure, extends the play more than the average quarterback would.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Vision/Decision-Making

One thing I did notice is that he does a good job of looking off a safety to create a one-on-one situation down the field. He does keep his eyes moving all over the field, which highlights his ability to go through progressions, though he moves them so fast that it doesn’t allow him to see defenders closing in on his intended targets. He gets tunnel-vision at times, which doesn’t allow him to see a defender coming across the field, and you scratch your head wondering how he didn’t see him. When the defense rotates, it’s as if he doesn’t realize it. Like most parts of his game, Love’s decision-making is extremely inconsistent.

RATING: ⭐⭐

Anticipation

He doesn’t throw with great anticipation, though he’s also not a “wait until he gets open” quarterback, either. He seems to understand where the ball needs to be placed when a receiver makes his break, though his accuracy lets him down.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

Projected Draft Spot

There are plenty of NFL teams who’ll fall in love with the potential of Love, though not many will be willing to spend the first-round draft pick it’ll take to acquire him. However, all it takes is one. Because of that, Love is likely to go in the first-round, but the team drafting him will understand that he’s not pro ready and will take some time to develop. A few teams who could be interested include the Raiders, Packers, and Chargers.

NFL Comparison

To me, he’s a lesser version of Colin Kaepernick. He has the arm strength and the ability to extend the play, but both lacked the ability to put touch on their passes. He’s long, lanky, and mobile, though not quite as mobile as Kaepernick was. In the end, I don’t see Love as someone who has a long career in the NFL.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.