Packers’ Jordan Love on verge of joining Steve Young’s ‘Superman’ QB list..
Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young knows all about playing Superman for his team. The former San Francisco 49ers signal-caller went 91-33 as a starter for the Niners on the way to three Super Bowls.
Young’s ability to beat defenses with his arm or his legs was well ahead of its time and would fit perfectly in the NFL today. This is why Young is the perfect arbiter of a Superman QB list, and he says Green Bay Packers passer Jordan Love is close to joining this group.
Look, it’s Patrick [Mahomes]. It’s Josh [Allen]. Now it’s Lamar [Jackson],” Young told ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on his podcast.
“And Joe Burrow, and [Justin] Herbert could join if he got the right coaching and the right help. Those are the Supermen of today’s game. Jalen Hurts — obviously, he’s gotta get righted — he can be that Superman.
Now Jordan Love looks to me like there might be six guys that are Supermen in the league, who will just trade being Super Bowl champions.”
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That is high praise from one of the 10 (or maybe even fewer) best NFL quarterbacks of all time.
And it is heady company to be in for Jordan Love. Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Burrow, and Herbert are universally regarded as the best QBs playing right now, and Hurts isn’t far behind.
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Packers Projected to Draft David Bakhtiari’s Replacement With 1st-Round Pick
The writing has been on the wall for months, and all signs continue to point to the Green Bay Packers parting ways with five-time All Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari this offseason.
Should Green Bay trade, or far more likely cut, Bakhtiari this offseason, the team will face a decision — transition full-time to 2022 seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker at a premium position or look to bolster the left side of its offensive line through the NFL draft
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is a proponent of the latter. He projected in his first official mock draft published on Tuesday, January 23, that the Packers will select Kingsley Suamataia of BYU with the No. 25 overall pick in the first round.
Kingsley Suamataia Would Have Chance to Supplant Rasheed Walker on Packers O-Line
Suamataia would have a chance to play immediately in Green Bay if the team decides to move on from Bakhtiari.
Walker was serviceable enough on the NFL’s youngest offense, as quarterback Jordan Love broke out over the second half of the year and appears poised to earn himself a place among the league’s elite sooner than later. Considering that trajectory, however, Walker’s hold on the offensive line’s most crucial position has become more tenuous.
Walker allowed 6 sacks across 851 snaps played, per Pro Football Focus, and was responsible for 9 penalties. PFF ranked Walker as the 44th best tackle in the NFL in 2023 out of 83 players who saw enough snaps to qualify.
His success should earn Walker a spot in the Packers rotation, if not a starting job elsewhere on the line. However, fans should expect Green Bay to upgrade at the position of Bakhtiari doesn’t return to the fold in 2024.
In Kiper’s scenario, Suamataia will be the sixth offensive tackle taken off the board in the first 25 picks of the 2024 NFL draft.
Packers Can Save $21 Million by Cutting, Trading David Bakhtiari in Offseason
Bakhtiari has been excellent for the Packers over the course of his career, but the amount of money Green Bay can save is simply too much to justify keeping him around.
That may have proven the case even if Bakhtiari had been healthy over the past couple of season, but he’s been anything but. The left tackle played in just one game in 2023 after playing just one regular-season contest two years before. He appeared in 11 games in 2022.
Bakhtiari is entering the final season of a four-year, $92 million contract and is carrying a salary cap hit of nearly $40 million in 2024. Green Bay can clear $21 million in room by cutting or trading Bakhtiari at any point this offseason.
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