The Packers have been rolling with a Hall of Fame quarterback for almost 30 years – Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. They’re going to try to keep that rolling with Jordan Love.
They not only selected Love in the first round, they traded up to get him. It’s a nice move, in that Aaron Rodgers is 36. This gives them a couple of years to polish up Love to get him ready.
If 2022 arrives, with Rodgers still operating at a high level and Love looking ready to play, the Packers can deal with it at that time. They potentially could trade one of them at that time. If Love doesn’t progress, then the Packers would still have time to potentially draft someone else to serve as their heir apparent.
Most top rookie quarterbacks nowadays tend to play early. There have been, however, a number who’ve gone on to have good careers after not playing much at all in their first year. Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, most notably.
By my count, there have been 23 quarterbacks selected in the first round in the last 30 years who have attempted fewer than 100 passes in their first season. The ones who’ve had some success in their careers I’ve got in bold.
Not all of these players, of course, were drafted with the intention of having them sit. Some just simply weren’t any good. But whether they made the choice or not, they mostly held a clipboard their first year.
| "SIT AND WATCH" QUARTERBACKS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | School | Pk |
| 1990 | Andre Ware, Det. | Houston | 7 |
| 1991 | Dan McGwire, Sea. | San Diego State | 16 |
| 1991 | Todd Marinovich, LAR | Southern Cal | 24 |
| 1992 | Dave Brown, NYG | Duke | -- |
| 1992 | David Klinger, Cin. | Houston | 6 |
| 1994 | Trent Dilfer, T.B. | Fresno State | 6 |
| 1995 | Steve McNair, Hou. | Alcorn State | 3 |
| 1997 | Jim Druckenmiller, S.F. | Virginia Tech | 26 |
| 1999 | Daunte Culpepper, Minn. | Central Florida | 11 |
| 2000 | Chad Pennington, NYJ | Marshall | 18 |
| 2003 | Carson Palmer, Cin. | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 2003 | Rex Grossman, Chi. | Florida | 22 |
| 2004 | Philip Rivers, NYG | North Carolina St. | 4 |
| 2004 | J.P. Losman, Buff. | Tulane | 22 |
| 2005 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | California | 24 |
| 2005 | Jason Campbell, Wash. | Auburn | 25 |
| 2007 | Brady Quinn, Clev. | Notre Dame | 22 |
| 2007 | JaMarcus Russell, Oak. | Louisiana State | 1 |
| 2010 | Tim Tebow, Den. | Florida | 25 |
| 2011 | Jake Locker, Tenn. | Washington | 8 |
| 2014 | Johnny Manziel, Clev. | Texas A&M | 22 |
| 2016 | Paxton Lynch, Den. | Memphis | 26 |
| 2017 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | Texas Tech | 10 |
—Ian Allan