They did it again.
The Green Bay Packers drafted a quarterback in the first round of the NFL’s first ever “Virtual” draft Thursday night, even with a certain Hall of Fame quarterback already in place.
15 years ago to the day,with 35 year old Brett Favre still gunslinging at Lambeau Field, General Manager Ted Thompson selected Aaron Rodgers. Now, the heir apparent for the 36 year old Rodgers is coming to Green Bay with the surprising selection of Utah State quarterback Jordan Love by GM Brian Gutekunst.
In his third draft as GM, Gutekunst again traded his original pick of number 30, moving up four spots with Miami to take Love, giving the Dolphins Green Bay’s 30th choice along with a fourth round pick on Saturday.
Love was a two year starter at Utah State where he threw for exactly 8600 yards in his career, with 60 touchdowns along with 29 interceptions. He was the fourth quarterback taken in the first round behind number one overall pick Joe Burrow of LSU by Cincinnati, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa at number 5 by Miami and Oregon’s Justin Herbert at number six by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Considered extremely athletic with a tall frame and strong arm, some scouts believed he’ll become a quality starter in time.
Love becomes the 4th quarterback taken in the first round by the Packers since 1970, joining Jerry Tagge in 1972, Rich Campbell in 1981 and Rodgers in 2005.
