Packers HC impressed by fifth-round selection QB Sean Clifford
The Green Bay Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets earlier this week and Jordan Love is expected to take the reins as Green Bay's next starter.
With the only other QB on the roster being journeyman Danny Etling, Green Bay decided to draft Penn State's Sean Clifford in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday.
Clifford was ranked at the bottom of the barrel in the 2023 draft class and didn't receive an invitation to the NFL Combine. For example, SI's Albert Breer said he didn't think many teams saw Clifford being drafted. However, the Packers felt his true value superseded the perception of his talent threshold.
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur was impressed with Clifford's overall intelligence and football acumen.
“Sean is a guy who is really intelligent,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s played a lot of games. He’s got some athleticism. He’s a natural thrower. All the things we look for in quarterbacks, he possesses."
Clifford is as seasoned of a collegiate QB as any, starting 46 games during his career at Penn State with a program-record 86 passing touchdowns along with 15 rushing touchdowns. Despite being drafted three years after Jordan Love, the 24-year-old Clifford is nearly four months older than Love.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst sees the amount of experience Clifford has as a positive.
“We really liked what he brings to the table,” Gutekunst said. “Started a lot of games in the Big Ten. Has a lot of experience. Really good athlete. Liked his arm talent. We brought him in for a pre-draft visit and we really liked the makeup of the person.”
Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh once said Clifford "has a really intense focus that all the good ones have". It'll take a high level of intensity to compete with Love and stick around for a few cups of coffee in the pros.
“Whatever I'm called upon doing, I'll do to the best of my ability and just work and promise that the Green Bay area and everybody included in the franchise that you're gonna get 100% of Sean Clifford every single day," Clifford explained. "I'm a guy that loves football and a guy that wants to come to work. So I'm really excited just to be able to do that and just continue to work hard.”
Clifford was a long shot of being drafted, but now he's heard his name called and is on a team that has a murky QB situation. There's no guarantee Love is the long-term solution as Green Bay's starter. The odds of Clifford sticking around in the NFL aren't high, but his addition to the Packers QB room has made things interesting heading into the 2023 season.
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