What Packers' Jordan Love worked to improve this offseason

Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers had a resurgent second half of the season in 2023 that culminated with a playoff win over the favored Dallas Cowboys before giving the eventual NFC champion 49ers all they could handle in a 24-21 loss in the divisional round. Love and the team had some very specific targets for improvement this offseason as they look to build on that success.

For a piece published on Monday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN shared why the Packers worked to improve Love's footwork and fundamentals coming off his first season as a full-time NFL starting quarterback.

"When pressured last season, Love completed just 40.6% of his passes and averaged just 4.7 yards per attempt, according to ESPN Stats & Information," Demovsky explained. "Those numbers ranked 27th and 26th, respectively, among NFL quarterbacks."

A 2020 first-round draft pick, Love spent the majority of his first three pro seasons serving as a backup behind future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. He finally took the reigns in 2023 after Green Bay traded Rodgers to the New York Jets. According to Pro-Football-Reference, Love finished last season ranked ninth in the NFL with a 62.1 adjusted QBR and ninth with a 47.6% passing success rate.

"You might anticipate a defense maybe bringing a little more pressure, disguising a little bit more, making it more difficult to see where to go," quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said about preparing Love for what he may see from opponents this season. "I mean that was one of [Rodgers'] best attributes, is he could process information very quickly and usually make the right decision and get the ball where it had to go. That's something that we'll have to see how defenses approach it, but that's something you've got to be ready for."

Love could become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season but could also have his rights for 2025 retained by the Packers via the franchise tag. By most accounts, Green Bay will look to avoid such a potential headache by signing Love to an extension before the 2024 season begins.

As much as Love impressed across the second half of the 2023 season, it's clear that Clements and head coach Matt LaFleur want to see more consistency from the fifth-year pro, who could become a much richer young man at some point this summer.