New England Patriots: The case against drafting Jordan Love

Drafting a quarterback with the 23rd pick isn’t off the table for the New England Patriots, but they need to be cautious if they plan on going that route.

There has been plenty of buzz surrounding the New England Patriots in wake of Tom Brady‘s departure. It is not currently known for certain what they plan to do at quarterback for 2020.

They currently have Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer to choose from on the roster. Talks of them signing another veteran at the position have died down significantly, while speculation of them drafting one has risen.

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It makes sense, given the fact that the NFL draft is less than two weeks away. There are plenty of quarterbacks in the draft that have been linked to the Patriots, including Jordan Love. The Patriots are one of several teams who have reportedly been doing serious research on the 6’4″ 225-pound product from Utah State.

I’m not going to come right out and guarantee you that Jordan Love is going to be a bust, because if we are being honest here the NFL draft is a crapshoot filled with educated guesses. Even draft experts make themselves look foolish with certain predictions, and I am not a draft expert by any stretch of the imagination.

However, there is a great deal of risk involved for whichever team selects Love. His best traits by far are his arm talent and athleticism, and while those are nice to have there is a general rule of thumb that if arm talent is one of the only emphasized strengths when evaluating a quarterback prospect, that’s a bit of a red flag.

Mechanics, accuracy, poise, awareness, and decision making are generally far more relevant factors to account for when looking at a quarterback. While Love has shown promise in these areas, he has not done so consistently.

After an impressive 2018, Love had a serious drop off in 2019. He completed 61.9 percent of his passes and threw just 20 touchdowns with 17 interceptions against mostly weak competition, with a couple of exceptions.

Sure, off-balance throws are fun and so is pocket escapability, but they don’t translate well without the proper fundamentals that make a successful quarterback. Turning the ball over at the rate that Love did when playing against the likes of Wake Forest and Brigham Young is not exactly ideal.

While the regression isn’t completely on Love’s shoulders, it would have been nice to see him build off of his sophomore season and put together a really compelling year. His draft stock would be even higher than it currently is, and it would actually be warranted.

If the New England Patriots do end up drafting Jordan Love with the 23rd pick, we would have to trust their judgement. That being said, there will most likely still be better options available once they are on the clock.