With Aaron Rodgers finally out of the picture, Jordan Love is finally getting his shot to be the face of the franchise for the Green Bay Packers. Love, a first-round pick out of Utah State in 2020, has been the understudy for three seasons, seeing just a little bit of action in 10 games scattered across that window. But after a strong camp and preseason, he’s left some wondering if he’ll be worth a starting role in fantasy football lineups at times this season.
Fantasy Football analysis: Packers QB Jordan Love
Questions about whether or not Love is ready to be the starter are going to linger for a while, at least until we get a better sample size to judge. However, he had a strong exhibition campaign this year, going 14-for-23 with 147 yards and two touchdowns over the last two games of the preseason.
He’s got a solid group of receivers in Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson and Jayden Reed—though Doubs’ status for Week 1 is up in the air because of a hamstring issue. And let’s not forget Aaron Jones and AJ Dillion in the backfield.
Start or sit in Week 1 standard leagues?
Love is a riskier start this week, and though he is worth some consideration, he’s definitely in the lower tier among starting quarterbacks in standard fantasy football formats.
An opener against the Chicago Bears works in Love’s favor. He’s not going up against an especially threatening defense, and these two teams could end up in a pretty high-scoring affair, given the somewhat underrated offensive strength of both squads.
The biggest knock on Love from a fantasy perspective is that there’s just not much to go on here. He’s had one start in three seasons and thrown just 83 passes in 10 games. What stood out about Love through the preseason was his accuracy and efficiency—he can get the ball to a group of pass catchers quite capable of breaking off chuck plays. Green Bay’s ground game should help him too.
Player(s) you would start ahead of Jordan Love
Staying that lowest tier of quarterbacks worth starting, I’d look to Derek Carr or Matthew Stafford to plug into your lineup over Love. Both are veterans who give you a little more certainty heading into Week 1.