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Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers turned heads after defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round. They nearly beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round if not for Christian McCaffrey’s rushing touchdown and Dre Greenlaw’s interception.
After showing promise last season, Love believes the Packers can take the next step and become legitimate contenders for the crown after signing Josh Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million deal with Green Bay.
Love shared with Fred Taylor, Channing Crowder, and Ryan Clark during the March 23 episode of “The Pivot” podcast:
“The organization believes that it's the perfect time to have a chance to win a Super Bowl this year. Those conversations we had after the 49ers game were, 'man, work harder. Try and find ways to get better because next year we're gonna do it.'
“Obviously, we'll have that target on our back. People want to beat us. We're hungry. I know everybody in that locker room is hungry and ready to get back. And obviously we added some key pieces with Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney.”
After struggling early during his first season as the Packers’ full-fledged starting quarterback, Jordan Love finished the regular season with 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and a 64.2 percent completion percentage. He also had 272 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys.
The 2020 first-round draft pick added:
“So, I'm excited. We're going to have some more pieces coming in with the draft, but I'm excited for me to be able to take that next step. Year 2. For many of the receivers, those rookies we had last year to take that step in Year 2.”
However, Jordan Love and the Packers must elevate their game because they face tough opposition within their division. The Detroit Lions reached last season’s NFC Championship Game, while the Chicago Bears added D’Andre Swift and Keenan Allen on offense. The Vikings added Jones to an offense with Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson.
Jordan Love is proof that the Packers have done well in the draft
The Packers selected many vital contributors during the last four NFL drafts. Aside from Jordan Love, they also found A.J. Dillon and Jon Runyan Jr. in 2020. A year later, they selected center Josh Myers in the second round.
Green Bay added Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Christian Watson, Sean Rhyan, Romeo Doubs, and Zach Tom in the 2022 draft. Finally, they found Lukas Van Ness, Luke Musgrave, Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, and Carrington Valentine in 2023.
Having these players under their rookie-scale contracts allowed the Packers to meet Jacobs’ and McKinney’s contract demands.
