It’s official; NFL Draft week is finally here. It has been an absolutely wild ride, as with each passing hour, we get closer to finding out who will be the next franchise quarterback of our beloved Miami Dolphins. While it once appeared, the Dolphins were locked in on Alabama Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the rumors of the Dolphins preferring other quarterbacks such as Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert have spread faster than memes on Instagram. And to add to the noise, there are rumors that Jordan Love, maybe the man who the Dolphins may want as their next franchise quarterback.
I took a deep dive into Herbert last week, but I believe is the dolphins’ plan is simply: raise as much smoke, and confusion as humanly possible, and then have a clear plan: Get Tua if available and if not, eventually get Jordan Love. While this warrants a deep dive into Love, let’s take a quick detour as to why I believe that the Dolphins are currently deciding between these two Quarterbacks.
It begins on March 13th when the NFL banned visits with prospects due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many other teams, the Dolphins tried to rush and get a visit with a prospect or two before the visits were officially banned. Do the Dolphins’ first call? Tua Tagovailoa; but mostly due to travel concerns, that wasn’t possible. The next call? Not Justin Herbert, but Jordan Love, the found him in California, flew him to the Dolphins facility, and got him a workout and meeting with the team.
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) April 16, 2020
Then on April 16th, GM Chris Grier did a question and answer session about the draft. Grier said: “The tape tells you what a player really is.” While this isn’t a long or elaborate quote, it absolutely points in the direction of Tua Tagovailoa or Jordan Love. Tua’s tape is immaculate; every scout and media member will tell you that. While one of the major criticisms of Justin Herbert, is that his tape is very inconsistent and shows a lot of his flaws. Love’s tape, on the other hand, falls somewhere in between them: not as polished as Tua, but more intriguing than Herbert’s.
Then there is the “Home Run” quote: that it was “Very important for us to hit a home run”. While this quote points right into the direction of Tua, it is Love who has been labeled a “home run” prospect who has all the talent in the world if he can just land in the right team and system. If, and it’s a big one, Love is hitting his potential then he could turn into a superstar. In this view of Love, his pro comparison is none other than Patrick Mahomes.
With all that being said let’s do that deep dive on Jordan Love. There is plenty of tape from both his sophomore and junior season at Utah State. The good news: the tape on him is complete – you’ll see him at his best and at his worst, making for a complete evaluation. I wanted to understand his strengths and weaknesses so I could come to my own conclusion on Love.
Let us start with his sophomore season which is almost all good. Jordan Love threw for 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. His tape from that season is electric. It’s like watching Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers– it’s that good. It doesn’t surprise me that the Dolphins were already scouting him that season even before he was draft eligible. In my evaluation of Herbert, I described the difference between arm talent and arm strength. Arm strength is the ability to throw a ball with distance, while arm talent includes the ability to throw from different platforms, throw from different arm angles, the ability to lead a receiver, and to throw with touch and accuracy. Love has both arm strength and arm talent, and he showed that during his Sophomore season. His ability to throw on the run and from different arm angles and platforms was incredible to watch. He threw with anticipation, touch and was overall accurate. He also has that “flick of the wrist’ ability to just flick the ball downfield 40+ yards with ease; a rarity of the likes seen in the greats like Marino, Rodgers, and Mahomes. You really saw Jordan Love at his best that season. To put it simply he was just an absolute playmaker; working his magic at Utah State; a school that is not known for its NFL talent on it.
Now his Junior season is another story. It’s not trash, but it certainly looks that way without some very important context. After his Sophomore year, Utah State did so well that everyone decided they wanted to cash in on the notoriety Love brought them: the coach left to run Texas Tech; his talented teammates entered the NFL draft early or transferred to a school that could offer a better platform to be seen. Not to mention that Utah State’s schedule got a lot harder as well. Like any great Captain, Jordan Love stayed with his ship even if it meant his team and stats would be sinking.
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) April 18, 2020
The problem is, his stats didn’t sink… they took a “titanic” plunge. His junior season Love threw for 3,402 yards with only 20 touchdowns and eye-popping 17 interceptions. While I can understand or explain some of those interceptions, the reality is Love was facing harder competition and Utah State was down often and early. Through sheer will-power Love tried to bring his team back in those games; often throwing jump balls, which lead to interceptions, without the higher class of receivers he had around him his sophomore year. However, while his stats were not good, on tape Love still made a ton of “wow” plays that showed that flick of the wrist ability. He also continued to excel, as we saw his sophomore season, throwing on the run effectively and throwing with different arm angles.
My biggest problem with Love though wasn’t his stats from his Junior season. It was the bad habits he created while trying to play “hero ball” for his team. Love threw into almost impossible windows, trusting his arm talent more than he should, which led to interceptions. He struggled to go through his progressions quickly, focusing too much on the big play. It was the equivalent of taking your eye off the ball before you catch it, but for a quarterback. Some of his pick-sixes were the result of misthrows on simple screen passes or other short-yardage plays where Love would throw the ball without much zip, almost throwing it lazily. Those raise concerns that all fall on Jordan Love.
All in all, I “like” Jordan Love the prospect, but I absolutely “Love” what he could become should he live up to his potential. Like Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers, Love needs to go to the right team and system that can help him thrive. The Dolphins could absolutely be that team, with talent on the perimeter such as Devante Parker and Preston Williams. Not to mention, the new vertical passing offense, that I believe offensive coordinator Chan Gailey will implement. Unlike with Herbert, I would not take Love with the 5th pick in the draft. With the 5th Pick, I would take an Offensive Tackle, and then grab Love at 18. I have faith that those bad habits can be coached out of him by this great Dolphins coaching staff, which finally seems to have found a way to just make players better—see the last five games of last season. Plus, another fun fact about Love: it has been reported that Dan Marino was “blown away” by Love and his abilities. I don’t know about you… but I trust Dan Marino’s opinion on quarterbacks. He knows a thing or two about be a great one.
I 100% agree with your take. I think that is why the Fins feel so confident they can sit exactly where they are and take either Tua if he is there at 5 or Love (and yes, I would take him at 5) if Tua is gone. Reason for Love at 5… if you believe he is THE GUY, you do not role the dice hoping he will drop according to all the draft projections showing him slotted in the teens/late 1st round. Personally, I would be good with either. I would love Tua but damn if I wouldn’t be holding my breath every time he gets hit.
How much does any collegiate player love football, that gets busted hours prior to a game doing recreational drugs at the stadium?