Reinebold: "I think there was probably a television remote that went right through the television screen"
Saturday 25 April 2020 08:16, UK
Aaron Rodgers is the same age as Brett Favre was when he was selected as his eventual successor by the Green Bay Packers with the No 24 pick at the 2005 NFL Draft.
That nugget became relevant with pick No 26 on day one of the 2020 Draft as the Packers produced one of night's big surprises by drafting Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.
In order to do so, Green Bay traded picks 30 and 136 with the Miami Dolphins in order to move up to 26, where many had perhaps expected them to provide Rodgers with a new receiving weapon.
"I think there was probably a television remote that went right through the television screen," said Jeff Reinebold on Inside The Huddle.
"This is a guy who I'm sure looks at himself and is like 'I've got two, maybe four good years left and we're in a division where it's getting tougher and now you go out and draft a kid out of Utah State'.
"That kid's not ready to play, he's not even close to being ready to play. 'You're going to make me teach this kid how to be an NFL quarterback?'"
Davante Adams was the Packers' most productive and reliable wide receiver by some distance last season, leading the team with 83 catches off 127 targets for 997 yards and five touchdowns.
Rodgers' next best assistant came in the backfield, with running back Aaron Jones rushing for 1,084 yards and 16 touchdowns off 236 carries. He also notably contributed 49 catches for 474 yards and three touchdowns.
What was largely a three-man job at times dragged the Packers to the NFC Championship game, where they were eventually beaten by the San Francisco 49ers.
"Aaron Rodgers is totally within his rights to be annoyed by this," added Neil Reynolds. "That team got to within a game of the Super Bowl and they had to rely on their defense a lot, their defense broke down in the NFC Championship game.
"They had to rely on a couple of running backs to get a lot of stuff done, they were crying out for somebody to be alongside Davante Adams and this to me is not the move you make, Rodgers isn't two years away from retirement.
"He can play another four years in this league. All you've done here is put pressure on yourselves for the rest of the draft."
Love earned recognition for his arm talent heading into the draft having finished 2019 with a mixed record of 3,402 passing yards for 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, not to mention 20 sacks.
This had followed his school season record of 3,567 yards for 32 touchdowns and just six interceptions in his sophomore year, during which he also won MVP in Utah State's victory over North Texas in the 2018 New Mexico Bowl.
"There's no way you can sell this to Aaron Rodgers if you're Matt LeFleur," continued Reynolds. "All you're selling is the development of Jordan Love and a future that doesn't involve Aaron Rodgers.
"There's no way you can put a positive spin on it for him individually. When you talk about the quarterback not only being the face of the franchise, but he's the heartbeat of the franchise.
"He's your Hall of Fame player, arguably one of the greatest throwers of the football we've ever seen. That first meeting in training camp is going to be so awkward."
