NFL Draft Landing Spots For Former Utah State QB Jordan Love

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah State quarterback Jordan Love announced that he would forgo his senior season to enter the 2020 NFL Draft in December 2019 and is now only a couple of weeks away from finding out the next step in his football career.

Love announced his decision to leave Logan early and take his talents to the professional level on December 10, 2019.

Teams are currently preparing for the 2020 NFL Draft and completing pre-draft interviews with players like Love.

Aggie Nation,

Thank you 💙#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/JXzchtQR3C

— JLove (@jordan3love) December 11, 2019

After NFL free agency, many teams are still in need of a quarterback or will need one in the near future. Love is currently projected to be a high-round draft pick, possibly selected in the first or second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

2020 NFL Draft First-Round Order

The first round of the 2020 NFL Draft will go in the following order:

1. Cincinnati Bengals
2. Washington Redskins
3. Detroit Lions
4. New York Giants
5. Miami Dolphins
6. Los Angeles Chargers
7. Carolina Panthers
8. Arizona Cardinals
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Cleveland Browns
11. New York Jets
12. Oakland Raiders
13. San Francisco 49ers (via Indianapolis Colts)
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Denver Broncos
16. Atlanta Falcons
17. Dallas Cowboys
18. Miami Dolphins (via Pittsburgh Steelers)
19. Oakland Raiders (via Chicago Bears)
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams)
21. Philadelphia Eagles
22. Minnesota Vikings (via Buffalo Bills)
23. New England Patriots
24. New Orleans Saints
25. Minnesota Vikings
26. Miami Dolphins (via Houston Texans)
27. Seattle Seahawks
28. Baltimore Ravens
29. Tennessee Titans
30. Green Bay Packers
31. San Francisco 49ers
32. Kansas City Chiefs

Second Round

33. Cincinnati Bengals
34. Indianapolis Colts (via Washington Redskins)
35. Detroit Lions
36. New York Giants
37. Los Angeles Chargers
38. Carolina Panthers
39. Miami Dolphins
40. Houston Texans (via Arizona Cardinals)
41. Cleveland Browns
42. Jacksonville Jaguars
43. Chicago Bears (via Las Vegas Raiders)
44. Indianapolis Colts
45. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
46. Denver Broncos
47. Atlanta Falcons
48. New York Jets
49. Pittsburgh Steelers
50. Chicago Bears
51. Dallas Cowboys
52. Los Angeles Rams
53. Philadelphia Eagles
54. Buffalo Bills
55. Baltimore Ravens (via New England Patriots via Atlanta Falcons)
56. Miami Dolphins (via New Orleans Saints)
57. Houston Texans
58. Minnesota Vikings
59. Seattle Seahawks
60. Baltimore Ravens
61. Tennessee Titans
62. Green Bay Packers
63. Kansas City Chiefs (via San Francisco 49ers)
64. Seattle Seahawks (via Kansas City Chiefs)

These are the teams most likely to select the former Utah State quarterback:

Cincinnati Bengals

1st/2nd Round Picks: Nos. 1, 33

The Cincinnati Bengals struggled in 2019, to say the least. They picked up two wins on their way to capturing the top overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. First-year head coach Zac Taylor rotated QBs throughout the season, as the organization appeared to have moved on from nine-year veteran Andy Dalton as its franchise quarterback early in the schedule.

If the Bengals don’t select LSU QB Joe Burrow to start the selection process, Love could be a great option for the Bengals if he’s still on the board as the second round begins.

Cincinnati needs to decide if they want to trade Dalton or cut him and take a cap hit without him on the roster. The Bengals’ decision with their current personnel will show if the team is ready to start a young gunslinger like Love or have a young QB learn from the sidelines in 2020.

🗣 ANDY, ANDY, ANDY pic.twitter.com/bq6Xp9ITN6

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 29, 2019

Miami Dolphins

1st/2nd Round Picks: Nos. 5, 18, 26, 39, 56

The Miami Dolphins own a top-five pick in April’s draft. Like Cincinnati, Miami experimented with multiple starting quarterbacks in 2019. The Dolphins traded for former UCLA and Arizona Cardinals QB Josh Rosen before the 2019 NFL Draft. Rosen split time with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick throughout this past season. Fitzpatrick closed out the regular season as the team’s signal-caller and Rosen’s tenure in South Beach looked like it was over as quick as it began.

Miami hasn’t drafted a “franchise QB” since selecting Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the 2012 draft.

Fitzpatrick is under contract for the 2020 season, allowing Love to come in and learn the Miami’s offense without the pressure to start week one.

Heading home with a W. #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/NwlhQldkYk

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 29, 2019

Los Angeles Chargers

1st/2nd Round Picks: Nos. 6, 37

After finishing the 2018 season with a 12-4 record and a win in the playoffs, the Los Angeles Chargers took a step back in 2019.

The Chargers finished the 2019 season with the worst record in the AFC West by going 5-11.

Former franchise quarterback Philip Rivers parted ways with L.A. this offseason and signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Rivers had been with the Chargers organization since his rookie season in 2004.

For its 2020 starting quarterback, Los Angeles might turn to veteran Tyrod Taylor, Rivers’ 2019 backup, or bring in a young QB to learn under Taylor while being handed the role of starter for their rookie campaign.

Is Tyrod Taylor a starting option at QB for the @Chargers? 🤔

📺: @NFLTotalAccess pic.twitter.com/YeOS8nqhwd

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 18, 2020

Love could go to his home state of California and start immediately or learn from Taylor, depending on what direction the Chargers decide to move in.

New England Patriots

1st/2nd Round Picks: Nos. 23

Much like the Chargers, the New England Patriots had the same quarterback under center for more than a decade. Tom Brady led the Pats to six Super Bowl victories during his time in New England.

After nine Super Bowl appearances with the Patriots, Brady decided to leave the Northeast and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March.

Since Brady’s departure, the Patriots added former backup QB Brian Hoyer and released 2019 backup Cody Kessler. New England’s current roster features Hoyer and 2019 rookie Jarrett Stidham as its only QBs.

Patriots signing QB Brian Hoyer to one-year deal. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/AHMqSuSqOG

— NFL (@NFL) March 22, 2020

Wild Card Teams:

• Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone and the Jaguars’ front office have to decide if Minshew Mania, with 2019 ro0kie quarterback Gardner Minshew, will continue or not. The Jaguars traded QB Nick Foles to Chicago this offseason.
• Las Vegas Raiders
  • The Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 and failed to do so in 2019. The team is no longer in Oakland, California as the organization relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada and will play in the new Allegiant Stadium next season. Will the new locale Raiders look to change more than just city and stadium in 2020? Derek Carr has been the team’s signal-caller since he was drafted in 2014.
• Indianapolis Colts
  • The Colts had a wild season which resulted in missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. Former franchise QB Andrew Luck announced his retirement from football just before the regular season began. Indianapolis named backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett as a captain and the team’s QB of the future heading into 2019. The Colts failed to make the playoffs last season and weren’t sold on Brissett as the team’s QB for 2020 and beyond. After spending his whole career in Southern California, Philip Rivers signed with Indianapolis this offseason and will start for the Colts in 2020. Will the Colts look for a young QB to learn under the longtime Chargers QB?
• New Orleans Saints
  • The Saints finished 2019 with a 13-3 record and a division title. Drew Bree broke multiple NFL records this season despite turning 41 years old this offseason. Brees’ backup, Teddy Bridgewater, started multiple games while the veteran was out with an injury in the middle of the 2019 season, but left to become the starting QB for the Carolina Panthers. Will New Orleans look to backup QB Taysom Hill as Brees’ long-term or is the talk of the BYU product as heir-apparent all talk? Sean Payton could have Love learn the ropes from a hall of fame QB next season and decide which Utah-based QB he wants to move forward with after the season.

And this man was not named on the NFL top 100 team… 🤦‍♂️ https://t.co/3HfpcSCTuk

— Taysom Hill (@T_Hill4) December 29, 2019

• Pittsburgh Steelers
  • The Steelers saw a glimpse of what life without QB Ben Roethlisberger was like during 2019 and it wasn’t pretty. Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending injury early in the season and the Steelers struggled to find stability at the quarterback position with backups Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. Big Ben isn’t getting any younger and Pittsburgh would be wise to find an heir for the hall of fame QB sooner rather than later.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
  • Tom Brady may be the new sheriff in town with hopes of a Super Bowl on the mind of Bucs fans, but he’s still 42 years old. Tampa Bay will have Blaine Gabbert as Brady’s backup in 2020 although he isn’t an option to replace Brady in the future. The Bucs would be smart to draft a QB like Love to learn under Brady. A similar thing happened in Green Bay with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. It worked out for the Packers.

Jordan Love will find out where his professional journey will begin at the 2020 NFL Draft in April 2020. The draft is scheduled to be held virtually from April 23-25.