NFL Landing Spots For Utah State QB Jordan Love

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State quarterback Jordan Love announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2020 NFL Draft.

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

NFL teams completed the regular season schedule on Sunday, December 29. After the games from week 16 went final, the draft order of the top 20 teams was finalized.

Aggie Nation,

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

— JLove (@jordan3love) December 11, 2019

The first 20 picks 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. Indianapolis Colts
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Denver Broncos
16. Atlanta Falcons
17. Dallas Cowboys
18. Miami Dolphins (via Pittsburgh)
19. Oakland Raiders (via Chicago)
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams)

2020 NFL Draft order for picks 1-20 is set: https://t.co/Lg5F3z6av2 pic.twitter.com/0lLmWG1ofo

— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) December 30, 2019

The rest of the draft order will be based on results from the playoffs. The remaining picks in the first round of the draft belong to:

• Tennessee Titans
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Buffalo Bills
• Minnesota Vikings
• Miami Dolphins (via Houston)
• Seattle Seahawks
• New England Patriots
• New Orleans Saints
• San Francisco 49ers
• Kansas City Chiefs
• Green Bay Packers
• Baltimore Ravens

After looking at franchises that need a young quarterback next season or in the near future, these are the most likely landing spots for Love:

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals struggled in 2019, to say the least. They picked up two wins on route 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 the franchise quarterback early in the schedule.

If the Bengals don’t select LSU quarterback Joe Burrow to start the selection process, Love could be a great option with the team pick to open the second round.

Cincinnati will have 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 Jordan Love or have a drafted QB learn from the sidelines in 2020.

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

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 29, 2019

Miami Dolphins

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 with the Arizona Cardinals for former UCLA QB Josh Rosen before the 2019 NFL Draft. Rosen split time with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick throughout the year. Fitzpatrick closed out the regular season as the team’s signal-caller and Rosen’s tenure appearing as a failed venture.

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

Fitzpatrick is under contract for the 2020 season, allowing Jordan 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

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 this season with the worst record in the AFC West, 5-11.

Franchise quarterback Phillip Rivers has been with the Chargers organization since his rookie season in 2004.

Los Angeles may look to move on from Rivers or bring in a young QB to learn under the veteran’s tutelage as he closes out his career.

Love could go to his home state of California and either start immediately or learn from an eight-time Pro Bowl player, depending on what direction the Chargers decide to move in.

QB1 is all heart. pic.twitter.com/kNalRfkWY7

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) December 29, 2019

New England Patriots

Much like the Chargers, the New England Patriots have had the same quarterback under center for more than a decade. Tom Brady has led the Pats to six Super Bowl victories during his hall of fame career.

After nine Super Bowl appearances, Brady has earned the right to leave the game on his terms. However, the all-time great isn’t under contract with New England for next season or beyond.

Brady’s played for the Patriots since his rookie season in 2000. New England has drafted multiple quarterbacks in recent years including San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo and Indianapolis Colts QB Jacoby Brissett. New England ended up traded both quarterbacks to their current teams as the 42-year-old Brady has continued to lead the Patriots to the playoffs and championships.

Learning from one of the greatest quarterbacks in history would be a luxury for Jordan Love. A similar story happened to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with Brett Favre.

TB4K. pic.twitter.com/hqoQkI75j4

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 29, 2019

Wildcard Teams:

• Carolina Panthers
  • The Panthers let go of head coach Ron Rivera. Carolina’s new head coach will have an impact on the organization’s decision to keep quarterback Cam Newton, who missed the majority of 2019 due to injury or move in another direction.
• Jacksonville Jaguars
  • The Jaguars will have to decide if Minshew Mania, with 2019 ro0kie quarterback Gardner Minshew, will continue or not.
• Las Vegas Raiders
  • The Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 and failed to do so in 2019 with a sub .500 record. The team will no longer be in Oakland as the organization relocates to Las Vegas in March and will play in the new Allegiant Stadium next season. Will the new name Raiders look to change more than just location 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. Franchise QB Andrew Luck announced his retirement from football weeks before the regular season began. Indianapolis named backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett a captain and the team’s QB of the future. Will the Colts look for a new offensive conductor after going 7-9 in 2019?
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • The Buccaneers lost consecutive games to close out the 2019 regular season and finished the 2019 season with a 7-9 record. Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston became the first quarterback in history to throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season.
• Tennessee Titans
  • The Titans benched their first round pick from the 2015 draft and franchise quarterback Marcus Mariota in the sixth game of the season and replaced him with Ryan Tannehill who they’d traded for in the offseason. Tennessee finished the season 9-7  and made the playoffs after starting 2-4. Is Tannehill the Titans’ long term solution at QB or will they look to train someone up behind him next season?
• New Orleans Saints
  • The Saints finished 2019 with a 13-3 record and a division title. Drew Bree broke multiple NFL records this season but is 40 years old. Brees’ backup, Teddy Bridgewater, who started multiple games while the veteran was out with an injury in the middle of the season, is a free agent this offseason and is currently the highest-paid backup in the league. Will New Orleans look to keep Bridgewater at a higher cost than other backups? Third-string QB Taysom Hill has been a focal point of the Saints’ offense this season but does head coach Sean Payton believe he could replace Brees long term? If not, Payton could look to Jordan Love as Brees’ backup for next season and his heir apparent once the hall of famer hangs up his cleats.

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

— Taysom Hill (@T_Hill4) December 29, 2019

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 from April 23-25 in Paradise, Nevada.