FAB 3. Will The Bucs Love QB Love In Round 2?

Call it a hunch, but I have a funny feeling that Utah State quarterback Jordan Love might slip to the second round. He’s not ready to start as a rookie, not after a 20-touchdown, 17-interception junior season playing at non-Power 5 school like Utah State, and it’s hard to draft a QB in the first round who isn’t ready to play right away.

If Love slips to the second round, I doubt he’ll fall to No. 45 where Tampa Bay selects, but every once in awhile there is a highly touted quarterback that slides in the draft for one reason or another.

Last year it was Drew Lock, who fell to Denver in the second round at No. 42.

Utah State QB Jordan Love – Photo courtesy of Utah State

In 2010, Jimmy Clausen was Mel Kiper’s top-rated quarterback and he slid to Carolina at No. 48.

In 2003, Chris Simms was regarded as a late-first or early second-rounder and he fell to the Bucs in the third round at No. 97. Tampa Bay didn’t necessarily need a quarterback that year, but general manager Rich McKay felt like Simms was too good to pass up – much to the chagrin of head coach Jon Gruden, who didn’t want the Bucs to draft the left-handed quarterback.

Would the Bucs be tempted to take Love if he slid down to them in the second round? Drafting a quarterback in the second round that won’t be any help to a team that is clearly in win-now mode with 42-year old Tom Brady at the helm doesn’t seem like a wise move in the interim.

But the Bucs know that Brady will only be under center for two or three years and they’ll need a succession plan at quarterback. The 6-foot-4, 224-pound Love has a strong arm and throws a pretty deep ball. He has the pocket passer traits that would fit well in a Bruce Arians offense despite being a boom or bust prospect thanks to his erratic junior season.

As a sophomore in 2018, Love jumped on to the Bucs’ radar after throwing 32 touchdowns and just six interceptions while helping Utah State win 11 games. The only two losses happened against ranked teams like Michigan State and Boise State.

That Utah State team had a lot of senior talent that left for the draft or due to graduation, and when Love returned for his junior campaign he didn’t have much to work with and tried to do too much.

“The biggest question is the down year I had coming off my junior season,” Love said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “The biggest difference for me was obviously the turnovers, they went up. I was trying to do too much and forcing the ball downfield, thinking I could make throws into tight windows. There were situations where I could have checked the ball down, but I was trying to make that play.

“Some of the games, we got into situations where we got down, and I did feel like I had to make those plays. As a team, we knew that – we knew we have to make plays to get back in the game.”

The interceptions came early with three of them in a 38-35 loss at Wake Forest in the season opener. Love passed for a season-high 416 yards and three touchdowns that game, but the turnovers hurt. He would throw three more in his worst game of the season at LSU in a 42-6 loss, completing just 50 percent of his passes and not throwing a touchdown.

Utah State QB Jordan Love – Photo courtesy of Utah State

“Obviously, that’s what it is – 17 learning moments,” Love said. “Things I learned from – you’ve got to go back and break it down and see why I made those mistakes. Some I have to learn from, and I can’t keep letting it happen, and that’s what I tell teams right there. They play the game, so they know. You’ve got to learn from your mistakes. Every team is a bit different. But I’ve definitely had some interception film. You’ve got to break it down and take it step by step. What my read was, and why I threw the ball.”

Love, who completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 8,600 yards with 60 TDs and 29 interceptions in his Aggies career, didn’t shy away from discussing his interceptions with the media or NFL teams at the Combine.

“Yeah, it’s a great opportunity. They see it from watching film, but when you give them your perspective, as far as how you read it and what you saw, it’s definitely a bit better. The most important thing to be is to be more consistent. You watch my film, there are some plays where I make an incredible throw, and the next thing you know, I miss a swing route on a checkdown. Being more consistent in all my throws, my footwork, in the pocket, under center, doing dropbacks and things like that – it’s something I’ve practiced since the season ended.”

Love helped himself a bit at the Senior Bowl, earning the North Squad’s Offensive Player of the Week at the quarterback position during practice, but was just 4-of-6 passing for 26 yards in the game itself. Love’s performance at the Senior Bowl mirrored his college career in that there were some good things that took place to make you like Love, but not enough good things to make you love Love.

NFL teams will love Love’s arm and potential. Some have compared his passing style to that of Kansas City’s Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes.

“I get asked that a lot,” Love said about his comparison to Mahomes. “I’d say Patrick Mahomes, based on arm talent and what he can do. I’m not saying I’m Patrick Mahomes – calm down – but Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, guys who can make plays. As a kid, I watched everybody – Mike Vick, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning. You name any quarterback, and I was watching them.

“[Tom] Brady was definitely in that mix. I’ve watched any quarterback who’s played in the NFL. Very different styles – what did you pick up from him? Whether someone plays like me or not, you can take a lot from someone like Brady. He’s getting the job done at the highest level, and there’s a lot I can learn from him. How much pressure will Brady’s replacement have [in New England]? Those are some big shoes to fill, but that’s the job of a quarterback. Step in and fill those shows, and that’s why we’re here.”

Utah State QB Jordan Love – Photo courtesy of Utah State

If Love makes it to the second round, the Bucs may tab him as the guy who eventually replaces Brady in Tampa Bay. Out of all of the quarterbacks that the Bucs may have access to in the draft, Love might be the best fit for Arians’ offense, which features option routes where the receiver runs a certain route based on the coverage he sees.

“We ran a lot of option routes in our offense,” Love said. “Speed outs where the receiver could sit down or move, we had a lot of routes like that. You’ve got to beat the defense with whatever they’re throwing at you, so you’ve got to have option routes. It’s not something I think will be a problem; I’ll get in there and learn the system, whatever it is, and I’ll be able to succeed at it.

My most NFL-ready attribute I’d say my arm strength. I feel that I can make any throw.”

In some ways, Love’s arm strength and gunslinger mentality is exactly what former quarterback Jameis Winston had in Tampa Bay, and after five years and nearly 90 interceptions that ultimately didn’t work out too well and led the team to pursue Brady instead of re-signing their former first-round pick.

Perhaps Love can find a way to limit his number of interceptions in a way that Winston couldn’t. Perhaps the Bucs will pull the trigger in the second round and draft Love to be the next quarterback of the future if he’s there at No. 45.