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By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: Love created some buzz about being a pro prospect coming off his 2018 season, when he completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,567 yards with 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. In 2019, the redshirt junior had a new offense and regressed somewhat as a passer, completing 62 percent of his passes for 3,402 yards with 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. While some NFL scouts told Love he should return for his senior year to develop before going pro, Love decided to skip his final season and enter the 2020 NFL Draft.
Lover was allowed to participate in the Senior Bowl due to being a redshirt junior, and he had a mixed week of practice in Mobile. Love showed off his good skill set, but he also illustrated he needs a lot of development including having issues with his field vision and accuracy.
As a pro prospect, Love has the potential to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. There is no doubt Love has some good tools to work with. He has a strong arm and can fire some lasers downfield and to the sideline. He also shows the ability to put air under the ball and throw touch passes. Lofting in passes between defenders and throwing receivers open can be tough for strong-armed quarterbacks as they can become too reliant on fast balls. Love does not have that issue. His pocket presence is developed, and he has some mobility to move around as well. When plays break down, Love can use his feet to buy time, plus he makes some good passes off platform. With his quickness and athleticism, Love is a threat to hurt defenses on the ground.
There are significant flaws in Love’s game. His field vision is a major point of improvement. Far too often, he would lock his eyes on his primary read and not move them away. He would stare down targets and not look off defenders. Love must start reading the field, working through his progressions, and making better decisions. Part of the issues come from a lack of development in college, and changing offenses hurt Love’s development.
Team sources highlighted that Love has issues with accuracy and turnovers, which will need to be ironed out. Nearly every team source I spoke with feels Love is a developmental prospect who will need time on the bench to improve before being ready to play. However, Love could get forced onto the field quickly because of where he gets drafted.
In speaking to sources, four teams said they had Love graded as a mid-rounder. Meanwhile, sources at three teams said they could see Love going in the first or second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Those teams that thought he could go in the early rounds said the need for quarterbacks will help push Love up and could cause a team to reach on him higher than where he should go. Thus, Love could go as high as the first round and shouldn’t fall out of the second or early third round if he slips to Friday night of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Player Comparison: Blake Bortles. Love reminds me of Bortles in a few ways. Bortles and Love both have very good skill sets, but they also have problems with accuracy, turnovers, and seeing the field. Both of them can be inconsistent with stretches of good play and then times during which they struggle with their issues.
RELATED LINKS:
2020 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2020 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2020 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
NFL Picks - Nov. 25
NFL Power Rankings - Nov. 25
2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
