Jordan Love's One-Drive Preseason Cameo Ends in a Packers Field Goal
Love went 3-of-5 for 18 yards on a single 10-play, 46-yard series before handing off to Tyrod Taylor. Here's what it means for your draft board.
QB14 in our ranks and healthy — a one-series cameo changes nothing.
- Love: 3-of-5, 18 yards on 1 drive
- 10-play, 46-yard series ended in FG
- Love ranks QB14 (#31 overall) in our model
- Reed hauled in a 19-yard grab
- Rodgers didn't start; Rudolph led PIT
Jordan Love didn't stick around long. Green Bay's starter took the field after the opening kickoff, marched the offense 46 yards on 10 plays, and cashed in a field goal before immediately ceding the huddle to Tyrod Taylor. Final line: 3-of-5 for 18 yards. That's a preseason opener doing exactly what a preseason opener is supposed to do.
The drive was tidier than the box score suggests. Love hit Jayden Reed for 19 yards to move the chains, then a swing pass to MarShawn Lloyd went for a four-yard loss. A Trey Smack 58-yard try got wiped out by a Dean Lowry unnecessary-roughness flag, and the Packers took the points on the do-over after Smack drilled the shorter attempt. One series, one score, one very healthy franchise QB tucked safely away.
For fantasy purposes, the number that matters is the one you already knew: Love finished 2025 with 3,381 pass yards, 23 touchdowns and — read this twice — zero interceptions across 15 games, good for 247 PPR points. He sits at QB14 and #31 overall in our model heading into 2026. A 18-yard cameo doesn't move that needle a millimeter.
The Reed connection is worth a mental bookmark. He's WR109 and #304 overall after an injury-shortened 2025 (19 catches, 207 yards, one score across 7 games for 49 PPR points), so a chemistry rep with Love in Week 1 of preseason isn't a draft-day sell. It's a reminder that when Reed's on the field, he's a target Love trusts.
On the other sideline: Aaron Rodgers did not start for Pittsburgh, with Mike McCarthy handing the opener to Mason Rudolph instead. Nothing to panic over — Rodgers is our QB19 (#42 overall) coming off a 227-point 2025 (24 TD, 7 INT). Preseason snap counts for entrenched veterans tell you nothing about September.
The verdict on Love is boring in the best way: hold and draft with confidence. He's a QB14 you can grab as a matchup-proof mid-round starter, and his zero-pick 2025 is the kind of floor that wins leagues quietly. The one flag: his last five games of 2025 ran 2.5 fantasy points below his season average, so temper expectations for a top-five ceiling until the offense proves it. No news here is good news — keep him exactly where he is on your board.
