There was speculation that the 2020 NFL Draft might be a wild one, with trade rumors flying around in the days and hours leading up to the draft. And then, once teams got on the clock, things went pretty much according to schedule. The first three picks — all former Ohio State Buckeyes at one time — went as expected, the Giants stayed at No. 4 to take tackle Andrew Thomas, and the Dolphins took Tua Tagovailoa at 5, leaving Justin Herbert for the Chargers at 6.
Our first trade didn’t happen until the Bucs moved up one spot, giving San Francisco a fourth rounder, in order to get more protection for Tom Brady in the form of tackle Tristan Wirfs. There were a few mild surprises from there, such as the Falcons taking A.J. Terrell and the Raiders taking Damon Arnette, two corners most expected to be Day 2 selections. The big surprise came late in the draft when the Green Bay Packers traded the 30th pick and the 136th overall pick (4th round) for the Miami Dolphins 26th pick.
The expectation from most was that the Packers would use the incredible depth of this year’s receiver class to give Aaron Rodgers more weapons, but instead, they took his replacement for the future in Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, shocking many. There were a few that mentioned before the draft that Love to the Packers was a possibility, but for them to take him — and trade up to do it — came as a surprise to most.
Love is considered a bit of a project, with incredibly high upside with great arm strength and mobility. He has some accuracy and decision making things to work on, but he’s got tremendous potential. It’s notable that the Packers do this when Rodgers is 36, only a year older than Brett Favre was when they made a similar decision in 2005 to take Rodgers. This likely won’t sit well with Rodgers, who still sees himself as an elite QB and feels the need to have weapons around him — of which the Packers have few — and it’s surely under consideration to add those kinds of skill players in later rounds. But they gave up a fourth rounder to have the chance at Love, and now the drama begins in Green Bay.