Los Angeles Chargers: Drafting Jordan Love would be a massive mistake

The Los Angeles Chargers are in the market for a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft and there should be some concern about the team selecting Jordan Love.

For the first time since 2005, the Los Angeles Chargers will trot out a starting quarterback that is not named Philip Rivers. Rivers and the Chargers mutually agreed to move on and a new era has officially begun in a new stadium for the Chargers.

The timing was great for the Chargers as well, as the team has the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Along with that exists a market for existing starting quarterbacks that could easily take over the reins from Rivers.

The more likely outcome seems to be that the Chargers will select the team’s next franchise quarterback with the sixth overall pick, which should be great as this year’s quarterback class is solid.

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Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa are both expected to be off the board before the Chargers, which is a shame as either guy would be phenomenal in LA. That has turned the attention to Justin Herbert, who is putting up impressive numbers and measurables at the NFL Combine and looked great in his senior season with the Oregon Ducks.

However, there is always the chance of another team, such as the Detroit Lions, selecting a quarterback or a team moving up in the draft ahead of the Chargers, leaving the Chargers without a choice from the top three.

Jay Paris of Forbes explored this possibility and explored the possibility of the team falling in love with Jordan Love from Utah State. Love is that typical combine-mover who is now projecting to potentially go in the top-10 because of his athleticism at the quarterback position and his rocket arm.

Paris even draws comparisons to Patrick Mahomes, while not fully comparing the two, the skill sets of both quarterbacks are similar.

We see it every year — there is a quarterback that rises quickly through the draft boards the longer it has been since he has played.

It is easy to get excited about Love and the natural, raw talent that he possesses. However, that athleticism and arm strength do not always translate well to the NFL and we have seen that countless times as well.

The concerning part above Love, which should make him a stay away for the Los Angeles Chargers, is his interceptions. He threw 17 interceptions his senior season against non-top-five conference competition. Granted, he threw just six the previous two years, but those 17 are not pretty.

There are reasons for those interceptions, such as his supporting cast, but he did not do himself any favors with his accuracy and decision making. Sure, the potential ceiling with Love is high, but this is a Chargers team who was only as bad as it was last season because of turnovers.

If the Chargers did not turn the ball over as much as they did, which included 20 interceptions from Philip Rivers, they very well could have been a playoff team. They are that talented.

The team is still talented and the contending window is not that large. With a not-so-great offensive line ahead of him, the first few years of Love’s career on the Chargers could be a disaster.

It just is not a great fit. While dynamic, the Los Angeles Chargers need a quarterback that displayed better decision-making and takes care of the football. Love can be great elsewhere, but the Chargers would be better off using that pick for a lineman than Love.