Jordan Love would be wise to try and emulate Aaron Rodgers in a multitude of ways when it comes to playing quarterback in the NFL. While that is easier said than done, one area that could prove to be especially beneficial in his first season as the starter is following in Rodgers’ footsteps of throwing to the middle of the field.
When Rodgers took over as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers in 2008, throwing over the middle quickly became his bread and butter. In fact, 2,398 of his 4,038 yards, 210 of his 341 completions, and 14 of his 28 touchdowns came between the numbers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Here is a look at Rodgers’ 2008 passing depth chart from PFF:
Aaron Rodgers’ passing depth chart from his first season as a starter (2008).
What will Jordan Love’s look like? pic.twitter.com/6A2v9K2alT
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) June 5, 2023
The Packers struggled in Rodgers’ first season, finishing with an overall record of 6-10, but more importantly, the passing offense ranked No. 8 in the league and let Green Bay know that Rodgers was their guy moving forward.
The same — to an extent — is expected from Love. Obviously, the Packers aren’t expecting a Super Bowl this year, though they would probably like to make the playoffs. The real goal is to get a thorough evaluation of Love to determine if he can be the team’s long-term starter. To do so, his best bet might be to lean on throws over the middle, much like his predecessor did 15 years ago.
In theory, Matt LaFleur’s offense should help. Since LaFleur’s hiring in 2019, his scheme has been predicated on motion, RPOs, and play action. RPOs and play action, in particular, help with targeting the middle of the field as they can draw linebackers toward the line of scrimmage to create easy throws behind them.
Of course, there are other ways LaFleur’s scheme can attack the middle of the field such as with crossers, mesh, and other spacing concepts. However, LaFleur’s offensive principles notwithstanding, Rodgers has been reluctant to throw over the middle during the latter years of his career, despite it being the most efficient area of the field target.
As Dusty Evely of Packer Report recently pointed out, Rodgers has only targeted the middle of the field on 38.5% of his pass attempts dating back to 2019. Meanwhile, the league average was 46% percent.
There is still no clear answer as to whether this was scheme related or a personal preference from Rodgers, but hopefully, the disparity will dissipate under Love, who should seek out middle-of-the-field throws early and often in 2023.
