Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jordan Love shines at NFL Combine

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have still not made a decision on Jameis Winston and the hype surrounding Jordan Love is starting to grow.

Former Utah State quarterback Jordan Love performed his on-field workouts at the 2020 NFL Combine last night. Love has generally been seen as a first-round talent but last night he made the case to be in the conversation to move up even higher in the first round.

The Buccaneers started the offseason looking like the best candidates to retain Winston, but as of recent that tide has started to turn and could cause the Bucs to come face to face with Jordan Love at the 14th overall pick.

This conversation started with a discussion of a trade back in the first round to take Love at an efficient place but now that may become a moot point as Love will likely see his stock rise after yesterday’s performance.

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For those who missed it, check out Jordan Love’s workout here.

Love’s 40-yard dash time was very impressive and speaks to his overall athleticism, an important aspect if he is really going to be on the Buccaneers. Love ran a 4.74 which was a decent bit faster than Jameis’ 4.97.

The athleticism is important but the throwing drills were far more important for the overall evaluation of Jordan Love.

The Buccaneers will likely continue to be a pass-first offense for the foreseeable future and will need a quarterback that can maintain accuracy despite a high volume of throws.

Jordan Love looked good in most of the throwing drills despite a few mistakes and even looked confident with his deep ball, a necessity for a quarterback in a Bruce Arians-led offense.

The biggest detraction for Jordan Love was the massive regression that he experienced after a stellar sophomore season. In 2018 Love posted 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. Love’s 2019 stats left a lot to be desired as he only had 3,402 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions which looks far too close to 30/30 to just shrug off.

Jordan Love is not a perfect prospect but he is one that would be a good fit for the Buccaneers, especially if he has a year to learn the system. Tampa Bay wouldn’t find mountains of success in 2020 if this pick was made but the outlook for 2021 could be more optimistic.

Many teams throughout the league are looking for the next Patrick Mahomes and are searching for a player that has raw talent, a coachable personality, and a good head coach. Love has the talent and the Bucs do have Bruce Arians meaning this match already looks to be promising.

While no one knows what the Buccaneers are planning to do with Jameis Winston, every day without news causes the relationship to sour a little more. Each day without a decision leads the Buccaneers inches closer towards a future with Jordan Love.