Green Bay's 2020 NFL Draft class was surprising to many, particularly at the top end.
With training camp underway, Packers coach Matt LaFleur delivered his first rookie assessment for first-round pick Jordan Love and second-round selection A.J. Dillon.
Love is the project many predicted it would seem and Dillon is a wrecking ball many have never seen before.
After trading up, the Packers shocked many with the pick of Utah State's Love to be the heir apparent for Aaron Rodgers. Short on accuracy and long on potential, Love was seen as having natural skills that would need to be molded. Though it's early on, that seems to be just about what LaFleur reported.
"He's very natural," the second-year coach said via NFL Network's Stacey Dales on Saturday. "There's a lot to clean up right now. He's a young quarterback that is learning a new system, and just how specific we are with the footwork. I think that takes time. But I am pleased at how he attacks it on a daily basis. I think he's a really intelligent kid. And he's very athletic. So, I think it's a matter of time before he can pick up the mechanics. But, our challenge to him each and everyday, is just you gotta get that one percent better."
Barring injury, it's unlikely Love will see all that many snaps with the game in peril this coming season. However, Dillon could be another story even with Aaron Jones coming off his finest NFL season yet.
Dillon, whom the Packers picked up at 62nd overall in the second round, is a battering ram out of Boston College. Propped up by tree trunks, Dillon stands at 6-foot-even and 247 pounds of get-out-of-his way.
"AJ Dillon, he has got some massive legs," LaFleur said Saturday, via The Athletic's Matt Schneidman. "We have not seen a running back built like that, not in my career that I've been around."
LaFleur's tenure began after coaching in Tennessee, where he saw up close the would-be tacklers left in Derrick Henry's wake. Thus, that take offers a little more shock and awe. Nonetheless, LaFleur's also seen the productivity of Jones and the greatness of Rodgers, so it would seem Dillon and Love each have their time to grow.
