Green Bay's potential long-term successor to Aaron Rodgers is officially under contract.
The Packers signed 26th-overall pick Jordan Love, the team announced Wednesday. Second-round pick A.J. Dillon also signed earlier Wednesday.
In a demonstration of the Packers' confidence in Love's future with the team, Green Bay signed him to a fully guaranteed four-year, $12,383,470 contract with a signing bonus of $6,566,160, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported. It's the first time the No. 26 pick has received a fully guaranteed deal under the current rookie contract system, Garafolo added.
Love's selection drew the ire of many Packers fans who were hoping Green Bay would spend its first-round pick on a receiver to add a weapon for Rodgers in Matt LaFleur's offense. Instead, the Packers looked toward the future, much like they did in 2005 when they spent the 24th-overall pick on Rodgers with Favre still on the roster.
That set up an ugly divorce, but Packers fans likely wouldn't trade the long-term outcome for a more graceful exit for Favre. After all, he was eventually invited back for his jersey retirement once the wounds healed.
Green Bay is hoping it can strike gold again with Love, whom the team described as having had "a dynamite 2018 season" at Utah State. His 2019 campaign wasn't as sharp, but his physical tools and potential still got him drafted in the first round. We'll see if it ends up being a wise pick.
Dillon arrives to Green Bay as a power-rushing complement to stud runner Aaron Jones. The former Boston College standout broke 1,000 yards on the ground in each of his three collegiate seasons, and while his selection also wasn't exactly showered with praise, he should fit nicely into LaFleur's offense in his second season as head coach.