Why Packers QB Jordan Love is going to run more in 2025
They all had more rushing yards last season than Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
Love missed two full games with a sprained MCL (Weeks 2 and 3) and parts of two more because of groin (Week 8) and elbow (Week 18) injuries. He wasn't always healthy when playing, either. Even so, he ranked rather low for a player of his athleticism in rushing yards among quarterbacks (tied for 34th with 83) and rushing attempts at the position (tied for 30th with 25), according to TruMedia.
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Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was asked last week if he'd like Love to run a little bit more.
'Absolutely,' Stenavich said bluntly. 'I think that's a huge weapon and Jordan has that ability to make some big plays down the field … we encourage that, for sure.'
If Love uses his legs more — to create passing plays off schedule, but more so to take off on his own — it would unlock another dimension to Green Bay's offense. Don't expect the Packers to devise designed quarterback runs for Love like they might for Malik Willis, but expect Love to turn on the jets more in 2025 for multiple reasons.
One, he's healthy. Love didn't routinely practice in full until around the midway point of last season. Two, he will make a more concerted effort to run himself instead of reverting to check downs so soon if his initial reads are cloudy.
'I think every game there was a couple options or instances where I could've took off and run,' Love said Wednesday. 'I think early on, some of it was with the injury, just not wanting to get out and do as much, but I think even later in the season, there was a lot of opportunities for me. You look back and you're like, 'Man I could've took off and run.' A little of it is just understanding what the defense is doing, what coverage we're getting, how the D-line might be playing some of those games where they start twisting and doing different things, understanding where the holes in the pocket might be to have the opportunity to step up and escape.
'And then, like you said, just understanding that maybe sometimes maybe not go straight to the check down right now. Maybe take that extra second to find a lane and get out of there and create an opportunity with your legs. So I think half-and-half with the injury and then just understanding when those times are to take off and use your legs.'
Jordan Love sees a lane and takes off for an 18-yard run pic.twitter.com/BvZabbClzj
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 3, 2025
It's still important for quarterbacks to keep their eyes downfield when off-schedule instead of simply taking off when the pocket collapses. Former Packers quarterback coach Tom Clements emphasized the importance of that since doing so can turn moderate scrambles into bigger off-schedule passing plays.
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Take Week 1 of last season, for example. With 5:22 remaining in the second quarter and the Packers facing a third-and-10 from their 30-yard line, trailing 14-12 against the Eagles, Love escaped through the B gap and might've been able to scurry for a first down. Instead, he kept his eyes upfield and hit a wide-open Jayden Reed on a deep over route for a 70-yard touchdown.
JAYDEN REED LEFT WIDE OPEN FOR THE 70-YARD TD.
📺: #GBvsPHI on Peacock pic.twitter.com/cAvTn5HLLd
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2024
Love needs to use his legs more, but he also must make some split-second decisions barely behind the line of scrimmage to throw the ball instead.
'Jordan does a great job, and especially any quarterback that is playing on the move and has to react, you gotta keep your eyes up because you just don't know,' Willis said. 'Sometimes it turns into backyard football. Sometimes the guys out there work with you and then the last resort is running it, obviously, and you obviously wanna be aware of the situation. Like, is it third-and-2? Maybe we don't take this deep shot and we just go get 2 yards and dive forward. It's just very, understanding the situation.'
Even if Love bypasses certain scrambles to throw the ball off-schedule, it's a fair bet we'll see far more than 25 runs from the third-year starter if he stays healthy in 2025. Love isn't recognized as a running quarterback like Baltimore's Lamar Jackson and Washington's Jayden Daniels, and for good reason, but don't be so quick to put him in the pocket passer box just because he hasn't always showcased the other part of his game like those guys do. In 2023, Love ran 50 times for 247 yards and four touchdowns while playing the full season. His 24-yard scramble on third-and-10 against the Falcons that year extended an eventual touchdown drive. The next week, he got shifty in the open field and juked linebacker Demario Davis on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in Green Bay's 17-point comeback win against the Saints. He's hardly a snail back there. Similar full-season health and a cognizant effort to run could boost those numbers further.
'I think he's pretty fast,' the mobile Willis said with a smile. 'He hit, what, 20 miles per hour the other day? Yeah, he can get it going. He wasn't able to last year, but I think he's feeling a lot better and he look good out there.'
'Jordan's a dual-threat guy,' Reed added. 'I've played basketball with him. He's athletic. He can change direction … it definitely makes a difference to the offense.'
Made 55 yards in the air look easy@emplifybellin pic.twitter.com/B10K9q4BaO
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 5, 2025
Love said he likes to make practice reps as game-like as possible. But how, when practices are scripted and defenders aren't allowed to touch him, can he replicate running himself to work on it before the regular season?
'That's the tough part,' Love said. 'You've always got to put yourself in the game at practice, and obviously, the D-line's staying away from us and they do a good job of that, but there is some times where there's a hole in the pocket and you feel it. You might feel man coverage and you just take off and run. I think as much as I can keep that up and keep not forcing myself to do it, but just being conscious that, 'Hey, if the opportunity presents itself, make it happen in practice because that's how it's going to happen in games.''
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The Packers ranked eighth in the NFL last season with 27.1 points per game and fifth with 370.8 total yards per game. They also ranked fifth with 146.8 rushing yards per game. It's not like they're starving for a ground game or offense as a whole.
If they want to go from good to great as a team, however, adding a couple of effective quarterback rushes every game certainly won't hurt.
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