The Packers' first-round selection of quarterback Jordan Love stunned many in the NFL world, and also opened the door to a question that is seemingly guaranteed with any backup quarterback of note these days.
Will you use him like Taysom Hill?
Former Packers great Brett Favre decided to play into this line of thought, saying he believes there's room for Green Bay to deploy Love like Hill.
"I think there's ways to incorporate it much like Taysom Hill with the Saints," Favre told TMZ.com. "Use him as a halfback, a halfback pass, but occasionally let him run it just to show that you'll do that. Something like that."
It's great to have as many options as possible for an offense to move the ball down the field, but Love was not drafted with the 26th overall pick to be a gadget player. The Utah State standout was selected to be developed into Aaron Rodgers' successor and an emergency plan about which the Packers can feel confident in the event Rodgers -- who has been injured on multiple occasions in recent years -- goes down with a significant ailment.
In that same vein, just because Love is athletic, it doesn't mean he should be subjected to unnecessary hits just to keep a defense on its toes. Security and the future of the franchise are more important than a halfback pass thrown by a quarterback playing out of position for a touchdown.
Hill and Love are two different players. While both premier athletes, Hill was a third-string quarterback who stuck around by doing whatever Sean Payton's staff wanted him to do -- play special teams, carry the ball, run routes and yes, occasionally throw passes too -- not by proving he could be a franchise's face of the future. He's since taken advantage of those unique on-field opportunities to prove he can be a catalyst in the right situation for New Orleans and landed himself a two-year deal worth $21 million as Drew Brees' backup.
The 29-year-old Hill could succeed Brees in New Orleans whenever he retires. He wasn't seen as that when he arrived, though, and Jameis Winston still looms as a possible candidate for those large shoes that will one day be left vacant by the future Hall of Famer. Roughly 1,100 miles north, Love finds himself in a much different situation -- one that's similar to the scenario in which Rodgers entered the league behind Favre. And we never saw Rodgers line up behind Favre for a gadget play.
