We are officially less than 30 days from training camp, and while all eyes are on Jordan Love and if he can truly become the face of the franchise, there's another quarterback on the roster who fans might have some concerns about as well. Who? None other than 2023 rookie Sean Clifford out of Penn State.

While the aforementioned Love has been facing questions literally every day of minicamp about if he's "the guy", little notice is being said of the competition for the backup quarterback position. Coaching legend the late John Madden always said a team is only as good as its backup quarterback(if you don't believe it, go look back at the Packers' 2017 season), and should Love falter or get injured, we'll find out just how good this 2023 team is with Clifford under center. 

While we should never expect either Head Coach Matt LaFleur or General Manager Brian Gutekunst to publicly shame Clifford, little has been said about the quarterback room at all, other than the confidence in the personnel currently there. We've also heard no rumors of any veterans or undrafted free agents being brought in for workouts/evaluation, although that could change as teams start to make cuts during their respective training camps and the ensuing preseason.

I wouldn't say Clifford "killed it" during OTAs and minicamp, but he definitely made a play or two when on the field, including an impressive two-minute drill to close out the minicamp. I'm sure he probably took his lumps at times as well, but the coaching staff seemed to have mostly positive reviews about the rookie out of Penn State.

During the lead-up to the 2023 NFL Draft, there were many experts, myself included who didn't envision Clifford as draftable at all. Despite holding multiple Penn State all-time passing records, a career QBR of 70.875, a career passer rating of 143.8, and a resume that included just over 50 games, Clifford didn't impress the scouting community during the pre-draft process. I scouted him for the 2023 Hula Bowl and 2023 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, and all I got was an athlete who could play the quarterback position in a pinch. His arm strength(or lack thereof) and a tendency to go from red hot to ice cold for lengths in a game stunted my interest in his potential. While Clifford had a masterful performance in the 2023 Rose Bowl with a win over PAC-12 juggernaut Utah, there's no telling when that QB will show up, and for how long he'll stay. Despite being the only Nittany Lion to not receive a Combine invitation, General Manager Brian Gutekunst saw fit to select Sean Clifford in the 5th Round of this year's Draft; although the front office did explain that after a run on quarterbacks that included Jake Haener, Stetson Bennett, Aidan O'Connell, Clayton Tune, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson between the 4th and 5th Rounds, the Packers felt they had no choice but to select a QB and address the obvious vacancy they had on the depth chart in regards to backing up Jordan Love. In the heat of the moment, I was more than a little disappointed; but given the prospects remaining at the time(only 3 QBs would hear their names called after Clifford), it was a sensible decision.

What does Clifford have going for him? Jordan Love, Danny Etling, Matt LaFleur, and Brian Gutekunst.

Why Jordan Love?

We all know how this saga began, and with the next chapter having Jordan as the starting quarterback, they will explore every possible avenue for him to be successful. I do not think the Packers would ever begin to think of "tanking" but they have no choice but to see this path to the very end. Barring injury that keeps Love out of games, I don't expect there to be any real concern about who's #2 on the depth chart. Just like the Packers will give Jordan every opportunity to excel, Clifford will have every opportunity to carry a clipboard and learn behind him.

Why Danny Etling? 

Despite hanging around the Packers and seven other teams around the league since being drafted in the 7th Round back in 2018,  Etling has yet to play any meaningful football in the pros. Rather than competition, what I really expect is for the elder statesman in Etling to help Clifford be a true pro in the NFL. Comparing the two, Clifford is the better athlete(the best among all three actually), has a higher football IQ, and fares better under pressure and in the pocket. If what we believe Clifford to be is true, he's decently ahead of Etling, and if Tom Clements can improve upon that, he may have victory drive/formation appeal. 

Why Matt LaFleur?

I believe we all expect to see the first true rendition of LaFleur's offense this season, without the interventions of a certain Super Bowl-winning quarterback now playing in the AFC East. We should expect to see plenty of motion, jet, counter, and RPO. These are all things that play into Clifford's strengths, without him exposing much of his weaknesses, which are arm strength and consistency. If Clifford has fewer reads to make, and less to react to, he can make better plays with increased confidence. I don't expect to see too many plays where deep ball placement is critical, except for play action; which I also don't expect to see until the offense is in rhythm well into the 2nd or 3rd quarter. Just like Matt LaFleur's offense will do everything it can to bring out the best in Jordan, it also has key concepts that Clifford can lean to his own talents to find success on the field.

Why Brian Gutekunst?

Looking over the last couple of years of the General Manager's stint at 1265, he just doesn't sign veterans for the sake of signing veterans. While I can't recall every single transaction Gutekunst has ever done for the Packers, I believe it's safe to say that the overwhelming majority of veterans signed were with the intent of them either starting or playing serious snaps as valued role players. Seeing as there is typically only one quarterback on the field for the offense at a time, there's just not room for a wiley veteran in the Packers' quarterback room; plus it would undermine the decision to hand the keys to the franchise to Love. Furthermore, veteran QBs who've had any semblance of either success or capability don't come cheap. With the Packers not completely out of the woods yet in regards to their cap situation a veteran QB would only complicate things. 

However, we could see Gutekunst make some moves during camp to bolster the Practice Squad if the team feels like it's time to move on from Etling. Given most GMs like to stick by their picks for at least a couple of years, I'd say Clifford has until 2025 to cement himself as the permanent #2 QB before the Packers consider making another "relatively high" selection on Draft Day(I do expect at least one or two 7th Rounders though). This is a rough developmental QB market right now, so if I had to throw something against the wall and see if it sticks I'm digging deep, real deep...like say Deandre Francois of the XFL's Orlando Guardians or EJ Perry of the USFL's Michigan Panthers to find another third-string quarterback with athleticism, arm strength, solid game experience, and some slight upside.

It's still too early to have any real indicators of the long-term success of Sean Clifford; but based on minicamp and OTAs, there's at least something to work with. Green Bay's got a solid QB coach in Tom Clements and a Head Coach who knows how to get creative with moving the football down the field. I'm not saying the Packers drafted a future star, I was even skeptical back in April myself given my own evaluation. However, it could be that the stars are aligning for Clifford to etch out a career as a quality reserve quarterback in the NFL. He doesn't need to be an All-Pro, he's not expected to be. What he is expected to do is not necessarily win games, but not lose them either. If called on to play he's got what should be a top-tier defense(*rolls eyes*) to keep the score manageable, a WR corps that is far and away an upgrade from anything he's ever had back in University Park, and a rushing attack that will be able to assist him keeping the offense on schedule and not have him shoulder too much all at once(just like Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders did for him at Penn State). For lack of better words, if there was a team that could enable Sean Clifford to make all the "experts" look silly based on their predictions of his not amounting to much in the NFL, it's the 2023 Green Bay Packers. All Sean Clifford has to do is be his athletically gifted, high-IQ, woefully average self; the other 21 guys who take the field will do the rest.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to let me know in the comments.

#GPG