The preparations for the upcoming NFL season are intensifying and both Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers and Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars are paying dearly in practice.

The transition from college to the NFL can be tough for quarterbacks. The coverages are more complex, their own playbook is much more demanding and the defenders are even more athletic – split-second decisions have to be made.

So the fact that Packers quarterback Jordan Love didn’t get on the field once in his rookie season isn’t unusual – especially with Aaron Rodgers having an MVP season for the ages. But the reigning MVP is missing from minicamp, which is why Love is serving as the No. 1 quarterback during practice. And according to media members in attendance, the 22-year-old has not made a good impression so far.

Report: Love overthrows receiver

In his first 2-minute drill, Love barely made it across the midline. The drill ended when the quarterback “clearly overthrew his completely free receiver Mike Taylor” on the final attempt, wrote, for example, Rob Demovsky of “ESPN.”

Jordan Love’s first crack at the 2-minute drill (that we’ve seen) barely gets past midfield and ends with him skying a pass over wide-open Malik Taylor’s head on fourth-and-7 from the plus-46.

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) June 8, 2021

“The Athletic” reporter Matt Schneidman was also unimpressed with the young playmaker’s performance: “Love had trouble with his throwing accuracy. He has the arm strength, but missed some makeable pitches.” To end the unit, third stringer Blake Bortles would have thrown a touchdown.

Jordan Love’s first crack at the 2-minute drill (that we’ve seen) barely gets past midfield and ends with him skying a pass over wide-open Malik Taylor’s head on fourth-and-7 from the plus-46.

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) June 8, 2021

Packers: Without Rodgers – Love soon to be new starter?

Love’s biggest problem has been that he “overthrows his receivers on short and intermediate pass routes,” reports The Fan 107.5 radio station.

Jordan Love taking nearly every snap so far has struggled. Over throwing his receivers on short and intermediate routes. Only 1 deep ball and he over shot MVS, now giving way to Bortles. pic.twitter.com/9oV1LW2ilb

— The Fan 107.5 (@WDUZ) June 8, 2021

Love will need to improve quickly, especially if superstar Aaron Rodgers continues to holdout and his discord with Packers management cannot be resolved.

Lawrence also likely to have issues

No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence, who is coming into the NFL with great promise, has also been struggling in practice. For example, the Jaguars rookie would have thrown a pick-six – that is, an interception returned for a touchdown – twice within a few passes after a brief medical leave. 

At the start of rookie minicamp a fortnight ago, Jaguars coach Urban Meyer was also at pains to temper some of the hype surrounding the former Clemson star. “His first day was really good, today was just okay.” 

Fortunately, though, there’s still plenty of time for the young playmakers to hone their skills. The preseason doesn’t start for both of them until 13 August, kickoff of the regular season is then on 10 September.