Jordan Love didn’t quite burst onto the scene during his first season as a starter in 2023. It took him about half the year to get acclimated, and then, he went supernova to close out the season. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to carry that level of play into his second year.
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When an NFL player has a strong debut season, it’s common to see some regression in Year 2. A big reason for that is opposing teams now have more extensive tape and can pick apart a player’s habits and weaknesses. In Love’s case, that dip in production likely had a lot to do with the various injuries he dealt with in 2024. Even so, he still performed like a quality starting QB.
Now, some believe he’s ready to take the next big step, including former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum. He spoke about Love on ESPN’s Get Up. And on that cauldron of hot takes, Tannenbaum dropped one of his spiciest in recent weeks: Jordan Love will be the NFL MVP in 2026.
“Jordan Love will win the MVP… Look, you take away three or four throws from last year, he was right there,” the GM-turned-analyst said.
“I love Matthew Golden, he was my favorite receiver in the draft last year. Great route-runner, great hands. You put him around Dantyvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, everyone else, this team will score, and score often. Little concerned about the secondary, but they should be explosive on offense. This is Jordan Love’s year.”
Ryan Clark then said essentially what most of us believe regarding Love: this will be the year where we see whether he ascends into that top QB echelon—if he’s The Guy–or if he’s going to settle into a middle-of-the-pack level where he is just a guy.
"Jordan Love will win the MVP [this season]."
—@RealTannenbaum pic.twitter.com/h1MHKldrMf
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 21, 2025
Even Packers fans couldn’t believe how hot Tannebaum’s take was. “I’m a Packers fan, and this is an asinine take. Come on Mike,” said one.
Most others commented on how Tannenbaum and the rest of ESPN’s analysts have all turned into hot-take merchants. “This show has become such a joke. Just mfs screaming absurdly hot takes into the void hoping to get a few clicks,” pointed out one.
“My God, this guy is unbelievable, another awful take! I get it, ESPN only looks to make opinions for clicks, but this is hard to take,” said another. “Lay off the weed, Mike,” joked a third.
Stay off the weeeeeeeeed
— Dan-O (@chicagodano) July 21, 2025
Jordan Love has all the tools to be the best in the game, but he has yet to prove that. And based on oddsmakers—who are the least biased source in sports now, considering how pundits and analysts simply want clicks rather than accurate analysis—Love is not really in the conversation here. He’s tied for ninth on the odds board with Jared Goff and Brock Purdy (to win the MVP) at +2,500. That’s a long, long shot.