Packers GM didn't expect Love to fall, calls Rodgers best QB in NFL

General manager Brian Gutekunst believes the Green Bay Packers have the top quarterback in the league with Aaron Rodgers, and the fact they drafted his potential successor in Jordan Love doesn't change their plans for the foreseeable future.

"Aaron's been around a long time and knows what we're playing for right now," Gutekunst said Thursday night on a conference call, according to Packers.com writer Mike Spofford. "We have the best quarterback in the National Football League and we plan to have him for a while competing for championships.

"I think he'll be a pro's pro. He's playing for legacy-type things, historic-type stuff. I know he's very, very motivated."

The Packers selected Love with the 26th overall pick after trading up four spots with the Miami Dolphins. It was a decision Green Bay didn't expect to be in a position to make entering the draft.

"This was not something we set out to do," Gutekunst said. "He just happened to be a guy we liked who fell to us, and this was the best decision."

Gutekunst added: "I never believe you're one player away. I don't believe in that. You can make mistakes believing you're one player away from anything ... The balance of immediate and long term is something I have to consider."

Love, who thinks being behind Rodgers "is a really good situation to be in," is the first quarterback selected in the first round by the Packers since Rodgers was taken in 2005 as Brett Favre's successor.

"We think a lot of him. Down the road he certainly has all the ability to be a difference-maker," Gutekunst said about Love. "But these things take time, especially at that position. He has a lot of work ahead of him."

The Packers have eight more picks to make in the 2020 draft. Their next selection is currently set at No. 62 on Friday as Round 2 and 3 take place.