‘What the Hell Was That?’ Jordan Love and the Art of the NFL Fadeaway Jumper

GREEN BAY, Wis. — There are too many examples of Jordan Love’s fadeaway throw to count. If you ask Matt LaFleur, there are too many of them, period. 

"Yeah, we’re not coaching that," LaFleur told me during a press conference at Packers training camp.

I laughed. He didn’t.

"Sometimes, you’ve got to let a player be a player," LaFleur conceded. "It’s all dependent upon the situation."

Love has turned the fadeaway jumper into a big part of his game — a signature throw. As one NFL general manager described it, it’s one of those "wait-wait-no-no-yes-yes-nice-job throws." It’s exactly what a coach teaches his QB not to do … until he completes the pass. Then it’s a marvel the coach can get behind. 

The example LaFleur likes best was when Love pulled it off against the Seattle Seahawks last December. And though Love attempted the throw from his own end zone — fading away toward the goalpost (heightening the threat of a pick-six) — he had the advantage of knowing the defense had jumped offsides: free play, no downside. So falling backward, Love heaved the ball up for tight end Tucker Kraft in the middle of the field. And Kraft made the play, converting a first down.

"That s--- like Kobe [Bryant] or something," Packers receiver Jayden Reed said. "Like Michael Jordan. Fadeaway — you don't see everybody do it."

"Once you watch it on film, you’re like, ‘What the hell was that?’" tight end Luke Musgrave said.

"It was one of the craziest throws I’ve ever seen," running back Josh Jacobs said.

Love’s fadeaway pass comes from where you’d think: basketball. He played hoops in high school, and his father nearly named him Michael Jordan Love. So it’s fitting — perhaps even fate — to see basketball materialize in Love’s game.

"It's just