Aaron Rodgers isn't surprised by Jordan Love's success as Packers quarterback, but he says 'we shouldn't crown him' right now

Many people who were ready to write off Jordan Love are now likely surprised by his recent success as the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, especially after seeing how he outdueled two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes on Sunday night.

Aaron Rodgers is not one of them.

"No, I'm not," Rodgers said Tuesday during his hour-plus interview on "The Pat McAfee Show" that hit on a range of topics, including COVID-19 again, censorship, his Achilles injury, leaks within the Jets organization regarding Zach Wilson, his thoughts on the college football playoff and how the NFL and fans should treat young players.

That brought us to Love.

As fans and some media might be ready to crown Love the next big thing following a nice stretch of play, Rodgers says everyone should take a more measured approach. And that's not because the former Packers quarterback doesn't think highly of his successor. It's actually the opposite, the four-time MVP says.

Rodgers, who has been complimentary of Love this season, explained when young players get "crowned" too early it can be detrimental to their development and it puts too much pressure on the player.

"He’s playing, especially the last two games, outstanding, but he’s in his first year starting," Rodgers said of Love, who is in his fourth season in the league but first as the starter. "As well as he’s playing can we not crown him right now? For his own sake. Because we shouldn't do that to kids. We shouldn't crown him and we shouldn’t cancel him."

Jordan Love is 'going to be a great player' in the NFL, but Aaron Rodgers urges caution for young players

Many appeared to essentially "cancel" Love when the Packers were on a four-game losing streak and questioned if he could be a franchise quarterback. The 25-year-old's lack of accuracy early in the season — he completed less than 60% of his passes in five of the first seven games — was also a talking point.

Could that be corrected or was this who he was?

"I do believe you can get better with accuracy," said Rodgers, who explained it comes down to having great fundamentals.

In the last three games — two of which have come before nationally televised audiences — Love has shown he can have pinpoint accuracy while not losing his ability to freestyle effectively on the field.

He has completed 68.6% of his passes with eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions while displaying the poise that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and teammates raved about heading into the season.

Overall, Love is having his best three-game stretch of the season. His quarterback rating has topped 100 in each of those games, something that only happened once in his previous seven games.

Love's rise, not coincidentally, is taking place at the same time as the Packers' winning streak.

"I love Jordan," Rodgers said. "I think he's going to be a great player in the league for a long time. But can we let him play his career?"

Aaron Rodgers says 'hell yeah' he's happy for Jordan Love and the Packers

Rodgers also took a wider view in his assessment of Love and the Packers, who are now in the thick of the NFC playoff race.

Yes, Rodgers is paying attention, even during his 40th birthday party on Sunday at a club in New York.

"Am I surprised by how he's playing?" Rodgers said. "No. Am I happy for him? Hell yeah. Some people were probably thinking I was rooting against the Packers this year, rooting against Jordan. Couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not a bitter person about that.

"Obviously, I wish things would have gone different when I was in Green Bay and there’s things I wish I would have done better. But I have so much love for the organization. I have so many people I still talk to every single week that work there. If I catch Jordan's game I usually send him a message."

Rodgers added that even when he was at his birthday party and couldn't watch the game he was asking about the Packers "every two seconds," and about Love.

"So I’m not surprised at all," Rodgers reinforced. "I also think for all these young kids that are playing, like just give them some time to develop. You crown somebody too early, the expectations are tough to deal with. You bury somebody right away, dealing with that type of negativity and pressure is tough to come back from."

REQUIRED READING: 2 former Packers players the Jets brought in this season to team with Aaron Rodgers have already been cut

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Aaron Rodgers on Pat McAfee Show urges caution on crowning Jordan Love