On the heels of a breakout 2023 and a hard-fought loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round, Jordan Love knows the Green Bay Packers won't be sneaking up on anyone next season.

Appearing on The Pivot Podcast (starts at 41:05 mark), Love said the Packers are "hungry" for a Super Bowl push and they know there will be a "target on our back" in 2024:

"There's no more, 'We're a young team.' There's no more of those what ifs. People know what we're about now. Obviously, we'll have that target on our back. People want to beat us. We're hungry. I know everybody in that locker room is hungry and ready to get back. And obviously we added some key pieces with Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney. So I'm excited. We're going to have some more pieces coming in with the draft, but I'm excited for me to be able to take that next step. Year 2. For a lot of the receivers, those rookies we had last year to take that step in Year 2.

Among the people who seem to believe the team can make a push next season is general manager Brian Gutekunst. The Packers aren't known for being big spenders in free agency, but they acted quickly to sign Jacobs and McKinney.

McKinney's $67 million deal made him the fourth-highest-paid safety in the NFL. Jacobs got $48 million over four years, which is the third-richest contract for a running back.

One reason the Packers were able to dive headfirst into free agency is because Love is currently on a bargain deal. He's going to earn $13.5 million next season after signing a one-year extension in May 2023 that allowed the team to forego picking up the fifth-year option in his rookie deal.

Love emerged as a star in his first season as the Packers' No. 1 quarterback. He threw for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns in 17 starts to help the team make the playoffs.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo reported in February that Green Bay was willing to speak with Love's camp about negotiating a "new, fair-market deal" that would pay him like a "true starter."

The Packers had, by far, the youngest roster in the NFL last season. Their average player age was 25 years, eight months and three days. The Dallas Cowboys were second on that list with an average of 26 years, four months and 15 days.

Even though Green Bay's 9-8 record looks pedestrian, this young core group won seven of its last 10 games in the regular season. The team followed that up with a 48-32 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card game.

Some youthful mistakes in the fourth quarter against the 49ers ultimately cost the Packers a chance to play in the NFC Championship Game, but it's hard not to think they will be one of the top contenders in the conference next season.