Getty Jared Goff and Tim Boyle pose during Lions training camp in July 2021.
The Detroit Lions traded for Jared Goff this offseason because they believed he was the best man for their quarterback job, and watching Goff work so far has done little to dissuade many from thinking that is the case.
Even such, Goff still continues to get dissed in subtle ways by the national media as the Lions get set to push toward the 2021 season. ESPN hosts recently admitted they weren’t big fans of Goff’s talent.
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Recently, ESPN put together a list rating every quarterback ahead of the 2021 season in terms of their different abilities based on votes from their contributors as well as contributors from Pro Football Focus and Football Outsiders. Interestingly, Goff didn’t place within the top category of any list, something Justin Rogers of the Detroit News pointed out. He only received vote for anything in two categories.
ESPN had a panel of their NFL analysts rank QBs in 12 categories related to the position and Goff didn’t crack the top-10 in any of them.
Goff was beaten out by plenty of bigger names across plenty of other rosters, including former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. The categories ESPN was rating quarterbacks were as followed: arm strength, accuracy, touch, mechanics, field vision, decision making, compete level, toughness, pocket presence, scrambling, designed-run ability and second-reaction ability. Within all those categories, Goff rarely placed as an honorable mention, only getting a vote in second-reaction ability and pocket presence. Multiple other NFL rookies and borderline contributors at the position like Tyrod Taylor, Sam Darnold, Mitch Trubisky and Taysom Hill, meanwhile, came up on lists.
It simply shows the hit Goff’s brand has taken since the 2019 season, and especially since he was traded to the Lions this past March. Now, it seems easier than ever to overlook any talent Goff has for many reasons. In spite of this, Goff has a strong arm, good poise and a strong level of compete and toughness. Those facts cannot be debated, no matter how many lists he cracks.
Jared Goff Will Be Motivated to Prove Doubters Wrong
This list is interesting and notable because it gives Goff more fuel to push his drive for the 2021 season. Players and coaches on the Lions such as Mark Brunell have been open about what this season means to Goff, and it’s easy to see why the quarterback could have a major chip on his shoulder. In spite of all these lists, though, the metrics say that Goff is still a solid quarterback. Pro Football Focus has graded Goff no lower than a 70.0 in terms of offense any year since 2016. His highest grade of 84.3 came in 2018, while his lowest over that span was a 71.3 mark from an injury-riddled 2020. That points to some definite talent the quarterback still has to rely on, especially at 26 years old with plenty of time left in his career.
Doubting Goff publicly like this could give him extra motivation to step up and prove himself. Folks forget that Goff was a top pick for a reason, and he hopes to show that in Detroit once again, perhaps in a locale where the pressure is off and he can rise to the occasion once more.
Goff’s Career Stats Could Lead to Hope for Detroit
If there’s a reason to think Goff might be a bit better than many expect when he does hit the field for good, it’s his production during his career to this point. Clearly, Detroit isn’t just getting a pair of first-round draft picks and a third-round pick, they are getting a quarterback who was in the Super Bowl just two years ago. Goff, a former top pick himself in 2016 out of Cal, has been a dependable player who has won plenty of big games in his career in the rough and tumble NFC West. So far, he’s thrown 107 touchdowns, 55 interceptions, 18,171 yards and has been a two-time Pro Bowler in 2017 and 2018.
Here’s a look at some of his best plays:
Quietly, those numbers plus Goff’s own experience figure to make him a player that is capable of a big time career resurgence with the Lions. That will be true whether or not anyone gives his game some of the simple respect it could deserve.
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Jared Goff Served Major Diss by ESPN Analysts Ahead of 2021 Season