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There are still some doubters of Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the media. But Goff has the confidence of his team, especially veteran cornerback Jerry Jacobs.
Jacobs described Goff as one of the best signal callers while appearing on Sirius XM’s NFL Rewind.
“Jared Goff is the best quarterback, he’s really top five in the NFC if you want to be honest if you pull the stat stuff and all that,” Jacobs said, via SI.com’s All Lions. “I’m gonna be honest, I’ve played against a lot of quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers would be in my top five, but Jared Goff’s up there.
“Everybody sleeps on my dog and I love how he take it in, like he don’t be cocky or nothing like that. He just soak it in and play ball to this game, that type of reaction.
“He’s a great quarterback, and I can’t wait for him to you know, go out and prove everybody wrong.”
During the same interview, Jacobs added a warning for Detroit’s Week 1 opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs.
“We’re ready, I know we’re ready,” Jacobs said. “Every time I hear we’re playing the season opener against the Super Bowl team, we’re ready to go out there and play ball and shock the world.”
Jared Goff ‘Light-Years Ahead’ of Where He Was in 2021
Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn’t get caught up in ranking Goff or comparing him to a 4-time MVP winner. But he expressed a similar confidence in his quarterback as Jacobs did.
“I mean, he’s a better quarterback than he was [with the Rams], in my opinion, because he can do more things,” Campbell told the media at the team’s rookie minicamp on June 6. “He’s mentally on it.”
Campbell added that Goff is “light-years ahead of where he was two years ago” when he first joined the Lions.
It’s hard to argue that isn’t true. Goff averaged 7.6 yards per pass attempt last season, which was his best since 2018 when he led the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl. He also had a career-best 1.2% interception rate while throwing 29 touchdowns last year.
Goff also posted a 65.1% completion percentage with 4,438 passing yards. He made his third Pro Bowl and first since 2018.
Jared Goff a Top 5 NFC Quarterback?
Goff is arguably playing the best football of his career. Still, not every member of the media share Jacobs’ enthusiasm for Goff being considered a top 5 signal caller in the NFC.
NBC Sports’ Chris Simms moved Goff up 13 spots on his annual offseason quarterback rankings list. But Goff still only placed the Lions signal caller at No. 17 overall.
Among NFC quarterbacks, Simms ranked Goff at No. 7.
“There’s no doubt about it that that was definitely his best season,” Simms said. “No doubt. He’s got limited upside, but he’s more talented than he gets credit for.
“Big, tough, underrated feel for the game. The thing I love about him is he is fearless. He wants to stand in the pocket and make throws. And that’s where I like him.”
But it’s safe to say former NFL media personality Ross Tucker is a much bigger fan.
“Jared Goff showed that he can win playoff games. He can win road playoff games. He can get to a Super Bowl,” Tucker said the All Lions Podcast. “And I think he’s playing better than he played when he was with the Rams.
“So, if he’s able to get to a Super Bowl with the Rams, I think he can get to one with the Detroit Lions.”
Goff will enter the 2023 season with the pressure to prove Tucker, Jacobs and his coach correct.
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Lions CB Jerry Jacobs Speaks Out on QB Jared Goff