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Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff doesn’t always get the same attention as his peers, but that might change in 2023 — at least as far as Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd is concerned.
Cowherd ranked Goff 10th on his list of top 10 quarterbacks heading into next season.
“Jared Goff was outstanding down the stretch, he was unbelievable,” Herd said on the February 14 episode of “The Herd.” “Fifteen touchdowns and no picks in the last two-and-a-half months. [Offensive coordinator] Ben Johnson returns. You can say, ‘Well, he’s got a good offensive line.’ Yeah, he does. I’m counting that. Great offensive coordinator, great offensive line, two capable running backs. I thought he had a great year. No. 4 in total offense. Better at home than on the road, better in a clean pocket than a muddy one.”
Goff, who finished sixth in Comeback Player of the Year voting, had the second most touchdowns (29) of his seven-year career and tied for the lowest number of interceptions (7) in his career. He also had 4,438 passing yards, his highest number since 2019 when he was with the Los Angeles Rams. A year earlier, he led the Rams to a 13-3 record and a trip to the Super Bowl.
“He’s a former No. 1 pick for a reason. He’s a talented guy,” Cowherd said. “I’ve always said he’s like Matt Ryan with a better arm. Matt Ryan won an MVP.”
Goff Assessments Mixed in Other QB Rankings
Meanwhile, Pro Football Network’s Arif Hasan was less optimistic about Goff, putting him 22nd in his year-end power rankings behind Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Tannehill and Brock Purdy, three quarterbacks who didn’t even play a full season.
Hasan wrote that Goff has some drawbacks to his game where if he could clean them up, he may be able to achieve a higher ranking overall.
“Like (Brock) Purdy and (Jimmy) Garoppolo, Goff takes advantage of an excellent supporting cast to help produce on offense,” Hasan wrote in his January 19 story. “He doesn’t process as quickly as the other two, and his accuracy is not quite up to their standards, but he does have a good arm and an understanding of what he needs to do. If he could create off-book as well as Purdy or some of the other quarterbacks on this list, he’d be ranked much higher.”
Elsewhere, Goff received mixed reviews in other outlets’ QB rankings.
NFL.com put him at eighth, ahead of stars such as Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson.
“Previously viewed as a milquetoast fill-in, Goff’s perception-changing campaign saw him light up the enemy,” Marc Sessler wrote in his January 12 ranking.
USA Today ranked him ninth, in a tier of QBs labeled “advanced stats like more than most,” along with young stars like Trevor Lawrence and Daniel Jones. And The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz ranked him 21st, calling him a “talented (but stationary) thrower who doesn’t function under pressure” in his February 8 assessment.
“He knows his way around a clean pocket, but his lack of creativity and a loopy delivery stymies him on dropback concepts against aggressive pass rushes,” Ruiz wrote. “When he does have time in the pocket, Goff is capable of throwing some heaters. Detroit has wisely built a sturdy line to create those situations more often.”
Goff Rebounded for Stout 2022 Season
Goff is not flashy and gets little hype from the national sports media. But no matter where the pundits rank him, the Lions and their fans have no reason to be disappointed with Goff, who led the Lions to a 9-8 record, barely missing the playoffs.
He proved to be a quality game manager who put up a decent 99.3 QBR. He avoided the big mistakes for the most part and was a player in 2022 who looked comfortable within the team’s offense.
