NFL Draft QB Breakdown: Jared Goff
- Mar 4, 2016
- 4 min read
The Nitty Gritty
Jared Goff had a great career at UC Berkeley, passing for 12,195 yards, 96 TDs and a quarterback rating of 144.0. His stats pop off of the charts and his combine performance was nothing to sneeze at either.
Goff impressed many scouts with his footwork, accuracy, timing and zip put on the ball. Scouts previously questioned Goff's arm strength, however, he put those questions to rest.
The 6-4, 215 lbs quarterback already has the size of an NFL quarterback and now has proven to scouts that he has many of the tools necessary to be one.
Goff proved to be an immensely talented freshman. He completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards with 18 TDs and 10 INTs. In 2014, Goff's numbers were even better. He completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 3,973 yards, with 35 TDs and 7 INTs and entered his junior already holding 19 school records.
Goff was 7-5 in 2015, passing for 4,719 yards with 43 touchdowns and a 64.5 completion percentage. He also won a bowl game against Air Force, Cal's first bowl appearance since 2011.
"This is Aaron Rodgers. He's the real deal," Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said in September when asked about Goff. "This young man is exceptional."
Combine Results
40-yard dash: 4.82 seconds
Vertical jump: 27 inches
Broad jump: 110 inches
3 cone drill: 7.17 seconds
Strengths
According to NFL.com's Draft Tracker, Jared Goff has many strengths and he is steadily improving:
Quality arm. Makes all the throws and can sling the deep out with velocity and accuracy. Clean release and snaps throws off with flick of the wrist. Drives hips through his release for extra heat. Pocket mobility and poise showed improvement from 2014 to 2015. Maintains proper footwork and readiness to throw as he slides inside the pocket. Speeds up internal clock when he feels pressure or recognizes blitz. Pocket climber. Able to run out of trouble rather than into it. Looks the part of a confident, first round quarterback when working from a clean pocket. Sells his play fakes with purpose and draws linebackers forward. Has learned to expedite his throws from off-balance angles due to pocket pressure. Will throw receivers open in tight quarters. Has excellent trajectory and pillowy soft touch on touch throws down the field that give receivers a chance to make plays. Showed substantial growth with his willingness to attack intermediate areas of the field and did so with accuracy and relative success. Completed an impressive 43.8 percent of his deep throws. Competes on third and long seeking out first downs over check downs.
From what is being said about his strengths, you can see Goff's highlights below. Goff places the ball into tight spaces, especially with receivers Kenny Lawler and Bryce Treggs. Goff arguably made Lawler into an NFL receiver and the two had one of the best connections in college football. Lawler had 13 TDs and Treggs had 7.
However, they only accounted for 20 of Goff's 43 TDs. Goff also spread the ball around to many of his other receivers too including Darius Powe, Maurice Harris, Khalfani Muhammad, Trevor Davis, Stephen Anderson, Tre Watson, Chad Hansen, Bug Rivera, and Malik McMorris. That is very impressive.
Weaknesses
According to NFL.com's Draft Tracker, Goff still has some work to do. He also may have benefited from Cal's spread attack, which is a quick read offense. Sometimes when under pressure, Goff tends to rush throws and makes his receivers work to hard on easier throws. However, the good outweighs the bad:
Hits a rough patch with accuracy from time to time. Sails throws over intended targets especially early in games. Has spots where he makes receivers work too hard on easy throws. Spent 99.8 percent of his pass snaps from pistol or shotgun this season. Will likely need to orient himself with NFL footwork from under center. Rhythm passer who benefited from the uptempo and "quick game" of Cal's Bear Raid offense. Has to learn fine line between getting ball out and rushing throws. Able to escape pocket, but isn't a proven finisher when on the move. Fumbled the ball 24 times over the last three years losing 11. Sacked 81 times over three years. Internal clock and poise will need to be monitored closely. Several of his interceptions came when he failed to read zone defenders underneath drifting up to challenge the throw.
Comparison
I compared Goff to Matt Ryan because of his poise in the pocket and acccuracy. The only bad part about the comparison is that Ryan gets very rattled when rushed and sometimes forces throws. Goff has the same tendency, but it would be a moot point if Goff can have the same success that Ryan has had at the pro level.
Final Evaluation
Goff is the most pro-ready quarterback in the draft. He can step into a system and start right away. Although Carson Wentz is looked at being the top quarterback in the draft by many other pundits, I like Goff's makeup better and he's proven to me that he can play against some of the best competition in the country in the Pac-12.
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