Lions' Jared Goff is an elite NFL quarterback, here's why
So on Sunday night I decided to make a bit of a proclamation about Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. He's been outstanding for a while now and I think we've reached the point where he's only going to get more expensive with every game he plays. It's time to extend Goff soon. Like right now. […]
So on Sunday night I decided to make a bit of a proclamation about Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. He's been outstanding for a while now and I think we've reached the point where he's only going to get more expensive with every game he plays. It's time to extend Goff soon. Like right now.
Today I'm going to double down on the Goff stuff. I'm tired of having to walk around on eggshells with the way we talk about quarterbacks. There's always this hierarchy that get decided and there's just no way that you can enter anyone else into that chat. Screw that, I'm doing it today. I've seen enough, Jared Goff is a top tier elite quarterback. Now it's time to prove why.
Oh yeah, by the way, as you all know by now since I've been saying it for the last decade, quarterback wins are not a real stat. You don't get all the credit becasue 52 other guys are good at their job at the same time you're good at your job.
Anyways, let's do some comparisons. I think Goff was always just a decent quarterback. Where things started to make a drastic turn was Week 13 of the 2021 season. That was 23 games ago. That's a big sample size that covers quite a bit.
I'm going to compare him to the big dogs in the NFL. The guys that everyone is sure about. I'll be using The Athletic's tier ranking for this. Here's who's in their top tier. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Here we go.
| Stats | Jared Goff | Patrick Mahomes | Joe Burrow | Josh Allen | Aaron Rodgers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passing Yards | 5,979 | 6,978 | 6,555 | 5,984 | 4,932 |
Touchdowns | 42 | 55 | 49 | 49 | 40 |
Interceptions | 10 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 12 |
Fumbles Lost | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
Completion % | 65.95 | 66.97 | 68.22 | 63.34 | 66.9 |
Rating | 100.9 | 104.4 | 102.5 | 92.6 | 99.0 |
Ok, real quick, Just in case anyone wanted to say "well, I don't know, he's probably more in the second tier." Here's how he compares with that group.
| Stats | Jared Goff | Jalen Hurts | Lamar Jackson | Trevor Lawrence | Matthew Stafford |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passing Yards | 5,979 | 5,227 | 4,769 | 5,476 | 6,027 |
Touchdowns | 42 | 29 | 32 | 30 | 40 |
Interceptions | 10 | 12 | 18 | 12 | 24 |
Fumbles Lost | 5 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 5 |
Completion % | 65.95 | 65.63 | 64.64 | 65.70 | 66.79 |
Rating | 100.9 | 96.0 | 90.0 | 91.9 | 92.2 |
There you have it. He's playing significantly better than tier two. He's playing like a top 5 quarterback, so I'm going to just go ahead and say that he's a top 5 quarterback.
23 games is less a sample size and more of a full on order. You can say "Rodgers full career needs to be in there" or "Matthew Stafford had an incredible 2011," but this represents what's happening in the NFL right now.
If you need any more right now than the right now I presented. Goff is the NFL's fourth highest graded quarterback by Pro Football Focus right now. He's fifth in passing yards, fifth in touchdowns, 14th in interceptions, sixth in completion percentage and third in passer rating.
I just don't know what more you need to see. The guy is elite. I don't care what he did in 2020 and I don't care what he did in his first 10 games with the Lions. He's playing like an elite quarterback right now. He has been for well over a seasons worth of games. He is elite.
It’s time for the Detroit Lions to pay Jared Goff, he’s legit
I don't care about the interception. Seriously, I don't care. Jared Goff is a legit quarterback for the Detroit Lions. He's a hooper, he's a baller, he's whatever other Gen Z name, I barely understand, that you want to call him. No cap. Yeah it's been two games this season, but it's just so much […]
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