After getting dumped by the Rams and starting slowly in his first season with the Lions, it was easy to dismiss Jared Goff. Not anymore. On the heels of a resurgent 2022 campaign, Goff is back among the top-100 players in the NFL, according to his peers.
They voted him No. 66 overall in this year's NFL Top 100, one spot ahead of his favorite receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. (And one spot behind Detroit's former favorite corner Darius Slay.)
"A lot of teams would love to have a guy like him as their quarterback," said Bills corner Taron Johnson, whose team narrowly escaped Goff and the Lions on Thanksgiving last season. "When we played them, I felt like he had an answer for any kind of situation we gave him. To me, that’s what really makes a good quarterback, someone who knows what to do with the ball and does it quickly."
Goff threw two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Lions' 28-25 loss to the Bills, part of a stretch in which he threw 324 passes to close last season without getting picked off. He led the NFL in touchdown-to-interception ratio and finished seventh in passer rating (99.3), smack-dab between superstars Josh Allen and Joe Burrow.
"He’s a great quarterback that can make multiple reads," said corner Benjamin St. Juste of the Commanders, who Goff diced up for four touchdowns and no picks in a 36-27 win for the Lions in Week 2 last season. "We went into that game thinking they were going to do some simple stuff and he opened up like the whole playbook. They put 22 points on us by halftime. I was like, whew, that is not the same Jared Goff."
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The NFL was down on Goff entering last year. After being ranked No. 38 in the NFL Top 100 in 2018 and No. 32 in 2019 coming off two Pro Bowl seasons with the Rams, Goff fell out of the rankings for the next three years. His critics said he would never be the same when Sean McVay kicked him to the curb in LA. And maybe they were right: Goff looks even better in Detroit.
Some of Goff's best work last season came against the Vikings. In two games against the Lions' division rivals, he completed 65 percent of his passes for 607 yards, four touchdowns and one pick -- for a passer rating perfectly on par with his season rating. Former Vikings All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks, now with the Chargers, tipped his cap to Goff for throwing a "couple tight-window passes against us."
"That’s what I gotta do. Sometimes they make their plays, too. This year he definitely shut some people up, which I can respect, for sure," Kendricks said.
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Pro Bowl linebacker Hasson Reddick and the Eagles had one of the NFL's best defenses last season. But Reddick still remembers Goff and the Lions hanging 35 points on them in Week 1 in Detroit, the first flash of an offense that would finish fourth in the NFL.
"One of the most explosive offenses in the league," Reddick said. "Week 1 when we played them, he was relentless the whole time. Every time our offense went out there and scored, it felt like he was driving the ball down the field putting his team in position to score."
"He was just very effective and efficient," said Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. "Played within their system and their scheme. Did a good job making plays and was able to have a really solid year."
At No. 66 in the Top 100, Goff came in above quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence (92), Justin Fields (86), Tua Tagovailoa (82), Geno Smith (77) and Lamar Jackson (72), most of whom are seen as franchise arms. The Lions view Goff the same way, and it might not be long before he has a new contract to prove it.
"I’m just excited to see what Jared does this year," said Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill. "He’s going to go crazy."
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