These are troubling times for Jared Goff, not that he'd admit it. He's lost four games in a row and he's averaging fewer than 7.0 yards per attempt for the first time since his rookie season. In related news, he's throwing the ball to a bunch of receivers with almost no NFL experience. Not that he'd admit it.
"The playmaking is there," Goff said Tuesday on the Karsch & Anderson Show. "We’ve got some guys who can make plays down the field, we’ve got some guys who can make plays with the ball in their hands. It’s just, how do we do that more often?"
Good question. Part of the answer lies in Goff hitting his open receivers. This offense (this team) isn't good enough for its quarterback to miss gimmes. And maybe another part lies in a receiver who seems to get open a lot: Kalif Raymond.
"He’s been so good ever since he’s been here," Goff said.
An undrafted free agent out of FCS Holy Cross in 2016, Raymond signed with the Lions this offseason to return punts. And he's done that job well. He's also earned more opportunities in a receivers room where opportunities abound. Raymond caught two touchdowns in the Lions' loss to the Bears last week and now leads the team's wide-outs in targets (22), receptions (14) and yards (182) through four games.
"Showing up to work every single day with the right mentality and the right work ethic and doing things the right way, I was around two guys in Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods who were like that," said Goff. "Every single day, every single practice, everything they did was one way: it was professional. Kalif’s the same way and has a really good skillset that we like to use to get him the ball in space."
That's high praise from Goff, if a little cliche. He's thrown more touchdowns to Kupp and Woods than anyone else in his career, a combined 43 over their four seasons together on the Rams. He hit both for 1,000-yard seasons in 2018. If Sean McVay launched Goff's career, Kupp and Woods are the receivers who took it to Pro Bowl heights.
Who knows if Goff will ever get back there, and he'll need more than Raymond to do it. A lot more. But the 5'8 speedster has caught Goff's eye. He's dangerous in space and slippery in traffic. He's quicker than any receiver on Detroit's roster, which is still saying something if it's not saying much. He's got 114 yards over the past two games and he might have more to show us in the weeks ahead.
Dan Campbell said Tuesday that Raymond is "one of those guys" who keeps showing up.
"He’s tough and he’s pretty explosive. The kid blocks, he can get open, he can separate and he plays like he weighs 230 just when he gets in there and plays physical," Campbell said. "But I love the kid and he’s done well."
Related
Other highlights from Goff's interview on 97.1 The Ticket:
On creating more targets for T.J. Hockenson: "(Defenses) have been doing stuff, no doubt, but we need to get him the ball, I need to get him the ball a little bit more. He’s one of our best guys on offense. Whenever the ball is in his hands, good things tend to happen. Tackles are broken and touchdowns are made. So how can I get him the ball better, and I’m sure the coaches are thinking the same thing."
On the ceiling of D'Andre Swift: "He’s as good as (any running back) I’ve been around catching and running. Just being able to do both and understanding space and zones and getting himself open. And just the play after the catch, that’s the important part. After getting the ball in his hands what does he do? And you can see it, it’s pretty consistent: he makes a guy miss, he makes two guys miss and gets those extra yards. That’s always what you want to see from your running back. He’s a guy that, again, how do we get him the ball more? How do we kind of force-feed him in some ways to see what he can do?"