Wide receiver Josh Reynolds talks up the 'weapons.' Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson points to the 'ammunition.' And they both praise quarterback Jared Goff, whose right arm is cocked and loaded entering his make-or-break year with the Lions.
"When I got here (last season), he was starting to look like the old Jared, like the Jared I’ve seen in the past," Reynolds said Thursday after the Lions' fifth practice of OTA's. "I’m seeing great things from him and looking forward to what he brings this season."
Reynolds got to know 'the old Jared' during their four seasons together on the Rams. That Jared ranked among the NFL's best quarterbacks in passer rating in back to back years, including in 2018 when he led the Rams to the Super Bowl. That Jared was a two-time Pro Bowler. That Jared was so good, Sean McVay and the Rams backed up the Brinks to keep him around.
That's the Jared that Johnson and the Lions are trying to resurrect in Detroit, defined by Reynolds in one word: "Pressure." He puts pressure on a defense.
"He can put the ball anywhere on the field. He’s accurate. He’s definitely one of the best quarterbacks in the league when he’s on his game," Reynolds said.
That can be debated. This can't: Goff had the NFL's third best passer rating (107.1) over the final seven weeks of last season, trailing only Aaaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow. His surge wasn't random. It coincided with Dan Campbell taking over play-calling from former OC Anthony Lynn and Johnson stepping in as the Lions' passing game coordinator. The changes they made to get the best out of Goff will be constants in the offense in 2022.
Like Reynolds, acquired via waivers midway through the season to help Goff stretch the field. It worked, so the Lions brought him back. They also signed a proven playmaker and red zone target in DJ Chark and drafted a game-breaking deep threat in Jameson Williams. They join a receiving corps that also features a rising star in the slot in Amon-Ra St. Brown and a Pro Bowler at tight end in T.J. Hockenson -- and one of the most lethal pass-catching backs in the game in D'Andre Swift.
"Yeah," Reynolds said with a grin. "We got a lot of weapons, man."
It's Johnson's job to put them together. He and Goff got started -- or re-started -- early this spring when they sat down for several days and dove deep into their offensive vision for 2022. Johnson had already done a dive of his own into Goff's film from his time with Rams, searching for schemes and concepts the Lions can exploit moving forward.
"I’ve got a really strong relationship with Jared right now," Johnson said Thursday. "One of my top priorities, personally, is to help him have the best season of his career. One thing that we’ve done is included him a lot in what we’re trying to do schematically."
In his two best seasons in LA, Goff was buoyed by a strong running game and a strong offensive line. The Lions have the makings of both. That should open up the play-action pass, where Goff has always been at his best.
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"I know play-action is something he’s really good at, and we’re going to look at doing that. It’s really a strength of our offense as well. We’re going to be a really good running team, so that’s going to show up on Sundays, the play-action and the movement game," Johnson said. "I think he’s taken a lot of pride in being able to speak his opinion, give his say on what he likes, what he doesn’t like and what makes sense to him."
In other words, Johnson said, "We’re going to have plenty of ammunition in terms of play calls at his disposal.”
The passing attack already makes sense to Reynolds, who said "it's a lot of carryover from our time with the Rams, plus implementing our scheme into it."
"Opening up the playbook a little bit. We got formations for everything. It puts everybody everywhere. It makes it hard for defenses to game-plan somebody because they can be in a different spot next week. It’s a big thing with the offense right now," Reynolds said. "Once we get it down, we’re going to be explosive."
This has been Goff's offense since last season. Now it really belongs to him. How much longer Goff belongs to the Lions remains to be seen. The team is doing everything it can to help him succeed in 2022. If he can't do the same in return, a new quarterback likely arrives in 2023. For now, Goff is their guy.
Question is, which Jared are they getting?
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