After tumbling the last few years in Chris Simms' annual quarterback rankings, Jared Goff has risen 13 spots this year on the heels of what Simms said was "definitely the best season" of his career.
Goff, who came in at No. 30 last year behind the likes of Mitch Trubisky and Marcus Mariota, jumped this year to No. 17 -- the highest ranking of his career.
Simms, who's been a critic of Goff in the past, said the Lions quarterback is "more talented than he gets credit for" and "has an underrated feel for the game." That is, an ability to read defenses and know who's going to be open. And he has a strong enough arm to get the ball where it needs to go.
"The thing I love about him is, he’s fearless," said Simms. "He wants to stand in the pocket and make throws. He doesn’t have the sexiest release, it’s a little elongated at times, he doesn’t throw great spirals. But when you want a 20-yard crossing route, a 40-yard corner route, he’s a good deep ball thrower. He’s not afraid to throw the explosive, power throws into tight windows, and he doesn’t flinch when he does it. That made their offense very dangerous and tough to deal with last year."
Goff was seventh in the NFL in passer rating (99.3) and first in touchdown-to-interception ratio last season while leading an offense that finished fourth in the league. Simms likes that Goff uses his 6'4 frame to his advantage.
"His arm power is better than you think. He can push the ball down the field with ease. There’s no variety of releases, but because of his size and the way he does release the ball, he’s one of those few QB’s who can throw over the line of scrimmage," Simms said. "With people in his face, he can still stand tall and get his arm up high and throw a 15 year in-cut over the middle. There’s plays like that to be had in the NFL and we don’t give them credit sometimes. He capitalizes on that.
"He’s not going to carry your team, he’s not going to do much off-schedule, but he sees the field well, he understands the big picture of the game and he makes more power throws than you think."
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Simms had Goff ranked in his 'Clock's Ticking' tier, ahead of Derek Carr and Kyler Murray and behind Ryan Tannehill, Geno Smith and Russell Wilson. He said that if Goff puts together another season like last year, "the clock stops ticking" on his status as an NFL starter and "he’s going to get an extension."
"He became dangerous and somewhat of a playmaker last year. And that was the first time ever I could use those words with Jared Goff," said Simms. "We know this is a team that has potential. It’s going to be a different year. It’s going to be a big year for Jared Goff. Does he capitalize and get the clock to stop ticking? Or does he leave more meat on the bone and we go, 'Oh man, I don't know, Detroit needs to find the QB of the future.' But they’re going to be a better team."
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