Jared Goff is what he is as a quarterback, and CBS Sports’ ranking of each team’s “triplets” is the lastest to refuse to attach any praise to his name.
Jared Goff has played in a Super Bowl (not well, mind you), which can’t ever be taken away from him. His first season as the quarterback of the Detroit Lions was not so much a tale of two halves, as a tale of two parts–one awful (first nine starts) and one very good (final five starts).
It’s not that Goff deserves to be ranked among the best quarterbacks in the NFL, or even in the top half of starting signal callers when we get down to it. Even rankings done by tiers label him rather appropriately. But to dismiss what he can do, or rank him in the bottom handful of projected starting quarterbacks in the league because it feels easy, is a tad aggressive.
CBS Sports “triplets” ranking can’t even put a little praise on Jared Goff
Jared Dubin of CBS Sports did a ranking of each NFL team’s “triplets”, a quarterback-running back-receiver trio. The receiver can be a tight end, and for the Lions it was (T.J. Hockenson of course). Goff and running back D’Andre Swift rounded out the Detroit trio, placed in a tier labeled “Not Awful, But Not Great.”
The Lions came in at No. 24 in the overall ranking, and here’s what Dubin wrote.
"The best thing you can say about Goff is that he won’t kill your offense. Most of the time. He can keep the trains running on time if everything around him is working perfectly. Given a strong offensive line in Detroit, he likely won’t crater the Lions offense. But he won’t lift it above where the talent level dictates it should be, either. Swift is electric catching passes out of the backfield, and could do more in the run game if allowed to pull more of the backfield away from Jamaal Williams. Hockenson has yet to have the true breakout season many have been predicting, but he’s probably a top-10 pass-catching tight end at the moment."
The broad assessment of Goff is not inherently wrong. But there’s no attempt to give any written acknowledgement to his final five starts last season. Again, he’s not a top-10, top-12 or even top-16 or top-20 quarterback in the league on most days.
But “the best thing” sentence feels a little off, even if there’s plenty of room for worthy harsh assessment of Goff’s skills. He’s definitely a drag on the ranking of the Lions’ “triplets”. But it’s also worth noting last year’s good closing stretch for Goff came without Swift and/or Hockenson for big chunks.