Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has played as well as most any quarterback in the NFL over the last three seasons, and he leads the league with 96 passing touchdowns over that span. As an easy correlation he has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback each of the last three years, with a peak finish of QB6 last year.
Fantasy managers who draft Goff know, or should know, what they're getting at this point. There will be inconsistency, due to the Lions' having a run-centric offense, and he offers nothing as a runner outside of a fluke touchdown once in a great while. There will be indoor-outdoor and home-road splits to contend with too.
Some might say just don't draft him, to avoid whatever headaches there are.
A fresh concern for Goff now, however overblown it might be, is the loss of Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator. New offensive coordinator John Morton isn't going to stray too far from what has been working, and optimists could see how Morton can make the Lions' offense better in some margins.
Some fantasy football analysts are trying hard to have a rosy view of Jared Goff for 2025
Frank Taddeo of SI.com has tabbed Goff as a prime target for fantasy managers who wait to draft a quarterback in 2025. Indeed, as Taddeo stated, the Lions' signal caller was a top-five fantasy quarterback late in the season regardless of how you slice it (Week 14-18, Week 14-17, Week 13-17, Week 13-18, etc.). We like to call that a "league winner", and Goff joined Lions' running back Jahmyr Gibbs among those who fit that bill last season.
In a recent edition of The Fantasy Life Newsletter, Goff was vouched for as someone who should not be overlooked. That sentiment is easy based on the past three years, but the narrative loses some steam when his current ADP in Underdog Fantasy best ball drafts (the only ADP we can really go on right now) is mentioned: QB11.
Based on at the Underdog ADP data, the five quarterbacks after Goff right now (on April 8) are Brock Purdy, Justin Fields, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love and Drake Maye. There's a case for all five as better fantasy options than Goff for 2025.
While Goff finished as the QB6 in fantasy last year, as mentioned, let's take a look at his weekly finishes (h/t to Fantasy Pros).
Week 1: QB18
Week 2: QB25
Week 3: QB19
Week 4: QB4
Week 5: Bye
Week 6: QB4
Week 7: QB10 (tie)
Week 8: QB20
Week 9: QB27
Week 10: QB15
Week 11: QB1
Week 12: QB25
Week 13: QB18
Week 14: QB6
Week 15: QB2
Week 16: QB3
Week 17: QB8
Week 18: QB23
That's eight top-10 weekly finishes (including a tie), and nine finishes as QB15 or worse if you count Week 18. No quarterback is immune to a down week here and there, but Goff's range of outcomes is surely unrivaled--and it's nothing new.
The Lions' 2024 schedule had just three outdoor games. Their list of 2025 opponents reveals seven outdoor games. Not all will be in the face of potential winter weather in November, December or January, but some will be and Goff is better indoors. The schedule will also be tougher, trading the soft AFC South last season for the AFC North as their full cross-conference division next season.
Leaving aside the offensive coordinator switch or any concerns about week-to-week consistency, Goff will undeniably have a tougher schedule with more outdoor games next season.
The positive views of Goff as a fantasy quarterback for 2025 are sure to tend to conveniently leave out the negatives (consistency, the schedule). But they are right there to be found, as always, and savvy fantasy managers know not to ignore them when it come to the Lions' quarterback.