Over the last two, or really two-plus, seasons, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has had a career resurrection. How he was rewarded with a big contract this offseason can be hard to separate from what he is and isn't as a quarterback talent-wise, and some people aren't afraid to acknowledge his limitations.
It can be be debated until you're Honolulu Blue in the face where Goff stands in the pecking order of NFL quarterbacks. Many Lions' fans will say he's a top-10 quarterback in the league, while others will use his aforementioned limitations to say he's more like top half of the league (or worse). There's a fine line between being a Goff truther because you see his flaws, and being labeled a Goff hater... because you see his flaws.
Jared Goff's place in ranking of NFC quarterbacks perfectly reflects sentiment about him
Dakota Randall of Pro Football Network recently ranked the quarterbacks in the NFC. In tandem with where he placed Goff, at No. 9, Randall tapped right into how people view the Lions' signal caller.
"The Lions and their fans would tell you that Goff is one of the 10 best quarterbacks in football. We would strongly disagree."
"Has Goff improved since his days with the Los Angeles Rams? Certainly. But he needs to be managed, and when he faces a great defense, he’s prone to complete meltdowns."
"Goff deserves a ton of credit for turning himself into a quality NFL starter, but that doesn’t mean he’s great."
No. 1-8 in Randall's ranking of NFC signal caller goes Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford, Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, Jordan Love, Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield. No. 10 is rookie Caleb Williams. Even in a ranking of sheer talent among NFC quarterbacks, Goff would at least be ahead of Mayfield for most people. Many would also say Love doesn't have the resume to be as high as he is, and Purdy is way too high.
But ultimately, with a mention of how the Lions and Lions' fans view him as opposed to how a solid portion of analysts see him, Randall couldn't have captured the sentiment about Goff any better in the span of less than 75 words.