2016 NFL Draft: California QB Jared Goff Scouting Report

The quarterback struggle is real. Nick Foles - who the Rams pinned their 2015 hopes on - has regressed significantly, to the point where it's questionable if he'll ever be able to beat out Case Keenum and regain his starting role.

Enter the 2016 NFL draft. There appear to be multiple first round talents: Jared Goff out of California, Paxton Lynch out of Memphis and Carson Wentz out of NDSU all look to be first rounders (with a few others who may sneak in). Goff is first up on the list.

No one is going to call Jared Goff a dual threat quarterback. But to those saying he's purely a pocket passer, they are out of touch. Goff displays a great ability to extend the play when the pocket breaks down.

Goff steps out of the way of the edge rusher and never drops his eyes. He's ready to throw the entire time he's on the move and delivers a great pass to the receiver down and outside where only he can catch the ball. The result of the play is a 1st down instead of a sack.

Goff does a great job here of keeping the play alive and picking up the first down with his legs. He's a slippery QB who is quick enough to evade the rush, run outside and throws down a nice spin move to extend the play even further.

Here's one more play against USC where Goff is able to extend the play and pick up a first down. He's not going to rack up yardage, but he's going to keep the defense honest.

Goff operates in Cal's spread offense. In it, he's required to make quick reads and get the ball out quickly. He's most accurate when throwing mid range passes and can easily tear up a zone defense if they give him time to do so.

If you give Goff time, he's able to do things like this. This is an excellent view to see what he's thinking. He's already in his third read, freezing the linebacker just long enough to hit the WR streaking through the middle of the field. Easy pass, easy completion.

Watch Goff as he progresses through the play. He scans the entirety of the field, sees his open man and has the ball out in under three seconds. This is Goff's bread and butter. if you can't get to him, he will make you pay.

Goff has average arm strength. He's a pretty lean guy, so hopefully as he gets stronger and fills out his frame he can develop some better deep throws. He's hit or miss with throws longer than thirty yards. For every one of these:

You'll get one of these:

Goff is money in the clutch. His ability to extend the play and feast on intermediate routes is why he's so deadly to defenses. Even after a rough game against Utah, he's still able to do things like this (late in the game, down by one score, third and long):

These are things that players either have or they don't have. You can't teach or learn the ability to make plays like this.

Jared Goff is not a physical specimen. That's not his game and people who knock him for it are missing the point. Goff is a quick strike, quick thinking, gun-slinging quarterback. He can read the defense, progress through his reads and make a quick, accurate throw in a matter of seconds. He'd benefit from big targets who can stretch the field (with a large catch radius) which would help mask his deep accuracy issues, but he's good enough now that he could come in and immediately tear up any zone defense he can get his hands on. He has the ability to bounce back and is not afraid to challenge a defense, even after struggling as he did against Utah.

Goff is a first round lock and is the most pro-ready QB in the draft.