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Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff enters his second professional season looking to rebound after an atrocious rookie campaign. He is the cemented starter at quarterback (for now...) after being being selected first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. With a new staff in town, Jared won’t necessarily be on a short leash. Any continuation of last year’s performance could make him susceptible to losing his job.
Improvement is a must. The question is how much is required.
Goff could improve statistically across the board by say 25%. That would be a pretty impressive job of coaching up a young prospect and helping him transition into the new offense being crafted by Head Coach Sean McVay. That improvement would also mean Goff would remain a bottom five QB in the NFL.
What would fans lean on more? The improvement or the performance in context with the rest of the league?
How much will Goff need to improve to be good enough to hold on to his job?
Roster Battle
Regardless of the offseason chatter (ahem, Eric Dickerson) of backup QB Sean Mannion putting pressure on Goff, Goff has retained his starting role. Newly-signed QB Dan Orlovsky is not a threat to his job. If Goff were to be benched in season, it will be for Mannion, though I do not expect that to happen.
Goff – barring injury – will likely start all 16 games.
Expectations
I expect a massive improvement from what we saw last year. Now, with that being said, a massive improvement from what we saw last year could very well result in below average play overall. I have often used the comparison of something similar to QB Case Keenum before the switch to Goff, but with a better touchdown to interception ratio.
He will be better than he was last year, but he’s still very raw, and has so much more to learn. However, Goff is highly likely to be improved, and should finally start to show some command of the offense.
Chances of making the final roster (10/10)
Number one overall pick. Fully guaranteed contract. Only one year in the league. Starting QB. He’s not going anywhere.
But Jared Goff has to play better, and perhaps much better, to be able to have that much job security a year from now.