Jared Goff Looks Every Bit the Top QB Prospect in 2016 NFL Draft

Cal's Jared Goff is the best pure quarterback available for the 2016 NFL draft if he decides to forgo his senior season. 

The previous statement isn't something that should be taken lightly since Goff isn't considered the consensus top prospect at his position, and some organizations will certainly have other prospects rated higher than the Cal product. 

But what separates Goff from his contemporaries is his abilities as a natural passer. 

Right now is a crucial part of the evaluation process. Seasons are officially coming to a close for many college football teams after their bowl appearances. All of the tape will be available to professional teams. Those teams already started piecing together draft boards earlier this month.

Scouts also finished their final evaluations before the heart of the predraft process actually begins.

"The first report tends to be the best report," former NFL scout Michael LaFlamme told Bleacher Report in September. "Those are written by those who have been around the players and form those initial impressions. But, as others get a hold of them, that's how the misses get bigger and bigger." 

Others specifically refer to those not directly involved in the yearly scouting process. These are the coaches, higher brass and even a team's owner. 

Things start to get murky when a player isn't being evaluated purely on his ability to play the game. For example, Memphis' Paxton Lynch will likely be Goff's primary competition to be the first quarterback selected in April.

"I like Goff a lot," former NFL scout Bruce Kebric told the San Jose Mercury News (via NFL.com's Chase Goodbread). "Goff is probably the more accomplished passer right now, but Lynch is 6'6" and a better, pure athlete with a stronger arm."

This is where the process starts to overwhelm actual scouting for no apparent reason. Physical size and better overall tools are nice, but it comes down to actually playing the position and understanding the nuances of quarterbacking. 

Goff excels as the draft class' most advanced passer. 

Of course, every NFL team wants a 6'7" and 245-pound quarterback with a rocket arm, precise touch and tremendous athleticism. No quarterback truly fits the prototype, though. A few in the league come close, but there are strengths and weaknesses to every player. 

The Cal quarterback owns a slight frame. He's listed at 6'4" and 215 pounds. He's a naturally svelte signal-caller, and he needed to add more than 20 pounds since he became the Golden Bears' starting quarterback during his freshman year. 

Others will worry about the system in which Goff plays and view it negatively.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Cal head coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin employ a variation of the Air Raid passing scheme. This may be similar to the offenses that produced Tim Couch, Robert Griffin III, Johnny Manziel or any quarterback under head coach Mike Leach at Texas Tech or Washington State. Goff bears far more responsibility at Cal.

The junior owns complete control of routes and protection, and he can change them whenever he likes, according to CBSSports.com's Sean Wagner-McGough.

"I trust him with my job," Franklin told Wagner-McGough in September. "When you're letting a guy do that, then you're putting it all in his hands."

Not only is Goff far more advanced in the mental aspects of the game than some would expect due to the team's spread scheme, his work ethic cannot be denied. 

The quarterback continued to add muscle over the course of his career, overcame a shoulder surgery after his first season and continually made the program better during his three seasons. Cal finished 1-11 during Goff's freshman season. With Tuesday's 55-36 victory over the Air Force Falcons in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, the Golden Bears improved to 8-5 this season. 

Goff discussed the adversity he faced in his three seasons after the bowl game, per the Mercury News: 

"

It was as low as you can really go. And a lot of, a lot of work, a lot of work in the offseason. So much work. And I know the staff had the same thing. They're all working in the off 'season. Put in the work and kind of start from the ground up again, right? Had to break everything down and bring it all the way back up. Running, lifting, everything, summer workouts, everything. It all worked into it.

And then last year, like I said, being so close was tough as well. And we kind of knew we were taking a step in the right direction, though. And this off 'season, again, work and work and work and work. And every single day, I was trying to get better and better. And coming to this year, we kind of knew coming into this year, we had a chance to do something special and now sitting here with eight wins, I think we're pretty happy about it.

"

The quarterback's performance in the bowl game became the exclamation point to an outstanding collegiate career, if it is indeed complete. 

Against Air Force, Goff completed 25 of 37 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns. In doing so, he set new Pac-12 Conference records with 4,719 passing yards and 43 touchdowns in a single season. 

What's important was the caliber of his throws, though. ESPN provided a compilation of all six of his touchdown tosses:  

Size and arm strength are nice qualities for a quarterback to have, but the ability to process information quickly, anticipate throws, ball placement, pocket presence and repeatable mechanics are far more important. 

His ability in each of these areas certainly earned the quarterback respect from those trying to game-plan against him. 

"This guy is Aaron Rodgers," Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said before the two teams met in September, per CSNBayArea.com. "This guy is the real deal. He can throw into tight windows. He can go through his entire progressions, first, second and come to his third guy. Most college quarterbacks can't do that. He's exceptional." 

Goff completed 73 percent of his passes against Texas for 268 yards and three touchdowns. 

Let's look a little more closely at two particular throws he made Tuesday. 

The first of note is the quarterback's 24-yard touchdown connection with fellow junior Kenny Lawler, courtesy of CBS Sports' Rob Rang: 

Multiple things made this an impressive throw. First, Goff looked off the safety once he hit his back foot. Second, he quickly regathered his feet toward his target. Finally, he threw a perfectly placed pass in the back corner of the end zone. 

This throw required eye manipulation, quick feet and touch in a tight window. His next touchdown pass required far different skills. 

Rang again provided video of the 14-yard score to Lawler: 

Goff threw this pass in a muddied pocket and off balance. The Cal quarterback showed the ability to quickly come off his first read, sidestep pressure and throw a rope to the correct wide receiver for another touchdown. 

Most quarterbacks can make the required throws when everything is perfect. However, perfect pockets are rarely found in the NFL. Good quarterbacks display the ability to still make the throws when everything is crashing down around them. 

For Goff, his footwork is the key to his success. The young signal-caller patterns this aspect of his game after Peyton Manning, and the staff stresses keeping his feet "hot" and consistently chopping. 

"His feet and pocket presence are amazing," senior wide receiver Bryce Treggs told Wagner-McGough. "Whenever he needs to throw the ball, he's ready. He doesn't need to set his feet. They're already ready to throw." 

Of course, Goff's knocks extend beyond his lack of stature and system. He admittedly will force passes when he shouldn't. The junior gunslinger threw 13 interceptions this season, including a five-turnover effort against the Utah Utes. Although, this appears to be an anomaly over his career and not all of those interceptions were the quarterback's fault. Still, the underclassman will take chances when he shouldn't. 

Also, Goff spent the majority of his career in shotgun. Cal practices at times with him under center, but the natural feel of the footwork in his drops can and will be questioned. His presence, or lack thereof, in a huddle will also be mentioned. 

However, like Oregon's Marcus Mariota earlier this year, the evaluation should start and end with traits that transfer to the next level. 

In his three seasons at Cal, Goff significantly improved in every area of his game: completion percentage, passing yards, yards per attempt, touchdowns and wins. 

He clearly possesses a strong work ethic, understanding of the game, quick mind and feet, accuracy, touch and drive to be better. All of these things point toward a future franchise quarterback at the NFL level. 

"If you could design a quarterback, it would look a lot like Jared Goff," Dykes said, per Wagner-McGough.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @brentsobleski.