Goff, Wentz Are Forever Linked but Bound to Be Separated by Cruel NFL Reality

CHICAGO — One day, we might look back at this draft and say: Jared Goff never stood a chance. 

He will play for a coach in Jeff Fisher who believes offense is 100 handoffs a game. Passing game? What's that? They sell those at Costco? Goff will also enter the nastiest, cruelest division in football, one that possesses two superpowers in Arizona and Seattle. Good luck, young Goff.

One day, we might look back at this draft and say: Carson Wentz got lucky as hell.

He went to Philadelphia, the second overall pick, right after Goff, and he goes to a place where he has a real chance. A real chance. Sam Bradford is an injury-prone, pouty baby crying his way out of the city. Wentz, unlike Goff, will play in an offensive system not run in the Mesozoic era. He will play in a division that has no dominant team.

There have often been two destinies like this, intertwined, one name mentioned in concert with another. The way Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf are, and will be, forever. The Goff-Wentz comparison likely won't be that dramatic. After all, I don't expect one of them to spend time in the hoosegow the way Leaf did and the other to become one of the greatest as Manning would.

Yet it remains unlikely both Goff and Wentz will have success. It's possible but unlikely. There is a more likely outcome.

Goff will struggle, not because he can't play, but because of where he's going. And Wentz will prosper, not because he's more talented, but because it's a far better situation.

I truly believe the only chance Goff has to succeed is for Jeff Fisher to get fired. I don't want that to happen. I never root for that, but Goff will waste away in L.A. as long as Fisher is the head coach. Again, I'm not rooting for that, so please save your tweets. But I think this is true.

No one should be shocked if Goff is initially not good and Wentz is much better than imagined. That's all because of the circumstances they were drafted into, not necessarily the difference between their individual talents.

In St. Louis, Fisher had win totals of seven, seven, six and seven. He's had six winning seasons out of 21 as a head coach. One of the main reasons is Fisher is so steeped in defensive philosophies that he completely neglects the offense. Which is, frankly, almost impossible to do in today's NFL when the game is heavily rigged in favor of scoring.

There are obviously three good things in Los Angeles: Todd Gurley, beaches and Todd Gurley.

Goff having one of the best pure weapons in football can only help. Yet, while Gurley plays like he gets his powers from a yellow sun, we saw what teams did toward the end of the season. They were able to slow him because Fisher's offense was so predictable.

This is not to say that Eagles head coach Doug Pederson is Bill Walsh, but he's a pretty good strategist. The Chiefs gave him a lot of credit for the turnaround of quarterback Alex Smith. He allowed Smith to make more audibles at the line. Pederson was, well, creative. Or, at the very least, flexible.

At the Eagles' headquarters after the team made the pick, Pederson explained that Wentz had the same aggressive characteristic as someone Pederson coached in Green Bay. Maybe you've heard of him. His name is Brett something, Favre something or other.

Yes, that's a little insane. Don't compare a rookie to an all-time historic player. But I do get the comparison.

It's possible I'm all wrong and Fisher's offense will leave the 18th century and join us here in the 21st, and Goff will prosper.

But that is highly unlikely. Fisher hasn't changed his ways in decades. I doubt he will now, even with his job on the line. And it is on the line.

In Philadelphia, meanwhile, Wentz will have a chance. It's not the glamour of Los Angeles, but winning will cure that. Winning is better than any beach on the planet.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.