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Jared Goff Not Concerned If Lions Draft QB, Unsure If He'd Enjoy Mentor Role
April 21, 2022
Jared Goff isn't sweating the possibility of the Detroit Lions selecting a quarterback high in the 2022 NFL draft.
While addressing the media Thursday, the veteran signal-caller said he has "no concern" about the Lions taking a quarterback and feels good about where he stands with the organization:
Eric Woodyard @E_Woodyard<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lions?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lions</a> QB Jared Goff says he has “no concern” if Detroit were to select a QB in the draft. He says he doesn’t know if he’ll enjoy a mentorship role. <br><br>Goff: “Yeah, maybe. I’ve always liked helping younger guys, but I have no idea. I’ve never been in that position.” <a href="https://t.co/nhKdkvGrie">pic.twitter.com/nhKdkvGrie</a>
Goff was also asked whether he would enjoy a mentorship role if the Lions do draft a quarterback, and while he had no definitive answer since he has never been in that position, Goff did note that he has "always liked helping younger guys."
While it feels like Goff has been in the NFL for a long time, the 2016 No. 1 overall draft pick is still only 27 years old with six seasons under his belt.
Goff spent his first five NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and enjoyed some major success, earning two Pro Bowl nods and leading the Rams to one Super Bowl appearance.
After struggling in 2019 and 2020 to the tune of 42 touchdown passes and 29 interceptions, however, the Rams decided to move on from Goff prior to the 2021 campaign.
In doing so, they dealt Goff, two first-round picks and a 2021 third-round pick to the Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The move paid instant dividends for L.A., as Stafford made the offense far more potent and led the Rams to a Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Meanwhile, Goff tried to hold things together for a rebuilding Lions team under first-year head coach Dan Campbell.
In 14 starts, Goff went 3-10-1 and completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,245 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. While his numbers left something to be desired, a heavy commitment to running the football and a lack of weapons in the passing game played a role.
Goff has shown he can win at a high level in the NFL, but the prevailing thought seems to be that he is not the Lions quarterback of the future.
If that is true, the Lions could address the quarterback position in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, since they own the Nos. 2 and 32 overall picks.
While there hasn't been much talk of the Lions drafting a quarterback second overall, they can't be ruled out, either, especially if they were blown away by the skill set Liberty quarterback Malik Willis showed off during the predraft process.
Detroit could also wait until the 32nd overall pick or trade up using that pick to target Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett, Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder or Ole Miss' Matt Corral.
It seems likely that the Lions will take a quarterback at some point during the draft to develop behind Goff, at which point Goff will have a good idea how it truly feels to be a mentor.