If you were starting an NFL franchise, would you take Matt Stafford or Jared Goff?
The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams don’t have a whole lot of history with each other as traditional opponents in the National Football League, but now, the two franchises have been forever linked following the blockbuster offseason Matthew Stafford–Jared Goff trade.
Offseason debates have raged over which team got the better of the trade, with both coaches hyping up their respective new starting signal callers.
Recently, Pro Football Focus, one of the top scouting blogs on the ‘net, decided to indirectly settle the Goff vs. Stafford debate by releasing its early 2021-2022 preseason quarterback rankings.
In PFF’s mind anyway, the gap between Goff and Stafford is far bigger than most Lions fans would like to believe.
Latest PFF Rankings Have Stafford at #11, Goff Near the Bottom of the League
According to PFF, Rams Head Coach Sean McVay “must be the happiest coach of the offseason” after the acquisition of Stafford, whom he has praised publicly.
McVay likes the vertical passing game and could have the perfect trigger man for his system, if Stafford can become more consistent early in games and avoid the big mistake.
Pro Football Focus has Stafford ranked #11 overall in its latest QB power rankings, 15 spots ahead of Goff.
“He can finally dial up the deep passing game he’s probably always dreamt of,” PFF wrote. “The addition of Matthew Stafford makes this offense that much more dangerous.”
The article went on to state that Stafford and the Rams could be Super Bowl bound if everything goes smoothly.
Meanwhile, the Lions could have more growing pains in the transition to the former #1 overall pick Goff this season, according to PFF.
“Goff has a top-five passing grade when he has a clean pocket, is in rhythm and targets intermediate throws 10-19 yards downfield,” PFF added.
The play-action game will be key for the Lions and Goff this season, they also said.
“Getting the ball downfield in 2020 was a struggle, whether it was missed throws or negatively graded throws.”
“This is probably why Goff led the league in passing yards on completions of 5 yards or less a season ago. The Lions seem to be building around Goff, and this is exactly what he needs to get his confidence back up so he can play at a high level again.”
While building a functional running game seems like an impossible task at times, Lions legend Barry Sanders echoed PFF’s sentiments at a recent interview in the Detroit area: the running game is likely to be the Lions’ key to success in 2021.
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