When assessing the Detroit Lions quarterback situation, ESPN’s Louis Riddick wasn’t exactly deeply insightful when it came to Jared Goff.
ESPN recently did one three-year NFL power ranking projection (subscription required). The Detroit Lions landed at No. 28, though they appeared to be on a solid track entering Year 2 of a build/rebuild.
The biggest question mark for any future Lions prospect is who the quarterback will be. Without fully knowing, it’s hard to say with much confidence about where things might go. The only thing that feels certain is that it won’t be Jared Goff, no matter how well he plays this season.
Anointing Goff as your long-term quarterback is accepting a ceiling for your team. The Rams didn’t take it anymore and made the move to replace him with Matthew Stafford.
Louis Riddick didn’t exactly offer a big reveal about Jared Goff
When naming the NFL’s best analysts, ESPN’s Louis Riddick is somewhere on the list. Get an annual look at becoming a CEO for a reason.
When asked if Goff was a holdover or part of the Lions’ rebuilding process, here’s what Riddick offered (h/ta yes.com).
I’m going with the latter; the long-term quarterback answer is not on the list. Until they find better than Goff, the Lions will be missing the most important position, relative to every other team in their division.”
No offense to Riddick, but he didn’t say anything particularly insightful about Goff and the quarterback situation in Detroit while giving the obvious answer to the question.
The Lions won’t reach their ceiling (dare I say a playoff win or two in the same year?) until they have a quarterback who can elevate the situation. Sure, they had one for 12 years at Stafford, but he couldn’t overcome the shortcomings that surrounded him very often.
It looks like a matchup between a well-built roster and a long-term quarterback could come pretty soon in Detroit. But the roster isn’t there yet, and Goff isn’t that quarterback.
