Is Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff one of NFL’s most underrated players?

Last year, Jared Goff led the Lions to the team’s first winning record in five seasons. He posted stellar numbers, amassing more than 4,000 yards for the third time in his career (4,438), and completed better than 65% of his passes. He was also careful with the pigskin, throwing just seven interceptions while tossing 29 touchdown passes.

The performance netted Goff his third Pro Bowl selection, but he was still named a Tier 3 quarterback (QBs ranked 13-23) in The Athletic’s annual QB tiers list. Goff was ranked 15th overall, just behind Arizona’s Kyler Murray and New Orleans’ Derek Carr.

“The Herd’s” Colin Cowherd strongly disagrees with Goff’s ranking, arguing Monday that he deserves more recognition for his consistency throughout the years.

“I do think Jared Goff in Tier 3 is the most disrespected player in this. Kyler Murray’s ahead of him, but struggles to stay healthy, and doesn’t get along with anybody. Derek Carr, a second-round pick, does not throw a ball as good as Jared Goff. Russell Wilson is aging [and coming] off a terrible season. Tua [Tagovailoa] is not Goff in arm talent. [Jimmy] Garoppolo is not close.”

Cowherd had a number of points to defend his position.

“Here’s some numbers on Jared Goff: Top five offense in the league last year, Detroit Lions. He had a 100 passer rating in the fourth quarter, among the best in the NFL. He has 31 games in his career with over 300 yards passing. That’s the fourth-most ever in a quarterback’s first seven years. I’ve seen him go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and beat him. I’ve seen him in shootouts with great quarterbacks. He had a higher passer rating last year than Justin Herbert, Dak [Prescott], Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson.

“The knock on him has always been, ‘He’s not very dynamic’ All right, neither was [Tom] Brady. He can move left and right. … He throws an absolutely beautiful ball. At Cal, in L.A. and Detroit, he’s always available. He’s never hurt, he gets along with teammates.

“And by the way, you can no longer say it’s [Sean] McVay. He’s now worked in two offensive systems with two head coaches and multiple coordinators. Here’s another stat to throw at you: Dan Marino and Matt Stafford are the only two quarterbacks in league history to get to 25,000 yards faster.

“I think he’s a really great quarterback. Some of it is he’s kind of slender, he doesn’t look dynamic, he doesn’t play with a lot of style. … I like Jared Goff more than people do. I think Detroit’s gonna win their division, and he’s going to win another division title.”

The Lions have a great chance to claim the NFC North title, especially with Aaron Rodgers gone from Green Bay. But if Goff is going to solidify himself as a top-10 QB, he’s going to have to do more than make the postseason. That means the Lions would have to win their first playoff game since 1991. But, hey, Goff may be the QB to make it happen. After all, he took the Rams to the Super Bowl in his third NFL season.

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