California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff has yet to declare for the 2016 NFL Draft, but one NFL scout reportedly believes that he will be the first quarterback taken off the board and compared him with Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, according to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"In terms of arm talent, he'll be like (Jay) Cutler," said an NFL scout, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Skinny kid. Gets hit a bunch. Doesn't see everything. Accuracy is off at times. But he can really spin it and has really good feet." The Golden Bears junior quarterback has thrown for 4,252 yards with 37 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. Goff is listed at 6-foot-4, 215-pounds and fits the prototypical quarterback mold, but may need to add some weight at the next level to avoid injury.
While many expect Goff to be a first-round pick, NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein disagrees with the Cutler comparison. "I think Goff's arm looks much better in 2015 than 2014 and he's definitely doing a better job of driving the ball with his lower half, but Cutler had an absolute hose coming out of Vanderbilt and I don't see Goff in that same category," said Zierlein, via the NFL.
Walter Football's current mock draft has Goff landing with the New Orleans Saints with the sixth pick. While Drew Brees is still clearly the franchise quarterback in New Orleans, it is not impossible to think they could try to groom their future franchise quarterback in Goff behind Brees. With three games left in the regular season, nothing is certain about the 2016 NFL Draft order, and there are plenty of teams that could be interested in the California quarterback.
Goff has already been compared to Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan by five NFL personnel executives, and teams will continue to compare the coveted prospect with NFL quarterbacks, as he is expected to be one of the top quarterbacks of the board come April.
