Over the last 10 years, teams have become increasingly fond of starting rookie quarterbacks from Day 1. Gone are the days when a young passer would sit behind a veteran and learn for a few seasons. Now, teams want immediate returns on their investment.
Such is the case with the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Jared Goff, as head coach Jeff Fisher wants the No. 1 overall pick in the starting lineup from the get-go.
"He may start on Monday night," Fisher said of L.A.'s "Monday Night Football" opener against the San Francisco 49ers on the road. "That's the goal. We understand the environment, believe me. He does. We've had lengthy conversations. If I had concerns about whether Jared could handle this, I wouldn't be talking about Jared right now. He can handle it."
The Rams have some solid pieces in place that could make them competitors if they're able to squeeze out even average production from under center. L.A.'s front seven is littered with early round picks, and the running game is explosive with 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year Todd Gurley in the backfield. Los Angeles must think that Goff is the missing piece as they gave up a small fortune to move from No. 15 to the top of the draft.
However, should the Rams pump the brakes at all? The Philadelphia Eagles plan to sit No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz behind Sam Bradford for a year. The Jacksonville Jaguars sidelined Blake Bortles for the first few games of the 2014 season before they couldn't stomach Chad Henne as their starter any longer. Goff was deemed more pro-ready than Wentz, which likely played into L.A.'s decision, but the recent track record of No. 1 overall picks starting Week 1 isn't great.
Over the last 10 years, five QBs taken at the top of the draft started their team's season opener. Not a single one of them won the game. In fact, no QB taken with the first pick has won a season opener since 2002 (David Carr beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-10).
On the other hand, do the Rams really want to make their Los Angeles debut with Case Keenum as their starter? Yeah, I didn't think so, either.
