Los Angeles Rams: Ranking the last six first-round picks

3. Jared Goff, 2016

Jared Goff was the last player that the Rams selected in the first round and you might be surprised to see him in the top three of this list. If you are really against Goff, you are going to be very surprised about what I am going to write next.

Jared Goff gets way too much criticism and he is much better than he is given credit for. Sure, he has some things that need ironing out and he is not the perfect quarterback. He might not be playing like a bonafide first overall pick and he might even be overpaid now.

But the fact of the matter is that Goff is a very solid quarterback and he is only going to get better. Let’s not forget that he has only been a starter for three seasons in the NFL.

Goff is one of two quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 13,000 yards and 80 touchdowns combined in years two through four, the other being Dan Marino. Marino had 26 more interceptions in that timeframe than Goff and had a worse passer rating.

Peyton Manning had more interceptions in his first three seasons as a starter. By the time Tom Brady reached 80 passing touchdowns he already had 43 interceptions, Goff has 35. Drew Brees had fewer passing yards and touchdowns with more interceptions than Goff in his first four career seasons.

That is not to say that Goff is going to go down as one of the five-best quarterbacks of all-time alongside those notable names, but it is to prove a point that even the best of all-time get off to a slow start and this slow start for Goff is note even that slow.

He is not Patrick Mahomes. He is not Lamar Jackson. That is fine. He is Jared Goff and he is a well-above-average quarterback.