Jared Goff may be one of the most established quarterbacks in the league, but Pro Football Focus just slotted the Detroit Lions veteran in a place that will raise eyebrows: 16th.
PFF’s latest ranking of all 32 starting quarterbacks for 2026 was built around the last three seasons and leaned on passing grade, Wins Above Replacement and EPA per drop back. The outlet also said, "The 2026 PFF QB Annual provided additional context through advanced passing splits, accuracy metrics, clutch performance and other proprietary data that helped finalize each placement."
That framework still left Goff in the middle of the pack, behind Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, Justin Herbert, Caleb Williams, Sam Darnold and Trevor Lawrence.
The numbers PFF cited help explain why the evaluation landed where it did. Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick wrote, "Goff's average time to throw of 2.57 seconds was tied for second-fastest in the league in 2025, and his EPA on zero-graded throws ranked second overall at 0.090 per attempt - numbers that reflect a quarterback who functions as an extraordinarily efficient system executor."
Goff’s 2025 season was productive by any normal standard. He threw for 4,564 yards with 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
PFF also pointed to the bigger body of work since he arrived in Detroit: "He has done nothing but stuff the stat sheet since being traded to the Lions. The former No. 1 overall pick leads the league in passing yards (18,205) and passing touchdowns (130) since 2022, and he ranks sixth among qualifying quarterbacks in PFF WAR since 2023.
"His accuracy was outstanding in 2025, as his 14.4% uncatchable pass rate ranked first in the league. While the Lions missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, it’s hard to blame Goff for their shortcomings."
At minicamp, quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell said the Lions are moving forward with last season in the rearview, Goff included. The message for the veteran quarterback is simple: keep doing what he’s been doing.
“Staying consistent. Staying at the top of his game.
He will. He works very hard.
He’s smart and has been in this system. He’s very accurate.
And we expect him to play at a high level, and he will," said Brunell. "That’s what he brings to the table every day.
Listen, this is just OTAs, this is minicamp, and you approach every day as if it were the regular season, which we love.”
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