Jared Goff

Call it a Super Bowl hangover or simple regression, but Goff took a big step backward last season. He had 65 more pass attempts than the year before but came up 50 yards short of his 2018 total as his YPA dropped a full yard from 8.4 to 7.4. Worse, he threw 10 fewer touchdown passes while tossing a career-high 16 interceptions. Goff's two biggest problems were the red zone and downfield passing. In the case of the former, the Rams had 21 fewer red-zone trips (80 vs. 59) than the previous year, and Goff lost five touchdown passes despite a slight uptick in red-zone TD pass percentage. His downfield passing was even more worrisome. On nearly the same number of attempts as 2018 (55 vs. 51), Goff totaled nearly 400 fewer yards on passes of more than 20 yards, his touchdowns on such throws falling from seven to one. WR Brandin Cooks' injury woes are partly responsible for that decline, but the Rams didn't replace his speed this offseason after trading him to the Texans. Wide receivers Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Josh Reynolds return, though none is a field-stretcher. Nor is second-round draft pick Van Jefferson, who averaged 12.3 yards per catch in college. On the plus side, Goff might get more help from the running game with Todd Gurley and his bad knee gone to Atlanta, and the Rams still have a quality tight-end duo in Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett. But Goff now seems reliant on getting 600-plus pass attempts, rather than relying on efficiency the way he did in 2017 and 2018.

After making huge strides as a passer in his sophomore season, Goff improved even further last year while leading the Rams to the Super Bowl. He was one of five quarterbacks to top 4,500 passing yards, and he ranked fourth in the league with 8.4 YPA. Goff was fairly consistent as well, putting up 300-plus yards and/or multiple touchdowns in 12 of 16 games. It certainly pays to play in Sean McVay's wide-open offense. Goff's average depth of target (8.9) ranked 12th as he excelled at downfield passing. His 47.3 completion percentage on attempts longer than 20 yards led the league, as did his 16.6 YPA (min. 35 attempts). Only Patrick Mahomes (75) had more completions of 20-plus yards than Goff (69), and there's no reason why it shouldn't be more of the same this year. Cooper Kupp is expected to return from an ACL injury early in the season, while Todd Gurley is expected to be ready for training camp. With Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods returning, Goff appears headed for another productive season. The Rams exercised their fifth-year option on the 24-year-old quarterback but are not expected to offer a contract extension until next offseason.

Perhaps no player in the league improved as much as Goff last year. After posting the lowest YPA (5.33) in the NFL since 2011 as a rookie, Goff ranked third in the league last season. His completion percentage in 2016, which was 32nd of 33 qualified QBs, shot up by 7.5 percentage points. His passer rating improved by 36.9 points, the second-highest increase from a QB's first to second year in league history. Perhaps most impressive, Goff equaled his interceptions and took one less sack on 272 more attempts. Whether it was a better supporting cast, the arrival of coach Sean McVay or the departure of coach Jeff Fisher (probably all three), Goff went from beyond awful to the Pro Bowl in one year. Goff still has room for improvement, specifically with his deep ball. He attempted only 46 passes longer than 20 yards, ranking 19th, and completed 37 percent (10th). Only three QBs with as many long-distance attempts threw fewer TD passes than Goff's three. Passing-game guru McVay likely will give Goff more opportunities to stretch the field this year, especially after trading for speedster Brandin Cooks, whom the Rams hope will be the No. 1 wide receiver and deep threat that Sammy Watkins failed to be last season. Dependable wideouts Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp are back, as is running back Todd Gurley, who will still be the first threat defenses look to counter. The Rams have a more difficult schedule this year, but that's about the extent of the concern with Goff and the offense.

The first pick in the 2016 draft, Goff didn't start until Week 11 last season and then looked every bit a rookie. His 54.6 completion percentage ranked 32nd among 33 QBs with at least 200 attempts, and he posted the league's lowest YPA since 2011. Goff didn't get much help from an offense that lacked a No. 1 WR, rarely attempted to go deep and couldn't pass protect -- 26 times for a 60-sack pace and league-high 11.3 percent sack rate. L.A. only modestly improved the line, but the offense will at least change with new coach Sean McVay, who stretched the field with a vertical passing game as Redskins OC the last three years. After adding Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds in the offseason, the Rams finally landed a deep threat in August with the acquisition of Sammy Watkins. With holdover Tavon Austin still around, Goff has a better supporting cast than expected when training camp opened, but it remains to be seen if he can integrate effectively all the options at his disposal.

The Rams paid a steep price to move all the way up to the number one pick in order to ensure they landed Goff, the most NFL-ready quarterback available in this year's draft. It's fair to assume they'll have him under center in Week 1 as they attempt to establish a fanbase in their new/old home. A starter from the moment he arrived on campus at Cal, Goff has grown into an exceptional on-field leader with the size and arm to make every NFL throw. Although not a natural scrambler, he showed good pocket awareness in college and an ability to dodge traffic and keep his balance while waiting for receivers to come open. The big concern for Goff is how quickly he'll adapt from a college spread offense and learn to read defenses, especially while playing with a roster that still lacks a true No. 1 wide receiver. But with Todd Gurley in the backfield and a stout defense, the Rams won't need to lean on him too heavily as a rookie to keep the offense moving. While his ultimate ceiling may be closer to Matt Ryan's, in the short term Goff's production will probably look more like Teddy Bridgewater's.