Dan Campbell Pours Praise On Jared Goff: 'Mentally On It'

Dan Campbell has nothing but high praise for Lions QB Jared Goff.

Goff had a surprisingly impressive 2022-23 season. His play was critically important down the stretch as the Lions finished 8-2 in the team's final 10 games to finish 9-8. The Lions just barely missed out on the postseason, and while that was painful, the franchise is clearly trending up.

The team's quarterback was a huge part of that last season, and Dan Campbell thinks Goff's play has come a long way since his time with the Los Angeles Rams.

Campbell said the following Tuesday during the team's mandatory minicamp session, according to ESPN:


He hung in there and I think what you're seeing is a guy that just put his head down and his confidence has really grown and along the way, he's matured as a quarterback. I mean, he's a better quarterback than he was there in my opinion because he can do more things. He's mentally on it. We've come light years ahead of where he was two years ago. He's got a real good grasp of what we're doing, where the issues are, where the problems are and that's something that we really wanted him to get good at and he wanted to get good at and he's worked at it, and he's improved.

The Lions have a lot of faith in Jared Goff.

While a lot of people might have assumed Goff wouldn't last long in Detroit, the team has repeatedly made it clear the franchise is committed to him.

At the very least, Detroit is committed to Goff for another season and the short term. If he continues to play reasonably well and the team doesn't snag a high draft pick, there's going to be no realistic move to replace him.

Goff threw for 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns, had only seven interceptions, completed 65.1% of his passes and had a QBR of 61.1 last season.

There are certainly some seasons with the Rams where he threw for more yards or touchdowns, but overall, Campbell's point appears to be correct.

Goff seems very comfortable with Detroit.

One of the biggest knocks against Goff during his time in Los Angeles was a lack of consistency and confidence. He doesn't lack either with the Lions.

It's almost like leaving the spotlight helped him get comfortable. Now, Goff can just go play. Last season, Goff completed at least 60% of his passes in 12 of 17 games. He completed at least 65% of his passes in nine games and at least 70% of his passes in five games.

He's not being asked to be a hero. Jared Goff is just being asked to do the simple things and not cost the Lions games, and last season, he threw a grand total of seven interceptions on 587 attempts. That's a number any team will live with, especially when he didn't have a single interception in the team's nine games.

It might be easy to knock Jared Goff based on his time with the Rams, but there's no question he's a different player now. Doubt it if you want, but the numbers don't lie.

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David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.