After losing both of their coordinators from the previous season and seven assistant coaches in all, the Detroit Lions are in unique territory. The team’s offensive performance is expected to decline next season, and there is constant uncertainty regarding the team’s potential with Jared Goff at quarterback.
Although Goff and Ben Johnson had a great working relationship, he is familiar with John Morton, the new offensive coordinator who joined the Lions’ coaching staff in 2022. At first, it can be difficult to align with a new play caller, but Goff is in a strong position because Morton is presumably the person taking Johnson’s place.
It won’t be clear until September how Goff and the Lions’ offense will play with Morton calling the plays. It’s simple and reasonable to temporarily lower Goff’s stock until we have more information. However, there are boundaries that must be violated in that regard in the interim.
Based on his prior performance without Ben Johnson, Jared Goff was rated a mediocre comp.
Naturally, the loss of their two coordinators is a major factor in the Lions’ inclusion on Pro Football Network’s list of early offseason losses. In the justification, Goff’s stats were recorded both with and without Johnson calling plays.
2021: 34.8% first down rate, 6.7 yards per attempt, and 99.9 passing rating (without Johnson)
2022–24 (with Johnson): 43.1% first down rate, 8.5 yards per attempt, and 117.2 passing rating
Although the figures on Goff’s Pro Football Reference page differ from those above, the idea is still valid generally. The comp PFN then stretches to, which is where the idea is lost.
“For reference, those 2021 numbers look an awful lot like 2024 Aidan O’Connell (96.2 rating, 7.1 YPA, and 33.5% first down rate), a quarterback who lost five of seven starts in 2024.”
Although Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s actual stats from the previous season differ from those seen above, let’s not allow that to detract from an unpleasant comparison that makes no sense.
Even the most ardent critics of Goff would agree that he is a significantly superior quarterback to O’Connell, and he has a lot more resources at his disposal than O’Connell did or does.
Expecting Goff to underperform after being a strong MVP contender with a new play caller is one thing. But it would be going too far in that discussion to compare his stats without Johnson to those of a rookie quarterback who is headed for a career as a backup.
