Cal Bears: Finding a Landing Spot for Jared Goff

With the NFL Draft coming up, there are a lot of teams that are looking for a new quarterback in the draft. Let’s try to find out who could take Cal Bears’ passer Jared Goff.

At this point in the offseason, every NFL team has their own big board for the upcoming draft, and some are looking for a quarterback. The Cal Bears have a quarterback in the upcoming draft, as Jared Goff elected to enter early, and is projected to go fairly quickly. He has some competition, but someone will certainly take him early. With less than two months until draft day, here’s a look at every team, and if Goff could be wearing their uniform come next season.

The Tennessee Titans have the first overall pick, but they have Marcus Mariota, whom they drafted second overall last year and think of very highly. Their priority should be protecting the 22-year-old quarterback, who was hit hard by opposing defenses and missed four games, including the final two, because of knee injuries. Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil would be the logical choice for Tennessee at number one.

With the second pick, the Cleveland Browns are still looking for their quarterback of the future 18 years after re-entering the NFL. If the Browns are to take another quarterback here, they’ll have their choice of guys. North Dakota State passer Carson Wentz seems to have become the number-one quarterback in the draft, shooting up draft boards after a great showing at the Senior Bowl and impressive pre-draft workouts. Goff is right there with him, and has been considered the quarterback who is most ready to play from day one. Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch is also right there, but has become a bit of an afterthought in the love-fest for Wentz and Goff.

Cleveland has drafted eight quarterbacks since 1999, and four of them have been first-rounders. They’ll likely bump that number to five this year, but whether they take Wentz, Goff, or Lynch remains to be seen. Whether that quarterback turns the franchise around or becomes another name on the infamous Browns’ quarterback jersey also remains to be seen.

The San Diego Chargers own the third pick, and also own Phillip Rivers. Rivers, an iron man with 160 consecutive starts, is 34 years old, but also under contract for another four seasons. Maybe the Chargers want to take a quarterback in this draft as a potential replacement for Rivers down the road, but that certainly shouldn’t happen in the first round, especially when San Diego has much more pressing needs to fill.

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Another team who could be looking to replace their quarterback down the road is the Dallas Cowboys, who have the fourth pick. Unlike Rivers, Cowboys’ quarterback Romo has been injury-prone as his age has advanced, and hasn’t played a full 16-game schedule since 2012. Given that history, the Cowboys could take a quarterback fourth overall with the idea of having him sit behind Romo for the time being and grooming him as their quarterback of the future. Dallas also has other needs to fill, so maybe they wait until a later round to pick up their quarterback.

At five, the Jacksonville Jaguars have Blake Bortles, the third overall pick in 2014. At six, the Baltimore Ravens have Joe Flacco, another iron man that had started every one of the first 122 games of his career before a freak injury ended his 2015 prematurely. He’s under contract until 2021. Neither team should be in the market for a quarterback in the first round.

The seventh slot in the draft also presents another team that could, and maybe should, want a quarterback. The San Francisco 49ers have Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick, but Gabbert likely isn’t the future for the 49ers, and Kaepernick might not be in San Francisco come next season. With those options, the 49ers could be looking for someone to take the reins in the future, but they do have other needs to fill. At this point in the draft, though, two quarterbacks could be off the board. The decision could already be made for San Francisco.

San Francisco could be where Goff wants to go. He grew up in the Bay Area, in Novata, California, and was a 49ers fans coming up. While he was more a product of the Jeff Garcia days, he was given a Joe Montana jersey by his father as a birthday gift, and wore the number 16 throughout his playing career because of that. He also attempts to emulate Montana’s accuracy and presence on the field. While he wouldn’t be able to wear Montana’s retired number 16 as a 49er, he could someday have his number hanging next to it.

After San Francisco, it may be a little while before a team that wants to pick a quarterback is on the clock. The eighth pick belongs to the Miami Dolphins, and while the jury is still out on Ryan Tannehill, he is signed through 2020. At nine, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will pick. Jameis Winston was the number-one overall pick last year, and he’s thought to be the guy to lead the Bucs in the future. The New York Giants hold the number-10 pick, and Eli Manning is still under contract for another three years after signing an extension before the 2015 season. Manning is another iron man, having started 183 consecutive games, the third-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history.

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At 11, the Chicago Bears will be on the clock. Jay Cutler has ben the subject of much criticism and many trade rumors, but he’s signed through 2020 with Chicago. Unless the Bears make a blockbuster trade before the draft, it is a stretch to think that Chicago takes a quarterback here.

The New Orleans Saints, who own the 12th pick, may end up looking for a new quarterback. Their incumbent, Drew Brees, is only signed through next season, and is on set to make $30 million in 2016. The team’s general manager Mickey Loomis says that the team won’t cut Brees to save money, but they could still be looking for someone to take over in 2017, when Brees becomes an unrestricted free agent. At 37 years old, Brees may not be in the Saints long-term plans.

The Philadelphia Eagles will be on the clock with the 13th pick, but just gave Sam Bradford a stunning two-year, $36 million deal. Bradford has always been an injury risk, playing just 21 of 48 games over the past three seasons including, including tearing the ACL in his left knee twice in that span. Maybe Philadelphia wants to take a backup quarterback, but that doesn’t seem like what they should do in the first-round, unless they want to groom him to play after Bradford’s contract runs out.

At 14, the Oakland Raiders have Derek Carr, who blossomed into a great quarterback in his second season. The St. Louis Rams, who will pick 15th, have a definite quarterback need. Nick Foles, who was traded for Bradford before 2015, struggled in the offense, and Case Keenum wasn’t much better after replacing him because of an injury. Maybe the team thinks highly of Foles, or believe Sean Mannion has a bright future, and wants to improve the offense around the quarterback. Either way, the offense has to improve, and a new quarterback to play with all-world talent Todd Gurley might be the way to go.

It seems highly unlikely that Goff is still on the board at this point, but Aaron Rodgers, the last Cal quarterback to be taken in the first round, was projected to be one of the first few picks in 2005. He famously fell to the Green Bay Packers all the way down at 24th overall. It’s certainly not impossible that Goff suffers the same fate.

The next three teams, the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Indianapolis Colts, all have quarterbacks signed through, or with an option for, the 2017 season. At 19, the Buffalo Bills are said to be working on an extension with Tyrod Taylor, who played very well in 2015 during his first season as a starter. The New York Jets own of the 20th pick, and their 2015 starter Ryan Fitzpatrick is a free agent. There hasn’t been much noise this offseason about Fitzpatrick and his epic beard returning to New York, but it seems to be the popular opinion that he will be wearing green again next year. If he doesn’t get a new deal, the Jets could take a quarterback here.

The Washington Redskins (21st pick) gave Kirk Cousins the transitional tag this offseason, and he is thought of as the quarterback of the future in Washington now. The Houston Texans (22nd pick) should be in the market for a quarterback if one if available at this juncture. Despite winning the AFC South to earn a playoff berth, Houston cycled through quarterbacks, with four starting in 16 games. Brian Hoyer was signed to be the starter, but was benched in game one before getting the job back and suffering a concussion later in the year. He did start the playoff game, but played very poorly in a losing effort. If given the opportunity, Houston should pounce on a quarterback here.

The Minnesota Vikings (23rd overall) have Teddy Bridgewater, who still has two seasons left on his rookie deal. The Cincinnati Bengals (24th) have Andy Dalton under contract until 2018. Ben Roethlisberger has four more years on his contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers (25th), but he always seems to be hurt. He does usually play through it, and very effectively, but maybe Pittsburgh thinks taking a quarterback to back him up here is a smart choice.

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Russell Wilson is the Seattle Seahawks’ (26th) quarterback through 2019. And then, at number 27, are the Green Bay Packers. Could it be déjà for a Cal quarterback? That’s unlikely, considering Rodgers is only 32 years old and is signed for another four years. The Kansas City Chiefs hold the 28th pick, and have Alex Smith for another two seasons. While Smith is an upper-echelon game manager (not necessarily quarterback), could the Chiefs be thinking of the future?

At 29 and 31 respectively, the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos could pounce on a quarterback that falls this far. The Cardinals have their guy in Carson Palmer, but he isn’t getting any younger as a 36-year-old with two years left on his deal. Denver, despite being defending champions, have a quarterback quandary on their hands. Peyton Manning is said to be leaning towards retirement, and Brock Osweiler, considered the guy to take Manning’s place, is a free agent and was not hit with franchise tag. Having a quarterback fall this far, especially after being projected to go in the top 10, could be a blessing for either team.

Between those two teams are the Carolina Panthers, who have Cam Newton locked up until 2020. And of course, the New England Patriots don’t have a first-round pick this year.

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This likely isn’t how things will look come time to pick on April 28th. Trades will happen, either for players or picks, and signings will take place happen that change how teams look at the draft. But for now, there are more than a few teams that should have Goff, as well as Wentz and Lynch, on their radar.