Jared Goff shows he’s the best quarterback prospect

Dec 29, 2015; Fort Worth, TX, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws a pass in the first quarter against the Air Force Falcons at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Those shouting out Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch’s name need go sit down somewhere. The best quarterback prospect for the 2016 NFL Draft is California quarterback Jared Goff. Neither Goff nor Lynch have declared that they’re coming out this year but as highly rated as they are, you have to believe they will.

They’re both going to be top-10 if not top-5 picks in this years draft in a draft class short on quarterbacks. Both quarterbacks have big arms so they cancel each other out in the department. Lynch is the bigger, more athletic of the two but those are two of the most overrated traits scouts look for in a quarterback.

There is so much more is involved in playing the position, putting too much stock in that can cause you to draft a bust. Plus it’s not like Goff is a small man himself at 6’4″, 215 to Lynch’s 6’6″, 240 and he’s athletic himself. But he has some traits that make him a superior quarterback to Lynch.

And Goff put those traits on display Tuesday in a 55-36 win over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. Goff showed his superior accuracy and touch, dropping dimes into tight windows. His deep-ball accuracy is extremely impressive as he also dropped those in between defenders.

And the trait I like best is that he still throws an accurate ball in the face of the pass-rush. On the day, Goff was 25-37 for 467 yards with a bowl game record six touchdown passes. His record-setting performance put him at 4,714 yards and 43 TD passes for the 2015 season.

The 43 TDs breaks the Pac-12’s single-season record, previously held by Oregon’s Marcus Mariota with 42 in 2014. Lynch was exposed for not having the down-the-field accuracy in 3-straight losses to Navy, Houston and Temple. He’s also lacking in pocket presence and often struggles in the face of a pass-rush.

And like typical Spread Offense quarterbacks, he depends on bubble screens, missing too many throws down the field. A franchise with a losing record would be better building their franchise around Goff as well. Goff is used to playing with an inferior caste and lifting them to a higher level than they would go to without him.

With Goff, Cal went from 1-11 just two seasons ago, to 5-7 last year, to 8-5 with their first bowl appearance in three years. Coming into the game, Mustafa Jalil was the only current Cal player that had ever been to a bowl game. The reds-hirt senior was a true freshman in the Bears’ 21-10 loss in the 2011 Holiday Bowl.

That goes to show you how he helped turn this Pac-12 bottom-dweller into a competitor in the league.

That’s the kind of quarterback a bottom dweller NFL team needs.