Tony Romo now has had four major injuries in his career. One being the herniated disc and the other three all stemming from his left clavicle. The 2015 season is awash for the Dallas Cowboys, but Romo will come back in 2016 and look to be the same productive quarterback he has been in years past. However, with all of these injuries, his age, and the Cowboys’ likely top-ten pick, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to draft a quarterback in the first round of this year’s draft.
If Dallas wants to stay the course and draft a guy that will immediately help the franchise, drafting a quarterback early wouldn’t make much sense, as Jerry Jones has publicly stated that he believes Romo can go for another five to six years. Nevertheless, passing up on a player like Jared Goff is going to be extremely difficult given his current talent and potential.
In terms of intelligence, there isn’t a better quarterback in this draft class than Goff. If he is able to stand tall in the pocket and go through his reads, Goff has the skills that are needed to be a very productive quarterback. The problem with Goff is that he lacks arm velocity.
Playing in the NFL, Goff will be exposed to simply better defenses. He doesn’t have the strength to place footballs into tight spaces. Because of this, I see a lot of Sam Bradford in Goff. If he is placed into the right system behind the right offensive, Goff will do what is needed to get the football out to his playmakers. But if he faces pressure or he can’t find an open man, Goff will be nothing more than a guy who can only dump it down.
I was a big fan of Goff going into the season. What’s there not to like? This is a kid that has started every football game in his collegiate career. He plays in an NFL-type scheme and he’s improved in every season, bringing California football back to relevancy. Regarding going quarterback early, the reality is that Paxton Lynch is the better long-term prospect of the two. NFL coaches can’t teach arm strength. The only way I see Goff succeeding is if he is put in the perfect situation. I don’t see that place being Dallas.
