
Cal's Jared Goff has helped carry the Golden Bears program back to competitive relevance with precision quarterback play.
His junior season has been a milestone year for the university, and it's got NFL reps noticing him more and more each week.
"I think he's going to be a pretty solid first-round pick," an NFL scout told the Los Angeles Times prior to Saturday's Pac-12 matchup between Cal and USC. "He'd be one of the first two QBs taken in this year's draft if he were to come out."
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Goff has been among the top passers in the NCAA, throwing 20 touchdowns to nine interceptions, while completing 65.6 percent of his passes. He's often talked about as one of the top quarterback prospects, next to Memphis' Paxton Lynch and Michigan State's Connor Cook.
[RELATED: Stanford keeps climbing, Cal tumbles out of Top 25]
However, as a junior, the decision is on Goff to declare for the NFL draft or return for his senior season.
On where he can get better, the NFL scout elaborated on Goff's strengths and weaknesses as passer, both mental and physical.
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"He needs to fill out and get stronger," the scout said. "He sees things well, he's an intelligent guy. He can anticipate. He's got a good arm, accurate. He can throw with touch.
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"He's pretty good pre-snap. He's accurate short to intermediate. He does not have a big arm. He's not a great deep-ball thrower. They throw a lot of screens and hitches and bubble routes, everything really quick. If he's forced to hold onto the ball and it goes to second or third in progression, he's not nearly as decisive with it. He gets a little tied up in his progression. He just needs to work on that."
Goff has struggled against top-25 teams in his career, going 0-6 with 10 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and an alarming 58.6 completion percentage.
Cal has had a history of quarterbacks being selected in the first round of the NFL draft.
Craig Morton (6th overall to the Cowboys, 1965), Steve Bartkowski (1st overall to the Falcons, 1975), Rich Campbell (6th overall to the Packers, 1981), Kyle Boller (19th overall to the Ravens, 2003) and Aaron Rodgers (24th overall to the Packers, 2005) highlight the list of former Golden Bears.
Goff can be the sixth quarterback in Cal history to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, and potentially the fourth to go in the top 10.