It's only rookie minicamp, but Jared Goff is well on his way to locking down the Los Angeles Rams' starting gig.
The No. 1 overall pick has the best odds to start under center from day one, with only afterthoughts Case Keenum and Nick Foles to beat out.
Through two days of rookie camp, Goff is already impressing the coaching staff with his strides in the offense.
"He's doing a great job picking up our offense," Jeff Fisher said, via the team's official website. "We've given him a lot more information than we did at the private workout and then that we did here at our meeting, and he's handled it without any problem. And that's the impressive thing."
Due to the practices being run at half-speed, the timing element, which Goff excels at, is a little off.
"A little frustrating at times for him because he's setting the back foot and getting ready to go, and we're running half-speed routes," Fisher said of Goff. "So if you see balls hit the ground or things like that, it's all because we're encouraging the skill players not to run full speed."
A quarterback being peeved at the ball hitting the ground even in half-speed rookie ball, is a good sign. The best are meticulous in their perfection, even if others make excuses.
With Cal exams going on next week, Goff will not be able to participate in workouts with the team, per an antiquated NFL rule. The Rams aren't concerned the rookie will lose any of the progress he's made.
"He's a guy who understands priorities. He knows how to budget his time and where to spend his time," Fisher said. "We'll get him some information this week so he can stay up as we continue to install. But he's handled everything. As I mentioned before, he's got that internal competitive drive that you don't see. He doesn't wear it on his sleeve, (but) he's going to make sure everything's right."
We fully expect Goff to start Week 1. The Rams were desperate for a franchise quarterback, which is why they mortgaged the future to trade up to get the Cal product.
He's already starting to prove the Rams' brass right.
