Ever since the Los Angeles Rams made the jump to take quarterback Jared Goff with the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the question remaining was how long it would take for him to assume the starting spot.
However, Goff’s struggles with his development during training camp and in the preseason has seemingly put a hold on him starting for the time being. Although head coach Jeff Fisher has made it clear they will be patient with their young signal caller, fans have begun to worry about whether or not the Rams made the right selection.
One person who sees the silver lining in the team’s patience with Goff is the former first overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals. According to Gary Klein of Los Angeles Times, Palmer sees nothing wrong with the Rams not throwing Goff into the fire:
“There’s such a fine line between throwing a guy in there, making him play and he knows he’s going to go in and struggle because the team’s not good like some guys have been,” Palmer said. “The Rams are different. That’s a very good team. They don’t need to throw a rookie in there and him learn on the run and the team suffer.”
Palmer came in as a Consensus All-American and Heisman Trophy winner when he was sidelined for his entire rookie season in favor of veteran quarterback Jon Kitna. He also expressed the positives that came from it in terms of his preparation moving forward.
With the move to Los Angeles, Fisher also made it clear that winning is the top priority, so seeing Goff on the sidelines should not come as much of a surprise with the team currently 2-1 and atop the NFC West division.
