Los Angeles Rams

Rams begin NFL Draft by taking Jared Goff at No. 1

Published Apr. 28, 2016 8:02 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Dan Graf

When the Los Angeles Rams traded up 14 spots two weeks ago to grab the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, it was no secret they would take one of two quarterbacks and that they seemed to be leaning toward Cal’s Jared Goff.

Thursday night, that lean turned into reality when the Rams kept Goff in their new home state.

Goff, 21, got the nod over North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, who was  chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 2.

Goff’s presence immediately clears up what had been a muddled quarterback situation before the Rams moved from St. Louis this offseason. A year ago, the team traded former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford to the Eagles for Nick Foles, but Foles was ineffective and lost the starting job to Case Keenum. With  Foles, Keenum and 2015 third-round pick Sean Mannion not looking like a long-term solution, Los Angleles engineered a massive trade that sent its first-round pick (No. 15), two second-round picks (Nos. 43 and 45) and a third-rounder (No. 76) along with 2017 first- and third-rounders to the Titans for the No. 1 and the Nos. 113 and 117 in this year’s draft.

Goff was a starter for all three of his seasons at Cal, where he put up gaudy statistics in his sophomore and junior seasons despite the Golden Bears going 14-23 during his tenure. He completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 3,973 yards and 35 touchdowns with just seven interceptions in 2014, then raised those numbers to 64.5 percent, 4,714 yards and 43 TDs in 2015. Goff threw just seven interceptions as a sophomore and 13 as a junior.

He was happy -- if not surprised -- to go to the Rams.

"I felt very comfortable with their whole staff," Goff told ESPN in Chicago. "I had an immediate connection all the way from the Combine. I felt really good with their whole staff, (general manager) Les Snead and everyone involved in the whole organization. It's very exciting."

share

Get more from Los Angeles Rams Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Los Angeles Rams

National Football League