Report: Eagles Working Out Jared Goff

Turns out, that Howie Roseman-Doug Pederson road trip is to see none other than Cal quarterback Jared Goff.

According to former Eagle scout and current Bay Area analyst John Middlekauff, the Eagles are working out Goff in Berkeley today.

Goff (6-4, 215) is considered one of the top quarterback prospects in this draft along with Carson Wentz. He completed 64.5 percent of his throws as a junior last season and threw for over 4,700 yards with 43 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Here’s NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein‘s write-up on him:

STRENGTHS

Quality arm. Makes all the throws and can sling the deep out with velocity and accuracy. Clean release and snaps throws off with flick of the wrist. Drives hips through his release for extra heat. Pocket mobility and poise showed improvement from 2014 to 2015. Maintains proper footwork and readiness to throw as he slides inside the pocket. Speeds up internal clock when he feels pressure or recognizes blitz. Pocket climber. Able to run out of trouble rather than into it. Looks the part of a confident, first round quarterback when working from a clean pocket. Sells his play ­fakes with purpose and draws linebackers forward. Has learned to expedite his throws from off­-balance angles due to pocket pressure. Will throw receivers open in tight quarters. Has excellent trajectory and pillowy soft touch on touch throws down the field that give receivers a chance to make plays. Showed substantial growth with his willingness to attack intermediate areas of the field and did so with accuracy and relative success. Completed an impressive 43.8 percent of his deep throws. Competes on third and long seeking out first downs over check downs.

WEAKNESSES

Hits a rough patch with accuracy from time to time. Sails throws over intended targets especially early in games. Has spots where he makes receivers work too hard on easy throws. Spent 99.8 percent of his pass snaps from pistol or shotgun this season. Will likely need to orient himself with NFL footwork from under center. Rhythm passer who benefited from the up­tempo and “quick game” of Cal’s Bear Raid offense. Has to learn fine line between getting ball out and rushing throws. Able to escape pocket, but isn’t a proven finisher when on the move. Fumbled the ball 24 times over the last three years losing 11. Sacked 81 times over three years. Internal clock and poise will need to be monitored closely. Several of his interceptions came when he failed to read zone defenders underneath drifting up to challenge the throw.

It’s debatable whether Goff will make it to eight. With quarterback-needy teams such as the Browns and Niners picking before the Eagles, it’s certainly plausible that he’ll be scooped up early. Plenty of analysts, including Daniel Jeremiah and Todd McShay, have him going to San Francisco at 7.

Cleveland coach Hue Jackson gave a glowing review of Goff’s pro day when speaking at the owners meetings.

“I thought the guy threw the ball tremendously [at his workout]. For a big guy he is more athletic than people think. He has quick feet, he obviously has a quick release,” said Jackson. “What I’ve seen on videotape to go along with the workout is that he has tremendous poise in the pocket; he is a young man that can keep his eyes downfield when people are bearing down on him. And to me that’s an unbelievable asset — a lot of people can’t do that.”

Pederson told reporters in Boca that he is not as big on pro days but prefers individual workouts “where you can go a little more hands-on, one-on-one with a guy.” He added that he did plan on hitting the road to take a look at some of these top quarterbacks.

“I think it’s important to evaluate all of them, especially those top three, four, five, six guys and really spend some time,” he said. “Because you never know when somebody’s a free agent and you got to exhaust all the positions.”

The Eagles have sounded rather cool on the idea of drafting a quarterback in the first round when talking about it publicly, though it’s entirely possible their conversations have a completely different tone behind the scenes. A pair of recent reports suggest that they are interested in moving up further in this draft to take a QB.

Either way, we can at least say that they are doing their homework on Goff leading into April’s draft.