Goff May be a Better Fit for 49ers Than Wentz

His skill set and experience in Cal's system may be a nice match with Kelly's offensive scheme, says Pro Football Focus analysis

Carson Wentz or Jared Goff?

The two best quarterback prospects in this year’s draft continue to be linked to the 49ers. With their quarterback situation murky for 2016, the 49ers are believed to be in the market for a top young passer  to set a foundation for 2016 and beyond.

But if the 49ers do decide to use their top pick in the draft on a quarterback – either by staying put at the No. 7 spot or by moving up – which of the two prospects, Wentz or Goff, would be the best fit?

According to the analytics website Pro Football Focus, it’s Goff, the former Cal standout.

Though a recent poll of NFL executives by NFL.com gave Wentz a slight edge over Goff as a pro prospect, Pro Football Focus’ Jeff Dooley wrote Wednesday that Goff is one of “10 perfect NFL team-to-prospect fits,” with the 49ers.

Dooley wrote that the possibility of Goff playing for new head coach Chip Kelly "is particularly intriguing.”

Dooley believes that the skill set and experience of Goff is particularly suited to running Kelly’s fast-paced spread offense.

“Kelly earned a winning record in Philadelphia in part due to his ability to elevate a mediocre group of quarterbacks,” wrote Dooley. “Sam Bradford was PFF’s No. 11 QB in 2015, earning the highest grade of his career. A year before Mark Sanchez earned the second-highest grade of his career and two years before Nick Foles posted his career-best grade.

“Moreover, Goff’s experience in a play-action-heavy offense (37 percent of dropbacks last season were off of play-action, the seventh-highest rate in this draft class) meshes well with what Kelly has done in the NFL. If Goff lasts until the No. 7 pick, consider this a steal.”

Goff, who is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, isn’t a classic dual-threat running quarterback such as current 49er Colin Kaepernick. But he can move in the pocket and be an accurate passer (with some exceptions) – a trait Kelly says is the most important.

In three seasons at Cal, Goff completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 12,195 yards and 96 touchdowns vs. just 30 interceptions.

And, as NFL.com’s scouting report on Goff notes, the Golden Bear improved throughout his college career, especially in attacking defenses downfield.

“Showed substantial growth with his willingness to attack intermediate areas of the field and did so with accuracy and relative success,” reads his scouting report. “Completed an impressive 43.8 percent of his deep throws. Competes on third-and-long, seeking out first downs over check-downs.”

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