Go back about four years, or more, and any comparison to Jared Goff would not have been a flattering one. He was deemed a product of Sean McVay, right down to the Rams’ head coach reading defenses for him in the headset for as long as was allowed. He was just a throw-in to the trade that brought him to Detroit, because the Lions needed a quarterback to replace Matthew Stafford and they got an extra first-round pick to take on his contract.

Today, we are in far different place. Goff has been one of the most productive and efficient quarterbacks in the NFL over the last three-plus seasons, paying off the faith Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell showed him from the start. He helped end the Lions’ lengthy playoff win drought last year, and he’s an MVP candidate this season as Detroit eyes a run to the Super Bowl.

We know what Goff is and isn’t as a quarterback, but what he is just fine.

Quarterback in CFP draws comp to Jared Goff

In two years as Penn State’s starting quarterback, Drew Allar has led the Nittany Lions to a 21-5 record. They are the No. 6 seed in the upcoming 12-team College Football Playoff, set to take on No. 11 seed SMU on Dec. 21.

Allar led the Big Ten with 25 touchdown passes in 2023, with just two interceptions. He has upped his overall proficiency as a passer this year, completing 69.1 percent of his passes while averaging 8.9 yards per attempt and 9.3 adjusted yards per attempt with a 161.2 passer rating. He has thrown seven interceptions on fewer pass attempts this year, but a 2.2 percent interception rate is hardly a red flag. To that end, according to Pro Football Focus, Allar has a just a 1.1 percent turnover-worthy play rate in his college career.

Tyler Brooke of The 33rd Team had Allar No. 1 in his ranking of the CFP quarterbacks as NFL prospects.

Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report updated offered scouting notes and player comps heading into the College Football Playoff, with obvious focus on players on teams in the Playoff.

Fowler lauded Allar’s performance against Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game, with the caveat that it’s unclear if he will declare early for the 2025 draft.

“It was nice to see Drew Allar operate in the way he did in the Big Ten title game. While questions remain about whether he will declare as a true junior or return to school for another year of development, his performance in the 45-37 loss to Oregon will hold weight for teams attempting to finalize his evaluation. He delivered throws with confidence, stood tall under pressure, and ripped throws with varying zip and touch to a variety of levels.”

Then came the direct comparison to Goff.

“Similar to Goff, the Penn State QB is a physically impressive talent under center with the arm talent, ball placement and mental acumen to lead a detailed offensive architecture.”

Allar offers more with his legs than Goff does (485 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns over the last two seasons), which has brought one comparison to Josh Allen as a prospect. But as a more refined, pro-ready draft prospect than Allen was, a comparison to Goff still lands very favorably for the Penn State signal caller.