Lions GM addresses drafting possible Jared Goff replacement

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has suggested he could use the sixth-overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft on a future replacement for quarterback Jared Goff.

"You don’t have a crystal ball, you’ve just got to do all the research, and we brought some quarterbacks in and did our just due on them," Holmes explained, as shared by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "I say all the time, when you’re picking in the Top 10, you want to make sure you’re thorough on the quarterback market and I believe we’ve done that. We have a good idea. There’s always going to be a surprise on draft night, that’s what makes it fun, but we’ll definitely be prepared. We’ve got an idea, but you never know when a curveball might be thrown." 

The Lions also possess pick No. 18. 

Goff is coming off his best season, to date, since the Los Angeles Rams officially traded him to Detroit in March 2021. According to ESPN stats, he finished this past campaign ranked fifth among qualified quarterbacks with a 61.1 adjusted QBR, seventh with a 99.3 passer rating, tied for fifth with 29 passing touchdowns, sixth with 4,438 passing yards and tied for sixth with 7.6 yards per pass attempt. 

Goff is signed only through the 2024 season, and he acknowledged earlier this week he hasn't yet entered contract extension negotiations with his employer. The 28-year-old also said he "had good talks, more toward the end of last season or right after the end of last season" with Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. 

In a mock draft updated on Thursday, Kyle Stackpole of CBS Sports predicted that the Lions will move up three picks to draft former Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson with choice No. 3.

"The 6-4 Richardson might have the highest ceiling of any prospect in this class," ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. wrote for a mock draft published on April 11. "If he puts together all of his tools and isn't rushed into being the guy in Week 1, he could be a star."