On the roster: Jared Goff, Nate Sudfeld, Hendon Hooker, Adrian Martinez
| Name | Att. | Comp. | Comp. % | Yards | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Goff | 587 | 382 | 65.1 | 4,438 | 29 | 7 |
| Nate Sudfeld | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hendon Hooker* | 329 | 229 | 69.6 | 3,135 | 27 | 2 |
| Adrian Martinez* | 184 | 118 | 64.1 | 1,261 | 6 | 1 |
*college stats
Best competition: Backup quarterback spot.
Sudfeld is in full control of the backup job heading into camp, especially after the solid spring he had in OTAs and minicamp. He certainly didn't look like a guy who has played in just six career games and attempted 37 passes in four years. It will be fun to watch him at the helm in the preseason. He was a late addition to the roster right before the start of the season last year.
What could make this competition interesting is when Hooker gets clearance to return to the field for full football activities. Hooker tore his ACL last November. He is progressing through his rehab nicely, but the Lions are going to take their time with him and not rush the rehab.
Hooker has a unique skillset in terms of his arm strength and mobility, and that could help him push Sudfeld when he gets back. Martinez will try to throw his hat into the competition in camp too. The undrafted rookie threw for 1,261 yards and rushed for 627 yards (5.6 average) with 16 total touchdowns at Kansas State last year.
But as of now, the quarterback spot in Detroit heading into training camp is solidly Goff at No. 1 with Sudfeld at the backup spot.
View photos of the Detroit Lions quarterbacks heading into training camp.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during minicamp at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 8, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Nate Sudfeld (10) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on May 25, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on May 31, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during minicamp at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 7, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Adrian Martinez (18) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 14, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during minicamp at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 6, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Nate Sudfeld (10) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 2, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during minicamp at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 7, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Adrian Martinez (18) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on May 31, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Nate Sudfeld (10) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on May 31, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during minicamp at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 6, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 12, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during minicamp at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 6, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Adrian Martinez (18) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 14, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Nate Sudfeld (10) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 2, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Twentyman's take: Goff is coming off arguably the best season of his career and has complete control of Ben Johnson's offense heading into their second season together as offensive coordinator and starting quarterback.
Goff completed 65 percent of his passes for 4,438 yards with 29 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a passer rating of 99.3. He was a Pro Bowl replacement for Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts.
Goff had some costly turnovers that hurt the Lions early in the season but at the bye week he took a close look at his play and was much better at taking care of the football the second half of the year which made a world of difference for this team. He hasn't thrown an interception in his last 324 pass attempts, which is currently the fifth longest streak in NFL history. He established new franchise records with a 4.14 touchdown-to-interception ratio and an interception rate of just 1.2 percent last season. His 99.3 passer rating tied the franchise record.
The Lions finished the 2022 season fourth in total offense, fifth in points per game and eighth in passing offense. Goff operates behind one of the best offensive lines in football, and the additions of running back David Montgomery, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., to go along with Pro Bowl wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and some of Detroit's other veteran playmakers gives him plenty of weapons to be one of the better offensive units in the league in 2023.
View photos of Lions third-round pick Hendon Hooker from the 2023 offseason.
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 12, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 12, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during the 2023 Media Day at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 5, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during OTAs at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on May 31, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 13, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 14, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12), Detroit Lions offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal (75) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 13, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
This is a 2023 photo of Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) of the Detroit Lions NFL football team. This image reflects The Detroit Lions active roster as of May 11, 2023 when this image was taken. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 12, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during the 2023 Rookie Media Day at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 11, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during the 2023 Media Day at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 5, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
This is a 2023 photo of Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) of the Detroit Lions NFL football team. This image reflects The Detroit Lions active roster as of May 11, 2023 when this image was taken. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during minicamp at the Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, MI on June 7, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal (75), Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 13, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (12), Detroit Lions offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal (75) during rookie minicamp at the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park, MI on May 13, 2023. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
By the numbers:
8: Detroit scored 30-plus points in eight contests last year, tied for the most in the NFL with Buffalo, Kansas City and San Francisco. It was also a new franchise record.
15: Turnovers committed by the Lions' offense in 2022, which were the fewest in the NFL and tied for the fewest in franchise history.
27: Completions of 30-plus yards for Hooker at Tennessee last year, which led all FBS quarterbacks.
39: Career fumbles in college for Hooker. He had 22 over the last two seasons with the Vols.
66.2: Detroit's red zone efficiency percentage in 2022. Only Dallas (71.4), Kansas City (69.4) and Philadelphia (67.8) were better scoring touchdowns in the red zone last year.
106.8: Detroit's passer rating last year when blitzed. That included 13 touchdowns and four interceptions with eight sacks in 194 attempts.
141.7: Goff's passer rating when throwing to tight end Brock Wright last year (18-of-24, 216 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT). Goff's top three ratings throwing to individual players were Wright, tight end James Mitchell (139.8) and tight end Shane Zylstra (119.4). That bodes well for LaPorta entering his first season in Detroit.
Quotable: "The good news is this: When he (Goff) comes back in the building, we're going to have another plan of action for him to take another few steps forward, to where he can continue to progress and be an even better player than he was this past year," Johnson told me back in February on the Twentyman in the Huddle podcast. "That's the exciting thing. And, knowing him, he's going to embrace it, and run with it."
