Brad Holmes: I expect Jared Goff to be our starting quarterback

[Roary]

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Lions General Manager Brad Holmes was a part of the team that drafted quarterback Jared Goff, then serving as the Rams’ director of college scouting.

During his Friday press conference, Holmes recalled seeing Goff play a 2015 game at Stanford and coming away thinking Goff could be a top quarterback. Holmes said he even told Rams G.M. Les Snead that he would trade up to No. 1 overall for the quarterback.

Holmes reiterated that Detroit could still select a QB at No. 7 in this upcoming draft. But Holmes also has a lot of belief in Goff and his ability.

“Seeing him now, I do expect Jared to come in and start — to be our starting quarterback,” Holmes said. “I don’t see anything other than that.”

Holmes noted there were several teams that had aggressive trade offers for Matthew Stafford. But aside from the draft picks, receiving Goff as a part of the compensation package was key to the deal.

“That’s the part that sometimes kind of — I don’t want to say gets lost, but it’s kind of like, ‘OK, we’ve got a third-round pick and two 1s, but [we also] have Jared,'” Holmes said. “His résumé speaks for itself. He’s a proven winner. So for him to compete the for the starting quarterback position and winning the starting quarterback position — definitely expect him to reclaim that status. And I’ve never had any doubts that he can be.”