After being discarded by the Los Angeles Rams and head coach Sean McVay, Jared Goff has revived his career in Detroit. It’s no coincidence he began to play well late in his first season season as a Lion, 2021, when Ben Johnson became passing game coordinator.

Johnson then of course was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022, and the best thing he did was give Goff ownership and input into the offense. What a novel concept, to shape an offense around what your quarterback does well, rather than try to wedge him into what you like to do then bail when he fails.

Despite offering next to nothing as a runner, though he did have two rushing touchdowns in 2023, Goff has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback in each of the last three seasons with Johnson calling plays. He was QB10 in 2022, followed by QB7 in 2023 and a career-best QB6 in 2024.

Now, of course, Johnson is the Chicago Bears’ head coach.

The Lions got about as much continuity as they could have with an outside offensive coordinator hire in John Morton. Morton was on the coaching staff in Detroit in 2022, before joining Dan Campbell’s mentor Sean Payton as the Denver Broncos’ passing game coordinator the last two seasons.

Campbell also made it clear Goff’s input would be considered in regard to who replaced Johnson, so it’s fair to assume Morton would not have been the hire if Goff wasn’t fully on-board.

Jared Goff on expected fantasy football list with offensive coordinator change

Being a Goff fantasy manager can be a challenge, but those who draft him know what they’re getting into. He may deliver a dud when you think it’s a boom week, and vice versa. Looking to 2025 he’ll still have all the skill position talent he has had, and the offensive line will be good again regardless of potential changes.

But regression is in play for the Lions’ signal caller, and it shouldn’t be ignored. Losing Johnson will be impactful.

In his fantasy football winners and losers from the 2025 NFL coaching cycle, Alex Kay of Bleacher Report had Goff as the No. 1 loser (assuming a ranked order).

“Goff the best performances of his career under Johnson. The veteran signal-caller finished as fantasy’s QB10 or better in all three seasons the pair worked together, including in 2024 when Goff posted a career-best QB6 finish.”

“With former Denver Broncos assistant John Morton taking over Johnson’s vacated role, Goff and his supporting cast have far less upside. Morton struggled in his last offensive coordinator position, a stint with the New York Jets in 2017 that saw Gang Green finish with the No. 28 total offense.”

“Although Morton has a more talented squad to work with this time, the Lions are in line for an offensive regression without Johnson calling the shots.”

It’s a stretch to note Morton’s stint as the Jets offensive coordinator in 2017 as a demerit on him, given what he had to work with and the performances he coaxed out of multiple players in that bunch. Not to mention it was eight years ago.

That being said, there will be questions about Goff’s fantasy outlook more than any other Lions’ player until we see what Morton’s version of the offense looks like. And we won’t see it until Week 1 of the regular season. So we’re essentially in the same place we always are with Goff in fantasy. Which is to say, draft another good option or just avoid drafting him all-together.