Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff Among ESPN’s 10 Most Intriguing NFL Players

The two former Cal quarterbacks are on the list of players who could define the 2023 season

ESPN presented its list of the 10 most intriguing NFL players for 2023 this week, and two of the 10 are quarterbacks from Cal. No other college boasts as many representatives on this list as the Golden Bears, unless you include Wisconsin with Jonathan Taylor and Russell Wilson, although Wilson spent most of his college career at North Carolina State.

But there is no such question about Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who spent their entire college football careers at Cal before leaving school after their junior years to become first-round NFL draft choices.

The 10 players selected that could define the 2023 season include Rodgers, Goff, Wilson, Taylor, Stefon Diggs, Kyler Murray, Aaron Donald, Deshaun Watson, Tua Tagovailoa and Davante Adams.

Rodgers is there because his trade to Jets has created high expectations in New York. ESPN called Rodgers “the toast of New York at the moment, which is a really cool thing to be.” There is no mention of his dark-room stay or his plug for psychedelics; this is strictly football.

Goff is on the list based on the way he played at the end of last season and the possibility that he could lift the Lions to their first division title since 1993.

Here is what ESPN said about the two former Golden Bears:

Aaron Rodgers, QB, New York Jets

The most intriguing player of the 2023 offseason obviously has to crack this list. Things have reached previously unheard-of levels of hunky-dory around Rodgers and the Jets since the Packers traded him to New York. He has been at every practice, every meeting, every pro hockey and basketball game ... and even the Tony Awards. Rodgers is the toast of New York at the moment, which is a really cool thing to be. But once the season starts and the games count, there's a lot on the line for the 39-year-old Rodgers. Legacy, for one thing.

Fair or unfair, quarterbacks who've won two Super Bowls occupy a different rung in the all-time hierarchy than those who've won only one. Winning with the Jets -- a seemingly cursed franchise that hasn't had a 4,000-yard passer since Joe Namath did it 16 years before Rodgers was born -- would mean Rodgers did something like Peyton Manning did in Denver, or even (dare we say) Tom Brady did in Tampa. Falling short of the massive expectations that accompanied him to New York would leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth (presumably, his included).And we haven't even discussed the annual intrigue that comes at the end of Rodgers' seasons these day

s. Will he be one-and-done in New York? Is he planning to be there two years? Three? Exciting as everything is around Rodgers right now, the serious stuff starts in a couple of months

.

Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions

The Lions are the most interesting teams of 2023, favored to win their division for the first time since 1993. One of the reasons they finished last season so strong was the play of Goff, who ranked second in the NFL behind only Patrick Mahomes in Total QBR from Weeks 10-18 (69.8).

Goff, who took the Rams to the Super Bowl five seasons ago, is still only 28. He's signed for the next two years at the relative bargain price of $26.48 million per year. That number, combined with his performance in 2022, makes him a candidate for an extension right now -- and he may well get one before the season starts. But he also may not, and if he doesn't, the next several months are going to determine a lot about Goff's future in the NFL.

If he has a big year and leads the Lions to the playoffs, they could decide that he's worth signing up as their long-term QB solution. (Again, he'll only be 29 next offseason.) If he flops and/or the Lions fail to live up to their preseason expectations, it will be easy for Detroit to get out of the contract next spring. Goff is due no more guaranteed money, and he would be just $5 million in dead money against the cap in 2024.

The partnership between Goff and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been special, and with Johnson turning down head-coach interview opportunities to return in the same position for this season, there's reason to believe it can lead to even bigger things for both of them.

By the way, as a side note, I could have written a lot of this same exact stuff about the Vikings' Kirk Cousins, for whom this is a pivotal year as well.

Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by John Jones, USA TODAY Sports

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