THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Jared Goff likes to say that he has gained 10 pounds for every year of his life. Heading into his second season in the NFL, the 22-year-old is carrying about 220 pounds on him -- 10 more than he did as a rookie.
The yearly trend continues.
"I hope it slows down at about 23, 24," Goff said with a smile. "I think I've been doing a good job just trying to continue to get strong and just continue to work as hard as I can."
The Los Angeles Rams' official website lists Goff at 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds after listing him at 215 last year. After entering the NFL with a relatively slight frame, Goff absorbed 25 sacks over his final six games -- far more than anybody else during that stretch -- and bulked up. Goff said the added weight was merely a byproduct of his continued physical growth, not a reaction to anything that occurred last season. Still, the extra pounds should only help.
Goff remembers the extra weight he put on entering his sophomore season at Cal, and how much better it made him.
"I felt it in the pocket," Goff said, speaking after the Rams' minicamp practice on Tuesday. "The ability to make one guy miss is a big deal, and the ability to not get tackled by just a hand, just a guy grabbing your jersey, is a big deal. I think that's where it helped the most."
The Rams' offensive line should be better in 2017, but LA can't rely on Andrew Whitworth alone to improve a unit that allowed the NFL's second-most sacks last season. And since the end of the 2016 season, Goff's divisional opponents have only added more menacing pass-rushers, most notably rookies Solomon Thomas (49ers) and Haason Reddick (Cardinals).
"It's always important to be able to sustain some of the hits," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "You still want to make sure that you're fluid and flexible. I think that weight, when you're thinking about some of the throws that you have to make in the face of a pass rush, and where you have to absorb those hits -- I think it just allows you to be a little bit sturdier. I think you want to put it on the right way."
The Rams believe Goff has done just that. He called this his "first real offseason," because college and last year's scouting combine took up a good chunk of his spring and summer.
"I did my best in the months we had off to continue to train hard," Goff said, "and my body continues to grow."
Despite being the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, Goff wasn't ready to start at the beginning of the season, and didn't play well when finally given the chance. In seven games (all of them losses), Goff completed 54.6 percent of his passes, averaged 5.3 yards per attempt and posted a 22.2 Total QBR -- all among the worst marks in the league. He's stronger now, an entire year wiser, and has said that learning McVay's offense is "starting to become second-nature."
But all that matters is how much improvement Goff will show between now and Sept. 10, the date of the Rams' season opener.
"I don't know if there's an exact point you put on it," Goff said, when asked about his goals before the opener. "I think you just continue to get better every day. You can't take a day off. I thought there were some plays today where I wasn't as sharp as I wanted to be, and you can't really allow that. You need to be sharp on every play or at least mentally sharp and know what you're doing on every play. Sometimes daily, you don't have that. I think when you get to the season and every single play is boom-boom-boom-boom all the way across, play-in and play-out, is when you kind of feel comfortable. I think we're on our way there. I don't think we're there yet, but we're on our way."