The Los Angeles Rams hired first-year coach Sean McVay to flip the switch on an offense that sputtered for years under the previous regime.
For the attack to take off, second-year quarterback Jared Goff must make a major leap after struggling through his seven starts in 2016. Teammate Johnny Hekker believes Rams fans will notice a difference right away.
"He's grown a ton and he's worked very hard this offseason to be more physically and mentally prepared," Hekker, the team's punter, told The Reynolds Report, via gridiron-magazine.com. "The confidence levels about him are much higher than when he first came in."
Goff didn't even toss a regular-season pass until late November. Authoring an 0-7 record as a starter, the top pick in last year's draft threw just five touchdowns along the way while generating a passer rating of 63.6.
"Your world sort of spins when you get into the NFL and you don't know what to expect," Hekker said. "He seems much more prepared coming into this season and just looking much sharper, so I'm excited to see what he has for us this season."
On a hopeful note, Goff displayed exciting arm talent in spurts and now finds himself paired with a coach in McVay who did an excellent job of developing Kirk Cousins in Washington.
The hope in Los Angeles is Goff will begin looking like the first pick in the draft sooner than later. If he fails to do that in 2017, the Rams have a major issue on their hands.
