The Oakland Raiders have their new head coach in Jon Gruden. The San Francisco 49ers completed their first season under Kyle Shanahan. The Raiders have a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr. The 49ers, thanks to an October 30th trade with the New England Patriots, also have their guy in Jimmy Garoppolo.
That leaves the following question: Which Bay Area team will see more success over the next five years?
Peter King of The MMQB was on KNBR on Wednesday and was asked which team he would choose if he had to buy a five-year stock in either. He picked the 49ers.
"I basically feel, 'In Jimmy we trust,'" King said on the "Tobert & Lund" show. "That's my ethos right now, and I really like Derek Carr. But Derek Carr's performance this year concerns me. I think he's going to be significantly better with Gruden, but the 49ers have so much cap room. The 49ers have, I think, some considerable advantages right now with the security of general manager and the understanding that they're on the road to making some very good personnel decisions.
"And again, I think both teams are in good shape. I think both teams, next year, will be over 500. But I think we might be seeing the dawn of the next great quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo. I don't want to get too overwhelmed with the guy, but who puts up a million points on the Jacksonville Jaguars?"
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Garoppolo and the 49ers' performance against the Jaguars during Week 16 was impressive in the eyes of King. San Francisco was dominant in the 44-33 win at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers' 44 points were the most allowed by Jacksonville during the 2017 season and San Francisco's most since October 7, 2012, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (45).
Garoppolo finished the game completing 21 of his 30 pass attempts for 242 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and a passer rating of 102.4. The rating was the highest allowed by the Jaguars during the 2017 season.
"I saw the 49ers tear apart the Jacksonville Jaguars," King continued. "And that is something that sticks in my mind. Of all the things that Garoppolo did in the last month or so, that single game, not that he was the absolute single force in that game, but he played really, really well. So, I'll take Garoppolo and the Niners."
You can listen to the entire interview with King below.
