The San Francisco 49ers would have likely eclipsed their 4-10 record had the team not lost starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a torn ACL in Week 3. He is expected to be healthy for the start of the upcoming season, and that means loftier expectations from fans and experts alike for the Bay Area team.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN, who joined KNBR on Monday, is among those experts. He envisions much more success from the 49ers with Garoppolo at the helm, assuming the quarterback can stay healthy.
"I think if Jimmy Garoppolo plays 16 games next [season], the Niners are a playoff team," Barnwell predicted on the "Gary and Larry" show. "I do firmly believe that."
Barnwell was asked if he would be willing to put money on that prediction.
"It depends on what the odds are," he responded. "Would I bet it 100 percent of the time? No. Do I think they have a very good shot, they'd be better than a lot of people think? I absolutely do.
"I think [the 49ers] are the closest example to last year's Colts. When you look at the advance numbers [in 2017], the Colts were a team that were very unlucky in close games, and their quarterback was gone for the entire year. The Niners were very unlucky in close games this year, and their starting quarterback missed 13 games.
"I think they're a team that, if Garoppolo stays healthy — before the year, that was going to be the biggest concern, he hasn't been healthy as a pro for any real length of time — I think they're going to be a playoff team. I really do."
You can listen to the entire interview with Barnwell below.
San Francisco is 6-2 with Garoppolo under center. The team is 4-20 during the Kyle Shanahan era without him.
The 49ers are confident Garoppolo will start throwing and doing non-contact work during organized team activities in late-May. One player who is excited to see his quarterback return is tight end George Kittle.
"Jimmy G, he's really good," Kittle said earlier this month. "I wish you guys could see all the stuff he does in practice because you guys have just been kind of teased on what he can do, just like the six games he played for us, and then the two-and-a-half that he played for us this season.
"He's going to do a lot of good things for us, and I think he's going to help out everybody on the roster."