To say that a lot is riding on the arm and health of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this season is an understatement. Fans are well aware of what happened last year after the starting quarterback went down in Week 3 with an ACL injury.
Let's assume Garoppolo can stay healthy and start all 16 games for the first time in his NFL career. Should that happen, analysts are expecting good things from the 49ers quarterback.
While NFL Media's analytics expert, Cynthia Frelund, projects a .500 season for San Francisco as a whole, she does envision Garoppolo passing for over 4,100 yards with 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2019. That is significant for a team that has lacked a 4,000-yard passer since Jeff Garcia accomplished the feat (4,278 yards) in 2000.
Frelund isn't alone in believing Garoppolo is capable of becoming the 49ers' first 4,000-yard passer in nearly two decades. Dr. Roto, the senior fantasy sports expert with Full-Time Fantasy, recently made predictions for all 32 NFL teams in a feature for Sports Illustrated and projected Garoppolo to throw for over 4,000 yards.
Dr. Roto also projects running back Matt Breida to earn more yards from scrimmage than any other back on the team but has Tevin Coleman with more rushing touchdowns.
"WR Dante Pettis struggles with playing time issues early," Dr. Roto adds. "TE George Kittle is still the team's top receiving threat."
Pettis has had an up and down offseason while Kittle is coming off a record-breaking 2018 campaign.