Jimmy Garoppolo may be the best quarterback that wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders has played with since Peyton Manning was tossing him passes. The former Bronco went from a struggling franchise to an undefeated team following a trade from Denver to the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite having only played two games with him, Sanders has been impressed by Garoppolo. The veteran receiver joined 95.7 The Game on Wednesday and discussed his new quarterback.
"I've had my fair share of quarterbacks," Sanders told Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky. "The one thing that I like about Jimmy is that he doesn't have an ego. He's not one of those guys that demands respect, or you're not going to get the ball. He's really a great team guy, just by the positive energy that he gives.
"I knew the moment I stepped in, he really attacked me with so much positive energy in terms of the playbook, and what I've got to do. He communicated very well. All the receivers, we thew extra passes after practice.
"Truthfully, I just feel like the timing was perfect. I literally walked into the locker room; I felt like I was at home. They welcomed me so much with open arms, and Jimmy (did) as well. It was just a good fit."
Sanders has caught a touchdown in each of his two games since being traded to the 49ers, matching his scoring total in seven games with Denver. He hauled in one of Garoppolo's career-high four touchdown passes last Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals on his way to 112 yards receiving.
Garoppolo, in addition to the four scores, threw for 317 yards and a passer rating of 136.9.
"He works his butt off," Sanders said of Garoppolo. "Yesterday, I saw a guy; we were supposed to be in the weight room 20 minutes. I go in there for 30 minutes, and I go take a shower, and I'm coming out of the locker room — it's like 40 minutes later — and Jimmy is just now walking out of the weight room.
"He's one of the hardest working guys on the team. I think that we saw all the hard work that he's put in, and we saw him unleash it on Thursday. It was good to see."
Sanders is obviously in a better situation than he was just a few weeks ago. He also knows what it means to be part of a championship team. Sanders won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos at Levi's Stadium.
Does Sanders believe his new squad has the makings of a true championship contender?
"Every single bit of it," Sanders responded. "I'm not saying that because it's the right thing to say. Every single bit of it. It's definitely got the right nucleus and the right energy around here to do something special this year, and so that's the goal."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Sanders below.