ESPN analyst Seth Walder released his ranking of this season's playoff quarterbacks. The ranking is based on each quarterback's level of play during the regular season, and how each has been playing in recent weeks. Total QBR, completion percentage, and other metrics were used to determine quarterback placement within the ranking.
So where did San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo fall within ESPN's ranking? You have to look well beyond names like Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, and Drew Brees to find Garoppolo, who comes in at No. 9 among the 12 starting playoff quarterbacks.
Garoppolo comes in after Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles and is one spot above the quarterback he sat and learned behind for years in New England — Tom Brady.
Walder notes that after struggling early in the season, Garoppolo became an "acceptable quarterback option" for a 49ers team boasting an elite defense. The analyst believes Garoppolo's strengths, passing outside the pocket and throwing beyond 20 yards downfield, are rarely utilized by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
ESPN's 49ers beat writer, Nick Wagoner, adds the following analysis:
"[Garoppolo] can answer any remaining questions about his place as a franchise quarterback in the NFL. Despite checking off boxes all season, Garoppolo still has his skeptics. But if he can perform on the game's biggest stage and guide the 49ers deep into the postseason, it will be hard for even his most cynical critics to find legitimate fodder to doubt him."