Chiefs’ Frank Clark calls 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo ‘a great quarterback’

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end and Super Bowl champion Frank Clark was making his media rounds this past week and said on ESPN's First Take that he considers Jimmy Garoppolo a top-10 quarterback in the NFL.

Clark also joined ESPN's Get Up and complimented the San Francisco 49ers signal-caller, calling Garoppolo a great quarterback while indicating that his past criticisms surrounded the Niners failing to utilize him in the playoffs.

"I feel like he's a great quarterback," Clark said. "At the end of the day, I feel like he gets paid a lot of money to win games. I feel like you can't win a lot of games throwing checkdowns -- on checkdowns. I feel like he's a great quarterback.

"I wouldn't put him in the top 5, things like that. Some would say they wouldn't put [me] in the top 5; I really don't care. Him being a great quarterback, I feel like he is because they wouldn't have paid him. They wouldn't have made the man the leader of his team.

"Hats off to them as a runner-up, but Pat Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league."

Garoppolo entered the Super Bowl coming off two playoff games where a lot wasn't asked of him, mostly due to a productive rushing attack. He threw just eight passes in the NFC Championship Game, which led many to question head coach Kyle Shanahan's faith in his quarterback.

Shanahan said on Thursday that he felt Garoppolo was on his way to potentially being named the Super Bowl MVP before a late-game collapse by San Francisco lost the game. The 49ers quarterback completed just 3 of 11 passes for 36 yards, an interception, and a passer rating of 2.8 in the fourth quarter of the 31-20 loss to the Chiefs.