The 3,978 yards that Jimmy Garoppolo passed for this past season ranks fourth all-time in San Francisco 49ers history. Only Steve Young (twice) and Jeff Garcia have surpassed that total in a single season.
Garoppolo helped guide his team to a 13-3 record, a division championship, and then the Super Bowl in his first full season as a starter.
"I think Jimmy deserves a ton of credit for what he did this year," head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I think people talk a little bit about how he was coming off an ACL (injury), but I also don't think that people realize that was his first (full) year playing quarterback in this league. ... This was his first time going through a full season. He had less games than (Browns quarterback) Baker Mayfield going into his second year.
"To do that with the pressure of also everyone thinking you've already arrived, and coming off an ACL; I thought there was as much pressure on him at the beginning of the year as anyone I've been around. And he just took it, handled it all year, and got better throughout the year, and I was very impressed with him."
General manager John Lynch even declared that the 49ers are committed to Garoppolo.
Yet, for some reason, there is a lot of speculation that San Francisco might be willing to part with the 28-year-old quarterback for a player 14 years older, and one whose best seasons are likely behind him. Doing so might (the word intentionally stressed) provide the 49ers some short-term success. Still, it will also mean, once again, identifying a long-term solution while watching whichever team ends up with Garoppolo potentially flourish with him.
Let's pretend getting rid of Garoppolo is something the 49ers would be willing to do. If that's how things played out, Shanahan and the 49ers might have to look toward the draft for a quarterback of the future. That in itself is yet another reason why San Francisco parting ways with Garoppolo makes little sense.
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein joined KNBR on Wednesday to explain why. He doesn't feel there are any quarterbacks in this draft, outside of those who might be selected well before the 49ers' selection at No. 31, who could potentially be better than Garoppolo.
"To me, if Jimmy Garoppolo was in this draft, he'd be one of the top three or four quarterbacks taken," Zierlein said on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "To me, getting away from Jimmy Garoppolo would be a massive mistake for the 49ers. To say, 'Hey, I've got an idea. Let's go with the 42-year-old quarterback, and roll the dice with these sub-par quarterbacks in the [draft] beyond Day 1.' Just, not a good strategy."
Added Zierlein: "If you're not one of those first-round quarterbacks, [...] I have no interest in you, to be honest with you. I really don't."
The analyst notes that Washington's Jacob Eason has a big arm and physical traits but doesn't handle pressure well and isn't very mobile. Georgia's Jake Fromm has a good arm and is a solid game manager, but isn't a better option than Garoppolo, says Zierlein.
"Honestly, the only guys that I think are better than Garoppolo in this draft would potentially be (Oregon's Justin) Herbert," said Zierlein. "Tua (Tagovailoa of Alabama) and (LSU's Joe) Burrow, I would put ahead of him, maybe Herbert, and maybe (Utah State's Jordan) Love."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Zierlein below.
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