ESPN's position-by-position rankings continue. George Kittle on Tuesday was listed as the NFL's best tight end after writer Jeremy Fowler conducted an extensive poll involving 50 league executives, coaches, scouts, and players. The latest top-10 ranking involves the quarterbacks.
Jimmy Garoppolo was not part of that list.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback received just two votes from the 50 individuals polled, the same amount received by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins but more than names like Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, Jared Goff, and Sam Darnold, who each received one.
By comparison, of those left off, Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons came closest to cracking the top-10 with 14 votes.
"[Garoppolo is] a pure pocket guy with a great release, and his teammates love him," said one veteran NFL coach. "He's probably got a ceiling, but I think he's a really good quarterback in this league."
Garoppolo may have ranked higher had his 49ers emerged viciously from February's Super Bowl. The team had the lead late in the game, but that lead evaporated after a fourth-quarter collapse by the 49ers and a surge by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes, by the way, understandably ranks No. 1 on Fowler's list.
Garoppolo has endured a lot of criticism this offseason, despite having an impressive regular-season campaign last year — his first full season as an NFL starter. He led the 49ers to a division crown, their first in seven years, the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and a Super Bowl berth.
Garoppolo passed for 3,978 yards with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season. His passing yards total ranks fourth in franchise history, and the 49ers quarterback owns a regular-season record of 21-5 as a starter.
However, it was the combination of being underutilized in the playoffs, the Super Bowl collapse, and the team's flirtation with the idea of adding Tom Brady this offseason that have forced many to question where Garoppolo stands among the NFL's best.
The 49ers quarterback has been able to block much of the outside noise, though.
"He seems to have handled it the way Jimmy has handled everything," fullback Kyle Juszczyk said in May. "He's exactly the same guy that he always is in these (Zoom) meetings. You haven't seen any crazy media lash-outs from him, or him be down on himself, or anything like that. It's just Jim.
"He comes to work every day, works his butt off, has the same demeanor every day. The outside noise, it truly doesn't seem to affect him."
Below are the quarterbacks who ranked in the top 10.
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
- Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
- Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
- Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
