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Last season, Jimmy Garoppolo had one of the best performances by a San Francisco 49ers quarterback in franchise history, passing for nearly 4,000 yards, guiding the team to 13 wins, a division championship, and a trip to the Super Bowl. And he did that in his first full NFL season as a starter while coming off an ACL injury.
Yet all the offseason talk surrounding Garoppolo has been about the quarterback not doing quite enough and faltering in crucial moments — like a specific throw to a wide receiver in Super Bowl LIV.
No one will argue that Garoppolo is perfect. Although, when asked to evaluate the quarterback, cornerback Richard Sherman responded, "Well, first off, he's handsome."
So, there's that.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about Garoppolo during a Friday-morning interview on KNBR and didn't discuss his quarterback's looks. He did, however, respond to some of Garoppolo's critics when asked what the quarterback can improve.
"Jimmy's been great," Shanahan said. "I want him to improve on (everything). I want him to never have an incompletion, and never have an interception. So, we're going to keep working on that until that gets done."
Shanahan was obviously joking, as those expectations are unrealistic. That doesn't mean that you don't continue striving for lofty goals, though.
Garoppolo was asked about his coach after Friday's practice, and what it's like working with someone who is such a perfectionist.
"Yeah, that's what you want in your coach, though," Garoppolo said. "When your coach is like that, it trickles down to the other players. Me specifically, it's kind of how I am. So, I think we match up well in that department, but it's just, that's part of football. You want to be coached hard. You don't want, when a coach starts ignoring you, that's when you're in trouble.
"I love having Kyle as a coach. He pushes me. He demands perfection, and that's what you want."
Despite looking into a certain future Hall of Fame quarterback this offseason, Shanahan is happy with Garoppolo. His upside is part of the reason why the 49ers decided to stick with their signal-caller.
"Jimmy has been great," Shanahan continued. "It's been fun to have him this training camp, coming off an offseason where he wasn't injured.
"Last year, when he came into it, his mind was just 100 percent consumed with recovering from that ACL, as all players are who come back from an ACL. And it was just really cool coming into this camp where you could tell the whole offseason, he didn't have to think about his ACL. That was out of sight, out of mind, and he could just focus on preparing for camp the best way that he could.
"And that's why I think he's come into camp definitely ahead of where he was last year coming off the injury. That's allowed him to work through things better and get better from each practice, when you're not consumed with, 'Am I going to be able to take this? When it going to be my first hit on my knee?'
"When you're not thinking about all that stuff, and you can just have a clear mind and playing the position better, it's a lot more fun to coach, and it's a lot more fun for him to go to practice each day."
Rumors have swirled regarding the situation between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is entering his fifth NFL season and is slated to earn $14.124 million on a team-executed fifth-year option. Despite the 49ers publicly declaring a desire to sign Aiyuk to a contract extension, keeping him on the roster for the foreseeable future, many rumors have focused on potential trade interest.
On Monday, general manager John Lynch held his annual pre-draft press conference, addressing the Aiyuk situation without revealing any information on the conversations that have taken place behind closed doors. Once again, he emphasized that the 49ers want Aiyuk to remain with the team for the remainder of his career.
When asked if there was a chance Aiyuk
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
In 2020, the San Francisco 49ers traded up from the No. 31 overall pick to the No. 25 spot with their sights set on a wide receiver brimming with potential. It was the first year of COVID, so NFL teams conducted their drafts remotely, providing fans with a unique glimpse into team decision-makers' makeshift home war rooms.
Almost immediately after Aiyuk heard his name called, fans caught a glimpse of the reactions from head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
In honor of Draft Day, let's throw it back to Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch's reaction to drafting Brandon Aiyuk
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
