Simms ranks 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo at No. 21 among top 40 QBs

Chris Simms of NBC Sports continues the countdown of his often controversial annual ranking of his top 40 NFL quarterbacks. The San Francisco 49ers were previously represented by rookie Trey Lance, who came in at No. 38. Now we know where starter Jimmy Garoppolo falls within the ranking as teams prepare for the 2021 season.

Simms revealed Nos. 21-25 this week, and Garoppolo sits at No. 21. That is one spot higher than Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Availability is an issue," Simms notes while discussing Garoppolo's placement during his podcast. "Let's just start right there. ... It's the first thing you have to think about. It's why the 49ers drafted a quarterback in the first round. ... Jimmy G does a lot of good things. I don't want to totally crap on him here. It's not about that, OK? Because there are a lot of good things."

Garoppolo is 24-9 (including playoffs) as the 49ers' starting quarterback since the team traded for him in 2017. While Shanahan is 6-17 since 2018 with Garoppolo sidelined, Simms argues that many quarterbacks could win games on San Francisco's roster because of the talent there.

"The problem with the 49ers and why that stat looks so crazy sometimes is the 49ers have dropped the ball on good backup quarterbacks," Simms continued. "They've had crap there. So, they've lost a lot of football games that he's not in there just because it's below-average backup quarterback play.

"Even when he's healthy, and yes, they win and all that, they've sent you the signals. 'Yeah, we're winning. We don't think he's playing well enough, still.' They've been telling us for two years, everything. Just listen to John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan, let alone all the things we know about trying to trade (for a quarterback) or get Tom Brady or Matthew Stafford, blah, blah, blah."

Simms feels Garoppolo is physically limited in his ability to move within the pocket, and his arm is average. However, the analyst likes his quick release and awareness.

"He is good in the pocket, and with people around, he can kind of get his feet awkward and just flick it, and do things like that, and get the ball out of his hands really quick," Simms said. "So I love that aspect of him. But is he going to make plays out of the realm of the offense a whole lot? Absolutely not."

Simms adds that Garoppolo is very system-dependent, and all of the faults drop him to No. 21 within the ranking.

Below are the spots within the ranking that have already been revealed.