4. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers
After being acquired from the Patriots and taking over as the starter, Garoppolo was a revelation for the 49ers. The team went 5-0 in his starts, as he topped 290 passing yards four times in that span (8.8 yards per attempt) and he completed over 67 percent of his passes with a 96.2 passer rating in six games overall. A season that looked on track to yield a top-five pick in April’s draft became something different, and San Francisco has found a potential franchise quarterback.
The 49ers are surely not letting Garoppolo get away in free agency, with the franchise tag as a fallback option if agreement on a long-term deal can’t reached. But he’s technically set to be available as we speak, with multiple potential quarterback-hungry suitors ready to line up if the 49ers botch things somehow.
Time will tell if the Patriots really wind up looking foolish for getting so little in the trade for Garoppolo, when a first-round pick was rumored to be in the table from the Cleveland Browns at one point. There are easy (and dismal) comparisons to make at this point, based on Garoppolo’s small sample of good work, but he will be a wealthy man one way or another come early to mid -March.