NFL predictions 2018: San Frnacisco 49ers will win NFC West

With Jimmy Garoppolo as their franchise quarterback, the San Francisco 49ers finally have the savior they’ve been looking for.

The franchise has been in search of the heir to Steve Young since 1998. They thought it would be Colin Kaepernick, but that turned out to be a failure after they let go of Jim Harbaugh, who knew the right way to handle the offense with him.

Enter Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo was supposed to be the heir to Tom Brady in New England, but that ship looks like it might not have a commander after Brady leaves. Instead he’s in San Francisco, and he looks like the real deal.

Last season the 49ers hired Kyle Shanahan. The team then traded for Garoppolo, and slowly integrated him into their system. He finished 5-0, and the team looked poised to be on their way to big things in 2018.

Their biggest free-agent signings were Richard Sherman and center Weston Richburg. However, they landed the best offensive tackle in the draft, Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey, and wide receiver Dante Pettis with their first two picks. They protected the blindside of Garoppolo and gave him a No. 1 target.

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Garoppolo seems to have the Brady quality of being able to lift a team around him and get the best out of them, regardless of talent level. It looks like the additions that John Lynch made were just enough  to put them over the top in the NFC West, and that’s with the Los Angeles Rams having a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.

On the outside looking in, it may appear as if they don’t have enough to over take the Rams in the NFC West just yet. However, with the quarterback and head coach they have, along with the pieces they added, they will overtake the Rams for the division in 2018.