San Francisco 49ers: 5 burning questions in 2018

1. Is the hype behind Jimmy G real?

There is not a bigger, nor more important question than that regarding franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The most important player on any team is the quarterback, and with that, they have the most responsibility and receive either the most hype, or the most hate. There are few players getting as much hype as Jimmy Garoppolo, and one could even go as far to say he is the most hyped player heading into 2018.

Earlier this offseason, the 49ers made Garoppolo the highest paid player in the league at $27.5 million per-year with $74 million guaranteed. He has since been surpassed by Kirk Cousins, but that is a ludicrous amount of money for a quarterback with only seven career starts. Yes yes, he is undefeated! But that sample size is not nearly enough to make him one of the highest paid players in the league.

While I’m aware he is being paid based on potential, this situation is still a little questionable. In his five starts with the 49ers, Garoppolo went 5-0 while throwing for 1,560 yards with a touchdown to interception ration of 7-5. Based on those numbers, extrapolated to predict a full season, Garoppolo would have thrown for 4,992 yards with 22 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. For reference, Tom Brady won MVP in 2017 with 4,577 yards and a ratio of 32-8.

Undoubtedly, Garoppolo came in, made an immediate impact, and made the 49ers a much better team. However, five games, regardless of how good they were, seems too little to accurately judge Garoppolo. There is a very strong chance that will be good, possibly even elite. However, to justify his contract, he needs to show that kind of production and leadership over the course of a full season. For the record, I think he will, but until then, he remains one of the biggest questions surrounding the 49ers.