NFL quarterback power rankings: NFC West edition

2. Jimmy Garoppolo

Garoppolo’s merits as a quarterback have been a topic of intense discussion since the 49ers’ collapse in the fourth quarterback Super Bowl LIV in February.

However, his first full season in Kyle Shanahan’s system must be viewed as an unequivocal success. Garoppolo had the benefit of an excellent defense supporting him and being able to lean on a near-unstoppable running game but the Niners would not have been the number one seed in the NFC had he not regularly come through in the clutch down the stretch.

Indeed, both games with the Cardinals, the Superdome shootout with the New Orleans Saints and a Week 16 thriller with the Rams were won predominantly on the arm of Garoppolo.

He threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 27 touchdowns while outperforming his expected completion percentage (67.5). Garoppolo completed 69.1 percent of his passes.

The obvious hope is that those numbers only improve as he grows ever more comfortable in the Shanahan offense, but the concern comes in his decision making and inconsistent accuracy on simple throws.

Garoppolo tossed 13 interceptions last season and, though his ability to shake off those mistakes was a key feature of the 2019 campaign, improvements will be required in 2020 to put to bed any talk of the 49ers moving on from the former New England Patriot.