San Francisco 49ers: Who is quarterback C.J. Beathard?
By Peter Panacy
Niner Noise’s “who is?” series moves forward focusing on San Francisco 49ers players in 2017. In this article, we take a look at rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard.
Some may say the San Francisco 49ers reached to grab former Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard at the tail end of Round 3 of the 2017 NFL Draft.
After all, the Niners traded back up into the tail end of the round on day two to get a signal-caller many projected to be a career backup at the NFL level.
But head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was given sole responsibility for picking a quarterback, apparently wanted no other QB aside from Beathard, according to the MMQB’s Peter King.
“Tough as s—. Got a chance. He reminds me a lot of Kirk Cousins.” — Kyle Shanahan on C.J. Beathard
King, who was present in the 49ers draft room, wrote:
"There wasn’t a player they had to have, but they’d picked up an extra seventh-round pick in an earlier deal, and someone suggested moving from early in the fourth round to late in the third, five spots up, to snare the only quarterback Shanahan wanted in this draft: Iowa’s C.J. Beathard. “We’d all sleep a little better if we got him instead of waiting ’til tomorrow,” [CEO Jed] York said."
Thus the move.
“He processes the game so well,” Shanahan said of Beathard, later in the King article. “Tough as s—. Got a chance. He reminds me a lot of Kirk Cousins.”
Cousins, of course, is the Washington Redskins quarterback Shanahan had wanted back in 2012.
Whether or not this comparison ends up equating is yet to be determined. But let’s break down what to expect from the rookie quarterback this season.
Why He’ll Improve
Beathard’s collegiate stats at Iowa aren’t anything exemplary or eye-popping.
Many draft experts touted him as a fifth- or sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. He didn’t play at a notable collegiate program, although it’s worth pointing out Iowa wasn’t exactly known for having a prolific offense anyway.
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2013 | Iowa | Big Ten | FR | QB | 5 | 9 | 27 | 33.3 | 179 | 6.6 | 4.0 | 1 | 2 | 86.4 |
| *2014 | Iowa | Big Ten | SO | QB | 8 | 52 | 92 | 56.5 | 645 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 5 | 2 | 129.0 |
| *2015 | Iowa | Big Ten | JR | QB | 14 | 223 | 362 | 61.6 | 2809 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 17 | 5 | 139.5 |
| 2016 | Iowa | Big Ten | SR | QB | 13 | 170 | 301 | 56.5 | 1929 | 6.4 | 6.0 | 17 | 10 | 122.3 |
| Career | Iowa | 454 | 782 | 58.1 | 5562 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 40 | 19 | 129.8 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 5/12/2017.
He does, however, have plenty of pro-style traits, which makes him a nice fit within Shanahan’s system. And if you believe Cousins was a direct product of Shanahan’s tutelage when the latter was offensive coordinator in Washington, tabbing Beathard makes a bit more sense.
Heading into 2017, Beathard’s primary responsibility will be competing for the backup role with veteran quarterback Matt Barkley behind fellow QB Brian Hoyer — the likely starter.
Beathard’s reps will come in the preseason. He won’t see much, if any, action during the regular season, barring injury.
So we should expect nothing more than what most developmental quarterbacks go through. And that’s fine.
Why He’ll Regress
If we stick with the Cousins comparison, it’s also just as reasonable to assume Beathard won’t amount to much beyond a decent backup quarterback at the pro level.
Cousins’ best season, in 2015, came when Sean McVay — not Shanahan — was the Redskins offensive coordinator. He also had two of the more productive wideouts at his disposal in DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon.
Garcon is a member of the 49ers now, so that’s something to watch. But he’s older too.
Beathard also isn’t known for having solid pocket awareness, and his downfield accuracy isn’t good at all. These may not be important traits in Shanahan’s system, but they’re enough reasons to suggest he may not make the roster at all.
What to Expect in 2017
If there’s one thing the 49ers gain by drafting Beathard, they at least have a negotiating chip in their favor should the team try to pursue Cousins — a pending free agent — this offseason.
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“We already have a Cousins-like QB on our roster,” Shanahan could say if Cousins’ camp is asking too high a price.
On the field though, Beathard won’t see too many snaps, if any at all. His chances of making the roster are good, considering San Francisco traded up to get him and won’t want to risk another team grabbing him if an attempt is made to place him on the practice squad.
Next: 5 NFL teams with the worst quarterback situations in 2017
The long-term projection still applies here, and the Niners may just have a decent backup on their roster for the foreseeable future.