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49ers 2017 season review: Full position grades and analysis

By Logan Stanley

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass Los Angeles Rams during the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass Los Angeles Rams during the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass Los Angeles Rams during the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass Los Angeles Rams during the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

The first year of the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era was an erratic one for the San Francisco 49ers, which began with an 0-9 start and ended with a 6-10 finish. Here are the full grades and analysis from the 2017 season.

October 30, 2017. That is the date when the San Francisco 49ers season changed. At the time, the team was 0-8 and fresh off a 33-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The defense had surrendered 30+ points in consecutive weeks while the offense was operating as a three-and-out machine. Rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard — after taking over for the wildly ineffective Brian Hoyer — was laboring through his starts, taking a beating behind a weak offensive line.

It was not a good time for the franchise, to say the least. But then the news broke the day before Halloween that San Francisco had dealt a 2018 second-round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

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While there was a wealth of unknown due to the small sample size, there was still excitement in the air when the trade happened. It would be nearly a month before Garoppolo saw his first action in the red and gold, coming in at the end of Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Little did we know that those three plays in the game, which ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Louis Murphy Jr., would be a precursor to something much grander. Five starts later, and the 49ers had themselves a five-game winning streak, becoming the first team in NFL history to begin a season 0-9 and finish 6-10.

That peculiar record they now hold perfectly encapsulates the 2017 season for San Francisco. With that in mind, these position grades are based on the entire 16-game schedule and take into account all aspects of play.