49ers: Looking at the NFL Draft without Jimmy Garoppolo

The San Francisco 49ers have the advantage of an early first round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft without the need to panic over a quarterback, thanks to Jimmy Garoppolo. But what if this weren’t the case?

OK just a warning, this requires you to suspend disbelief. A lot of it.

There’s also no practical reason for this exercise, at all. All because of Jimmy Garoppolo.

So if you believe you would have problems holding your disbelief for this, this may not be the article for you.

Quarterback target:

Believe it or not, I don’t believe the 49ers would pick any of the available quarterbacks, nor trade up for one. All of Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield possess flaws that would make a team have to think long and hard about moving up.

All four quarterbacks are expected to be off the board by the time the 49ers come onto the clock.

The fifth quarterback, Lamar Jackson, would be of some interest. I also believe he’s very underrated as a prospect and could have a Deshaun Watson-esque rookie season, but the truth is he’s not really a very good fit for the sort of quarterback Shanahan has favored in the past.

So who would the 49ers target? I think this guy:

SEATTLE, WA – NOVEMBER 25: Quarterback Luke Falk #4 of the Washington State Cougars looks downfield to pass against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

Washington State’s Luke Falk has the sort of abilities that Shanahan likes in his quarterbacks, and Falk himself has been compared to Cousins.

Falk could be obtained easily outside of the first round (exactly where is a matter for debate, depending on the demand for quarterbacks) and would give Shanahan an ideal chance to start anew. Even if he didn’t pan out it wouldn’t be a big deal, remember that Shanahan and John Lynch signed very lengthy deals, they have a lot of time.

Shanahan and Lynch have proven themselves very capable, it make sense they’d take a QB they’re comfortable with instead of just taking one early.

In their draft profile of Falk, Walter Football listed these strengths for Falk:

Accurate
Above-average arm strength
Good ball placement
Touch passer
Enough arm to make all the throws in the NFL
Rhythm passer
Pocket presence
Good timing
Anticipation
Will throw into tight windows
Deadly red-zone passer

Yeah, that looks pretty close to Cousins for me.

This, of course leaves, the first round pretty much as you would normally have read it leading up to the draft, being used on another defender whoever they might be, at time of writing the current favorite is Minkah Fitzpatrick.

It’s not terribly exciting I know, and I expected to tout one of the first round quarterbacks here, but I just don’t see the 49ers getting very excited over any of them.

Next: 2018 NFL Draft: 3 best-value picks for the 49ers

It’s all just idle guesswork, but it’s interesting to speculate for fun instead of being serious for a change. And it isn’t out of the question that the 49ers could get a quarterback in the middle or later rounds of the draft this year.

As the Philadelphia Eagles proved, a great backup quarterback can keep a team on the track to success.

San Francisco 49ers: Looking at the NFL Draft without Jimmy Garoppolo

By Jeremy Wohlfart | Apr 21, 2018

The San Francisco 49ers have the advantage of an early first round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft without the need to panic over a quarterback, thanks to Jimmy Garoppolo. But what if this weren’t the case?

Quarterback target: