San Francisco 49ers: 5 simple reasons Jimmy Garoppolo gets even better in 2018
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: San Francisco’s Receiving Corps Will Be Improved
Take this into consideration. Jimmy Garoppolo looked like an elite-level quarterback with a rookie tight end, George Kittle, a rookie slot receiver, Trent Taylor, and a No. 1 wide receiver in Marquise Goodwin who, prior to 2017, was known only as a deep threat.
Goodwin’s 962 receiving yards last year marked a career high. And he flashed the ability to be more than just a speedster. Meanwhile, Taylor’s 19 third-down receptions for a first down ended up being tied for ninth among all receivers last season.
Not bad for a rookie. Especially if one subscribes to the notion players make their biggest developmental leap between years one and two.
Same goes for Kittle, whose 43 receptions at 515 yards set a record for rookies drafted in Round 5 or later during the modern football era.
Those options alone would be promising for Garoppolo in year two of his 49ers tenure. Yet San Francisco elected to add arguably the best route runner in college football last season, Washington’s Dante Pettis, in Round 2 of the 2018 NFL Draft.
He’ll be a weapon, maybe sooner than later. And this doesn’t even include the veteran presence of Pierre Garçon.
Speaking of Garçon…