San Francisco 49ers: 5 simple reasons Jimmy Garoppolo gets even better in 2018

It’s safe to say San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was pretty good in his Niners stretch last year. And here are five reasons why he’ll be even better in 2018.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was a pretty big difference maker for the San Francisco 49ers last season.

If you had any doubts, just chew on this stat (h/t Chris Wilson of Niner Noise). Before Garoppolo started in Week 12, the Niners were eighth from last in offensive-drive scoring percentage (29 percent).

With Garoppolo under center, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense averaged a score on 62 percent of their drives.

Best in the league.

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/12/2018.

That’s an elite-level contribution, which justifies the massive five-year, $137.5 million contract he inked with San Francisco this offseason.

If Garoppolo stays on the same level, the 49ers have themselves an awfully good quarterback.

Yet there are more than a few reasons why he could be even better this season. Here are five that make too much sense.

No. 5: 49ers’ Investments in the Offensive Line

If you’re of the mindset an offense’s success or failure all starts up front, then it makes sense why all the Niners’ offensive line investments will play a crucial role in Jimmy Garoppolo’s improvement this season.

The 49ers O-line will look completely different than it did Week 1 a year ago.

To get an idea, just check this out from The Athletic’s David Lombardi:

The only returnee to the starting lineup from early last year is veteran left tackle Joe Staley. San Francisco drafted former Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey, traded off Trent Brown, swapped out Daniel Kilgore for Weston Richburg and have a three-way former first-round draft pick competition for the two guard spots.

A year ago, the Niners ranked 18th in pass protection, according to Football Outsiders. While Garoppolo’s pocket presence helped improve this metric late in the season, it’s important to note his passer rating under pressure was still only 63.3, per Pro Football Focus.

If all those offseason investments wind up meaning less pressure on Garoppolo, well, it’s not hard to figure out why he’ll improve here.

No. 4: The 49ers’ Running Game Opens Up

Rare are the quarterbacks who don’t need much of a running game to be effective under center.

Jimmy Garoppolo could be solid enough without a good ground game, but the Niners having one would only serve to make him more potent this season.

And San Francisco made hefty investments there.

Grabbing running back Jerick McKinnon in free agency is a key move. As Niner Noise pointed out earlier in this film-review piece, McKinnon is tailor made for the position in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He excels at outside-zone runs and contributes just as readily in the passing game.

Yet another key note to understand here is the switch from Trent Brown to Mike McGlinchey at right tackle.

Being able to run to the right side was something Shanahan couldn’t do well last season. And the head coach wasn’t happy about it, according to former KNBR 680 insider Kevin Jones:

McGlinchey is already a run-blocking upgrade over Brown. So that should allow Shanahan to employ runs to both sides of the offensive line.

In turn, that’ll open up things for Garoppolo and the passing game. Particularly in play action, where Garoppolo posted a passer rating of 94.5 — 10th best in the NFL among qualifiers — per Pro Football Focus.

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…

No. 2: Return of Veteran Wideout Pierre Garçon

Pierre Garçon was already on pace to reach 1,000 yards before suffering a season-ending neck injury exactly halfway through last season.

As such, Garçon never got to work with Jimmy Garoppolo. His numbers came from the ineffective quarterbacking from pre-Jimmy G QBs Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard.

Even though Garçon will turn 32 years old before the regular season starts, there’s little reason to expect him not to have another solid season. And, hopefully, over its entire duration.

What Garçon offers to the offense is a bit different than the other crop of wideouts on the roster. Garçon has the physicality element — a trait regularly displayed in the first half of 2017 and one that should help Garoppolo’s confidence throwing the ball in tight confines and within the red zone.

Speaking of the red zone — the area where Kyle Shanahan’s offense finished 27th in touchdown scoring efficiency last year — 21 of Garçon’s 37 end-zone grabs have come in this area.

Yeah, that’s a boost.

No. 1: A Fuller Understanding of Kyle Shanahan’s Offense

Kyle Shanahan operates arguably the most complex offensive system in the NFL today. When working, though, it’s highly effective. The only problem is it can take a while to learn.

San Francisco 49ers

To understand this, let’s look back at Shanahan’s first year as offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons back in 2015. Shanahan’s offense that year — despite a crop of talented contributors like quarterback Matt Ryan, wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Devonta Freeman — finished seventh in total yardage (5,985) but only 21st in points scored (339).

A year later, after having learned the system, Atlanta’s offense became prolific, finishing second in yards gained (6,653) and tops in points scored (540).

The Niners were forced to spoonfeed Jimmy Garoppolo various portions of the offense in short notice last year, as broken down by ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. Garoppolo had just four weeks between his trade from the New England Patriots and his first start with the 49ers in Week 13 last year against the Chicago Bears.

Not exactly a lot of digest time.

Shanahan eluded to how it will be different this season, via Wagoner:

"It’s nice to start from scratch and to go at a slower process. He got a crash course, and he did a helluva job picking it up, but some things he’s out there and he’s just going, but he doesn’t truly understand why and things like that. But he did a great job of getting through the week to where he had a chance to do it on Sunday, and now where the rush isn’t quite the same, I think you start from the beginning, start on the first page, not the 50th page, and you get a better foundation."

Next: Envision a 49ers Offseason Without Jimmy Garoppolo

So, if you were impressed with Garoppolo over five starts last year, just imagine what a full offseason of study will do.