FanSided ranks 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo No. 13 quarterback in fantasy football

FanSided just dished out fantasy football quarterback projections, and the San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo came in at No. 13 entering the 2018 season.

With fantasy football season a mere few weeks away, it’s no surprise league-wide rankings and lists are popping up for every position everywhere. And while fantasy quarterbacks no longer carry the same weight they did not long ago, grabbing a quality signal-caller can be the difference between be a champion and a chump.

As such, FanSided’s Jon Dove just released his top-25 fantasy quarterback rankings for 2018, and the San Francisco 49ers‘ own Jimmy Garoppolo came in at No. 13 heading into the upcoming season.

Here’s what Dove had to say about the placement:

"Garoppolo is going to be a favorite among those trying to grab a high-upside quarterback later in the draft. He’s someone who is more familiar with his offensive system even after putting up strong numbers at the end of last year."

Garoppolo’s five-game win streak to close out the Niners’ 2017 campaign was impressive. And there are more than a few reasons to assume Jimmy G gets better this season. After all, he’ll have a better command of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s complex offense and a reinforced receiving corps — including promising rookie Dante Pettis and a healthy Pierre Garçon, who missed the second half of last year with a neck injury.

One of the reasons, however, behind Garoppolo not being slated higher might be how Shanahan’s offense is expected to be more balanced this year. Particularly after adding the dynamic running back, Jerick McKinnon, in free agency.

With the Niners looking to improve on their run game from last year, that’ll ultimately take passes (and subsequently fantasy football points) away from Garoppolo. It’s why many of the top-level fantasy quarterbacks are often from pass-first, pass-often teams.

Although that trend is still pretty high in today’s NFL.

The good news for fantasy owners targeting the 49ers’ signal-caller is Garoppolo’s average draft position (ADP) is 9.04 in 12-team, PPR leagues, according to Fantasy Football Calculator. That means you can wait until Round 9, on average, to grab the Niners quarterback if you’d like, focusing your higher picks on other areas of need.

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Dove ranked out the top 25 as such:

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
4. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
5. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
6. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
7. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
8. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
9. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
10. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
11. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
12. Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers
13. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
14. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
15. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
16. Eli Manning, New York Giants
17. Alex Smith, Washington Redskins
18. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
19. Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans
20. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals
21. Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22. Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
23. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
24. Tyrod Taylor, Cleveland Browns
25. Case Keenum, Denver Broncos

While grabbing a big-name player early is always a smart strategy, all fantasy owners know the real money is made by finding the bargain options and sleepers later on during draft day.

Garoppolo is shaping up to be such. So if he’s your target, you know what to do.