Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: 2019 regular-season awards

By Nathan Bannerman

Tight end George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Tight end George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
49ers Jimmy Garoppolo
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Offensive Player of the Year: Jimmy Garoppolo

With George Kittle taking the MVP, it’s only fair Jimmy Garoppolo gets offensive player of the year.

Garoppolo had one of the best seasons for Niners quarterbacks in many years. He finished the season just shy of 4,000 yards, which is in the company of Jeff Garcia, Joe Montana and Steve Young.

Jimmy G should also be a consideration for Comeback Player of the Year, after dealing with a torn ACL injury last season. Not a lot of players can come back from that injury and make a huge impact like Garoppolo. Along with his 3,978 yards of passing, he also threw for 27 touchdowns, which tied him for fifth in the league.

One of the knocks on Garoppolo has been his 13 interceptions this year. But here’s the thing: most of those picks were “tip picks.” “Tip picks” are interceptions, which have come off the receivers’ hands. His receivers had a struggle trying to catch a lot of his passes, which resulted in those 13 interceptions. This isn’t to say Garoppolo didn’t throw some questionable passes, like any quarterback would. But there’s some slack to give him.

However, here’s what Garoppolo can do:

https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1203747725252136960

It’ll be exciting to see what Garoppolo can do with another full season under his belt. If he’s able to have receivers who can hold on to the ball and make smart passes, he could be one of the top two quarterbacks in the league.

Honorable mention:

He arrived just a little late into the season, but wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders has provided some great star power on the offense. In 10 games with the 49ers, Sanders had 502 receiving yards, three touchdowns and even thew for a touchdown.

Sanders was a much-needed addition to the Niners receiving corps. It seemed like their only flaw through the first half of the year was catching the ball. They solved the problem with the Sanders trade.

Sanders can become a free agent at the end of the year, but 49ers fans hope a deal can get done before that.