49ers Who Is?’ series: Jimmy Garoppolo to break out in 2020
By Peter Panacy
Why Jimmy Garoppolo regresses with 49ers in 2020
One of the comparisons many make in assuming Jimmy Garoppolo has a great season in 2020 is to look at the two years Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had under Kyle Shanahan between 2015 and 2016:
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Y/A | Rate | Sk | 4QC | GWD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 30 | ATL | QB | 2 | 16 | 16 | 8-8-0 | 407 | 614 | 66.3 | 4591 | 21 | 16 | 7.5 | 89.0 | 30 | 4 | 4 |
| 2016*+ | 31 | ATL | QB | 2 | 16 | 16 | 11-5-0 | 373 | 534 | 69.9 | 4944 | 38 | 7 | 9.3 | 117.1 | 37 | 1 | 2 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/24/2020.
But it’s important to note Ryan, amid his MVP season, had the boost of all-world wide receiver Julio Jones at his disposal, along with a well-proven slot receiver in Mohamed Sanu.
San Francisco isn’t quite that lucky.
Garoppolo could be without wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot) early in the regular season. Brandon Aiyuk is still a rookie, and the 49ers don’t have a lot of proven options outside those two names. At least not the names who could provide big-time numbers in support.
On top of that, Garoppolo displayed weaknesses in his game overall, particularly in those intermediate-area parts of the field between 10 and 19 yards from the line of scrimmage, as NextGen Stats revealed:
Garoppolo can handle himself well enough between the numbers. But on the boundaries, particularly in those intermediate spots so crucial in fourth-quarter situations, Garoppolo struggles.
This is also an area in which Shanahan likes to exploit on the field, and Jimmy G has yet to demonstrate a consistent ability hitting his targets in this area.
If defenses start to hone in on this and Garoppolo can’t properly adjust, there will be nothing close to the massive year two under Shanahan many think could happen.