49ers offense hinges on Jimmy Garoppolo’s health, per Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report just gave the 49ers offense a slightly above-average ranking entering 2021, hinging on whether or not Jimmy Garoppolo stays healthy.

It’s an overplayed narrative, but there’s a good deal of truth saying the San Francisco 49ers will likely go as far as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will take them in 2021.

The Niners have already admitted Jimmy G isn’t their long-term answer, having taken North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft after aggressively trading up to the No. 3 overall pick.

But with Lance still perceived as raw and needing some time to develop at the pro level, the assumption is Garoppolo will remain entrenched as the starter to kick off the upcoming season.

More pressure on Garoppolo, especially in terms of whatever stock value he hopes to have in 2022 when San Francisco is likeliest to consider moving on from him.

Not shockingly, Kristopher Knox over at Bleacher Report centered in on Garoppolo when ranking out all 32 teams’ offenses entering the upcoming season, citing the quarterback’s health as a major X-factor for the 49ers’ chances and aspirations:

"The success of San Francisco’s offense will likely depend on the health of Garoppolo—who missed 23 games over the past three years—and other players who missed time last season, like Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. San Francisco was average at best in 2020 after ranking fourth in total offense in 2019. …While the ceiling should be extremely high for the 49ers offense, the floor is merely above average."

Knox ranked the Niners offense 12th.

Jimmy Garoppolo’s health is an X-factor for 49ers offense

2019 was proof enough Garoppolo can be a big part of San Francisco’s would-be success this upcoming season.

During that year’s Super Bowl run, the 49ers owned the league’s second-best scoring offense with Jimmy G tossing 3,978 total yards — fourth best for a single season in franchise history. While Garoppolo wasn’t anything close to being the sole reason why, the gap in abilities between him and his backups the last three-plus years, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens, was awfully large.

In 2020, when Garoppolo was out all but six games because of ankle injuries, the Niners ended up with the NFL’s 21st-best scoring offense.

Related Story: Jimmy Garoppolo has reasons to stay with 49ers in 2021

San Francisco’s record with Jimmy G starting is 22-8. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s record without Garoppolo starting is 7-27. While quarterback wins is a bit of a lazy stat, the end-all nature of the 49ers record dating back to 2017 does point out at least the need to have effective quarterback play.

Garoppolo, more or less, has delivered it whereas the Niners’ other backups have not.

Lance could end up closing the gap between being a developmental backup and being a starter faster than anticipated, yes. Shanahan won’t simply cement Garoppolo in as the starter for the entirety of 2021 if Lance winds up progressing quickly.

Until then, though, it is safe to assume Shanahan’s offense will need Garoppolo to stay healthy, at least for the bulk of early games over the course of the upcoming season.