2020 NFL MVP -- Jimmy Garoppolo: How Drafting a WR at 13 Improves Jimmy G's MVP Chances.
As of April 6th, Oddsharks.com gave Garoppolo +4000 MVP odds. Those odds give Garoppolo the 17th-best chance to win the award this upcoming season.
Jimmy Garoppolo is an MVP-caliber quarterback, and a wide receiver such as CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, or Henry Ruggs certainly would improve Garoppolo's MVP chances.
CeeDee Lamb is my favorite receiver in this draft class and, if the 49ers land Lamb in the draft, Jimmy Garoppolo would become my 2020 NFL MVP prediction. Here’s why:
Proving the doubters wrong: Despite all of his success, Jimmy Garoppolo is the most disrespected quarterback in the national media. Garoppolo owns a 22-6 record as a starting quarterback and just led his team to the Super Bowl. Yet, he gets very little consideration towards being a top 10 NFL quarterback.
Each day of this offseason, Garoppolo surely has reflected on over-throwing Emmanuel Sanders for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Which happens to be the only thing the national media seems to remember. No one remembers that Garoppolo was on track to win Super Bowl MVP up until 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
Locally, parts of the media suggest that Kyle Shanahan does not trust Jimmy Garoppolo. That the 49ers are in the mix to draft a quarterback, as early as the first round if a guy like Jordan Love is on the board.
Garoppolo has all of the motivation in the world to prove his doubters wrong, and he will do just that. Garoppolo has been special ever since he stepped on the field for the 49ers. Quarterbacks don’t take 1-10 football teams and end the season on a 5 game win streak unless they have MVP potential.
Extra Opportunities:The 49ers ran the ball the second most in the NFL last season, and averaged the second-most rushing yards per game. The 49ers ground attack absolutely embarrassed the Packers in the NFC Championship Game on national television.
The Packers, along with all the other 49ers’ 2020 opponents, will do everything in their power to ensure that the Kyle Shanahan run game does not dominate like it did in 2019. In other words, opposing teams will dare the 137.5 million dollar quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, to beat them.
Even though the 49ers ran the ball more than they threw it, Garoppolo still put up 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns while completing 69% of his passes. If you take Jimmy Garoppolo’s 2019 stats and add 100 attempts, he would have thrown for 4,818 yards and 33 touchdowns (numbers based on his averages). Those are MVP-type numbers.
Garoppolo will have those 100 additional opportunities to throw the ball this season. His numbers will improve even more with the addition of a dynamic playmaker like Lamb, Jeudy, or Ruggs.
Lamb is a do-it-all receiver, who will take the 49ers offense and Garoppolo’s game to the next level. I feel similarly about Jeudy. Ruggs on the other hand is more of a weapon to scheme plays for than a true number one receiver like Lamb and Jeudy.
Quarterbacks and Shanahan in year two: In his second season with Kyle Shanhan, Matt Ryan won the 2016 NFL MVP Award. Ryan led the Falcons to an 11-5 record and a Super Bowl appearance while he threw for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and completed 70% of his passes.
That was drastically different than what Ryan achieved with Shanahan the season prior. In 2015, the Facons finished 8-8 while Ryan threw for 4,591 yards, 21 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and completed 66% of his passes.
Of course, Julio Jones largely contributed to Ryan’s MVP season, but outside of Jones that Falcons didn’t have big-name targets. Other targets included Mohammed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel, Devontae Freeman, and Tevin Coleman.
The 49ers do not have a Julio Jones on their roster, but they do have George Kittle. Deebo Samuel is already proving he is an above-average number two receiver in the NFL. I love Kendrick Bourne, but Bourne will not elevate Garoppolo’s MVP chances like Lamb will. A trio of Lamb, Kittle, and Samuel would give Garoppolo the weapons he needs to win an MVP award.
History suggests Garoppolo will see improvements in his second season with Shanahan. Garoppolo already had a tremendous 1st full season in Shanahan’s system. With opposing defensive coordinators honing in on the 49ers run-game, Garoppolo will have to beat opposing defenses, and Shanahan will put him in a position to do just that.
