The Final Grade For the 2021 49ers Quarterbacks
This is Jimmy Garoppolo's grade, because Trey Lance hardly played in 2021.
And on the surface, it seems Garoppolo played well this past season. His 12.7 yards per completion led the entire NFL. His 68.3 completion percentage ranked 6th. His 98.7 quarterback rating ranked 9th. And his 53.4 QBR ranked 13th. Solid numbers. And he won 9 regular season games and played in the NFC Championship for the second time in three seasons. Impressive.
But these statistics mostly reflect the excellent supporting cast and coaching on the 49ers. The number that best reflects Garoppolo's value is this: The 49ers averaged just 29.4 passes per game -- second fewest in the NFL.
Why did the 49ers pass so infrequently despite having an All Pro wide receiver (Deebo Samuel), an All Pro tight end (George Kittle), and an elite third option (Brandon Aiyuk)?
Because Garoppolo is a high-risk, medium-reward quarterback. He threw just 20 touchdown passes despite playing with elite talent around him. His touchdown percentage was 4.5, which was the league average in 2021. But his interception percentage was 2.7 -- above the league average of 2.4.
This is why the 49ers have to run the ball into loaded boxes so frequently. This is why Samuel had to moonlight as a running back, a move which could shorten his career.
Despite all these limitations, Garoppolo wins more than he loses, and a team certainly can get to the playoffs with him. But when he gets there, he's awful. This past season, his playoff passer rating was 72.7, he threw 2 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions. Sure, he was injured, but he put up virtually the same numbers in the playoffs two seasons ago: 75.9 rating, 2 touchdown passes, 3 interceptions.
Garoppolo might be a great leader in the locker room, but he's a net negative on the field, especially in the postseason. Some team will trade for him this offseason and be extremely disappointed.
GRADE: C-MINUS
