Does Kyle Shanahan Want a Mobile Quarterback in 2021?

Since Kyle Shanahan became the 49ers head coach in 2017, it seems he has been searching for the least athletic quarterbacks imaginable.

That trend might change soon.

This week, the 49ers agreed to sign dual-threat quarterback Josh Johnson to practice squad. Johnson is the first mobile quarterback the 49ers have signed since Shanahan became head coach. Remember, he released Colin Kaepernick because Kaepernick supposedly didn't fit the system.

Now, it seems Shanahan's system is evolving.

Here's what Shanahan said recently about coaching mobile quarterbacks:

“It gives you a huge advantage when the quarterback’s a threat to run. If you have to pick one way or the other, I always feel no matter who you are, especially when you get in those playoffs, eventually a team's going to make you sit in that pocket and make you make some big throws to win a game. So, you have to have that ability, but anyone who has both always has the chance to exceed everybody.

"Tom Brady's the best to ever play the game and if he could run and do all that other stuff and still be the same way he is, that would be impossible to stop. The more you can have both, the more things you can do as an offense and the less things the defense can do just having to defend everything.

"I think there are a lot more coming up, guys who have seen guys run around and make plays and have stayed at the quarterback position their entire career, starting in Pop Warner to high school, to college. I think more offenses have incorporated a bunch of things that allow guys to develop as pocket passers, even though they're unbelievable athletes and can make plays.

"I think some of the challenges over the last, at least in my career, is you get some of these unbelievable athletes who've never had to sit in a pocket and really go through that because they could just win games in Pop Warner just running around. They can win it in high school just running around. They can win Heismans and do whatever, just running around in college.

"Then eventually you get in the NFL and there's times that you’ve got to do that and it's really tough, but I think there's more and more guys coming out who have been doing both forever. When you have that, then you’ve got a chance to do both and that's why you can see that the league is finding more and more of those guys.”

Sounds like Shanahan has been thinking about the topic for a while. And it sounds like he wants a mobile quarterback now.

Which means this offseason, the 49ers might try to trade for Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones. sign Dak Prescott or draft Trey Lance or Zach Wilson.

Which mobile quarterback would you like the 49ers to get, and why?

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