Thanks to one Jimmy G.
All sorts of rankings are going to be pouring out at this point in the offseason with speculation on how the NFL will shape up. An interesting ranking came from the NFL.com’s Adam Schein where they ranked the divisions of the league by QB. The San Francisco 49ers play in the NFC West and with their quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, are joined with Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals) Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks) and Jared Goff (Los Angeles Rams). This group of signal callers was enough to set the West up as second if based by QB, right behind the AFC West.
Here’s what
This group came close to being No. 1 on the list. Wilson was rightly rewarded for his greatness this offseason. He elevates the play of everyone around him, and now he’s the league’s highest-paid player. Goff was an MVP candidate for the first few months of last season. Not so much after that, but the throws in New Orleans during crunch time of the NFC Championship Game remind me of how great he can be under Sean McVay. I’m still drinking the Jimmy G Kool-Aid, especially with offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan calling the shots. If Garoppolo, coming off the ACL tear that ended his 2018 season in Week 3, is healthy, the Niners are going to surprise a lot of people. Good news: The health reports on his knee coming out of OTAs this week were positive. Murray is going to sizzle in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense with his Patrick Mahomes-like arm talent. There is excellent depth among the starters in this division.
I’d have put the West in at No. 1, but there are a lot of question marks surrounding it. For one, is Kyler Murray going to work in that air raid offense that the Cardinals are going to install? Can Garoppolo bounce back after a devastating injury? Is Jared Goff for real or just benefitting from that offense they run? Is Russell Wilson going to have a better average than 17.5 completions?
It’s funny when you look at the NFC North which is ranked No. 3 as well. That’s another strong contender for No. 1.
The NFC West is starting to get looked at as one of the more difficult divisions in football and that’s largely in part tot he quarterbacks that have been allocated to the teams. That makes all the more crucial that the 49ers defense can step things up in 2019 or they are going to get scored on like no tomorrow. We’re all familiar with the Russell Wilson special and that’s just one team of three that the 49ers have to deal with.
Come on defense…
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