Five Quarterbacks That Need Contract Extensions

Five Quarterbacks That Need Contract Extensions

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by | Jun 7, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Yesterday, the Philadelphia Eagles announced that they reached an agreement with quarterback Carson Wentz on a contract extension that keeps him with the team until 2024. Wentz now is under contract for six years for $154 million (with over $107 million guaranteed).

The Eagles have planted their flag with the fourth-year pro and former second overall pick. They are all-in on Wentz being the face of the franchise and their quarterback for now and in the future. In his second season in the NFL Wentz had a breakout campaign; the Eagles went 11-2 with him as their starter and he threw for nearly 3300 yards and 33 touchdowns–with only seven interceptions.

However, Wentz would miss the remainder of what ultimately became a Super Bowl-winning run due to a torn ACL. He then led Philadelphia to a disappointing 5-6 record before being sidelined once again for the rest of the year with a stress fracture in his back.

He’s cleared and back on the field and obviously, Philadelphia isn’t worried about his health. With the Eagles committing so heavily to Wentz at this juncture it allows us to turn our eyes elsewhere and see who is the next quarterback to be shown the money.

1. Patrick Mahomes

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The reigning MVP of the NFL is going to be the highest paid player in the NFL soon. In just his second year in the league, he revolutionized the position single-handedly. Mahomes ability to make plays inside and outside of the pocket combined with a rocket launcher for an arm he looked like the most-skilled quarterback since Aaron Rodgers.

Kansas City was all-in on Mahomes since they traded up to the 10th overall slot in the 2017 NFL Draft to select him. After taking a year to learn Andy Reid’s system, Mahomes tore through the entire league during his first season as a starter.

With weapons in the backfield and in the receiving corps, the Chiefs are positioned to be one of the better offensive teams for the foreseeable future.

At just 23 years old Mahomes has the best combination of youth and skills of any skill player in the NFL. That’s not something to just bat an eyelid at. Kansas City could hand Mahomes a blank check and still be making a smart investment at quarterback.

2. Dak Prescott

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The Dallas Cowboys are finally making their way back to sustained consistency. After dominating the late-80s and mid-90s, the star had lost some of its shine. Yet, Dallas also struck gold in the 2016 NFL Draft when they found Dak Prescott in the fourth round.

Since becoming the starter, Dallas has won two-thirds of their games (32-16) and have made the playoffs in two of the three seasons.

Prescott was known as more of a running quarterback during his time at Mississippi State, but he’s eclipsed the 3300-yard plateau each year and only completed less than 67 percent of his passes in one season (2017).

Jerry Jones knows how important Prescott has been to the turnaround in Dallas and making sure he’s properly compensated should be priority number one going forward. However, with the deals of Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper nearing completion as well, that means Jones might have to go very deep into his pockets to keep the current iteration of these Cowboys together.

3. Jared Goff

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The Los Angeles Rams are fresh off a trip to the Super Bowl and had one of the most explosive offenses in recent NFL history. But in that final game, their offense stalled out and they only managed to score three points as they were defeated by the New England Patriots.

Over the duration of the 2018 season, Goff was critical to the Rams success. In totality though, running back Todd Gurley was the engine behind the high-powered Sean McVay system and the Super Bowl put a big spotlight on that as the Patriots were able to bottle up Gurley–who was also dealing with knee issues.

Under the tutelage of McVay, Goff has been reborn as a signal caller. His rookie year might have been one of the worst for a first overall pick. Yet, he has looked like a different player since McVay took over for Jeff Fisher.

As long as Los Angeles believes that Goff will continue to develop and could one day be the key cog of the offense then a big deal is coming down the pipeline and the earlier they decide on that the more money they will likely save themselves.

4. Deshaun Watson

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Another quarterback in Texas is on the cusp of a big payday. Houston Texans starter Deshaun Watson is entering the penultimate year of his rookie deal and he’s easily been the best quarterback the franchise has had since they entered the league in 2002.

After starting just six games as a rookie, he started every game last year and led Houston to an 11-5 record and a Wild Card game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Watson rose to prominence in college at Clemson and led them to an upset victory in the national championship game against Alabama in 2017. He’s brought along glimpses of that star power to the NFL, but the Texans as a team have yet to capitalize on it while Watson remains on a below-market-rate deal.

Time’s running out for this team as it’s unlikely they will allow Watson to get to his fifth-year option without extending him first. If the team can’t put things together this season then they may have wasted their chance to repeat the formula of teams like the Rams and Chiefs. Firing their general manager likely makes getting a deal locked in even harder for the two sides.

5. Mitchell Trubisky

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When the Chicago Bears drafted Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft it caught many people off guard. However, after a big turnaround in his second year with the team, he’s now the third member of the 2017 draft class to appear on this list.

Even though he was taken before Mahomes and Watson, it would clearly seem that he sits behind those other two when re-ranking the trio of quarterbacks selected in the first round that year.

However, unlike the Texans, Chicago has done a much better job of filling out their roster to take advantage of having a cost-controlled quarterback. Trading for Khalil Mack last season vaulted this team into the upper echelon, but they fell short of making noise as they lost to the Eagles in the Wild Card round last season.

Hiring Matt Nagy has had a similar impact on Trubisky’s play as the Rams bringing in Sean McVay with Jared Goff. As long as Nagy’s offense continues to put Trubisky in situations to excel he will be worth the money.

Jun 7, 2019 No Comments
2019 NFL Preview: Potential Breakout Players

2019 NFL Preview: Potential Breakout Players

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by | Jun 5, 2019 | Featured, NFL

For the longest time the NFL has been defined by the names of Brady, Rodgers, Brees, Rivers, Watt, Miller, however with every passing season there are new names that find themselves entering the lexicon of NFL fans across the country. Last year it was players like James Conner, Phillip Lindsay, Derwin James, Juju Smith-Schuster, Jamal Adams that turned the page from hotshot upstart to Pro Bowl-caliber player.

As minicamps begin to open, teams are getting their first look at their full rosters this summer. There will be names that come out of nowhere and become contributors. There will be players who take the leap from solid to stud. There will be opportunities opened up where there once wasn’t a chance.

Here is our first look at a select group of players who could become dominant forces in 2019.

Damien Williams, RB (KC)

 

The storyline for the majority of the Kansas City Chiefs rise to the top seed in the AFC last season was focused on Patrick Mahomes’ rise from backup to MVP. Mahomes put on a stellar display in his first season as a starter and the Chiefs obviously have their man at quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Yet, another key piece didn’t have as great of a second season in Kansas City. Their star running back, Kareem Hunt, was released by the team at the end of November following news of a physical altercation with a woman in a hotel. In his absence, the team started to fill that vacated spot by opting to go with a committee approach in the backfield. During the playoffs there was another unsung hero rise to the occasion for the Chiefs, running back Damien Williams.

The little-used fifth-year pro came to Kansas City after four seasons with the Miami Dolphins. With Hunt gone, Williams took the opportunity to plant himself firmly as the man in the Chiefs backfield. In two playoff games, he contributed 250 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns as the starter. His ability to contribute both as a runner and a receiver make him an integral piece for Andy Reid’s offense going forward.

In the Chiefs divisional round game against the Indianapolis Colts, he made his impact on the ground, carrying the ball 25 times and racking up 129 yards and a touchdown. The next week he diced up the eventual Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots as a receiver to the tune of 66 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions.

With most of the league still trying to crack the code on slowing down Mahomes, Williams will certainly see a benefit. Opponents will be unable to load up the box to slow the run which means fewer defenders for Williams to worry about when attacking the line of scrimmage; even if teams do commit more players to the line of scrimmage then Kansas City can exploit the numbers advantage by targeting Williams in the passing game. Following years of being an afterthought, Williams could breakthrough in a big way this upcoming season.

David Njoku, TE (CLE)

 

The two names that have created the most headlines for the Cleveland Browns since the end of the season have been Hunt–the Browns signed him in February–and Odell Beckham Jr.–the team traded for him in March. However, in this new revamped Browns offense that we will see this upcoming season the player that could have the best season is tight end David Njoku.

Selected with the 29th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Njoku has the physical profile (6-foot-4, 246 pounds, 4.64 40-yard dash time, 37.5-inch vertical jump, and a 6.97 three-cone time) of a player that should make easy work of most linebackers and safeties. Given the attention that wide receivers Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry will require from secondaries, most opposing teams will be forced to use lesser options as the main defenders against Njoku.

After starting only five games and amassing 32 receptions, 386 yards, and four touchdowns, Njoku upped his starts (14), catches (56), and yards (639) outputs in his second season in the NFL.  His two games with double-digit targets came after Baker Mayfield supplanted Tyrod Taylor as the team’s starter at quarterback.

With a full summer to build upon the rapport, they developed last year expect for Njoku’s touchdown totals to see a bump this year. It’s going to be impossible for defenses to adequately distribute the proper resources to slow down all three of these weapons on every down. Look for this offense to produce multiple big plays a game this year with Mayfield calling the shots.

Mayfield is believed to be the guy to break the long-running curse at quarterback in Cleveland following a stellar rookie season. At Oklahoma, we saw him spread the ball around to all of his weapons on his way to winning the Heisman trophy. Heading into his second season he now has the same volume of weapons to space out his targets in Cleveland. Having a true red zone and middle-of-the-field threat in Njoku makes life easier for quarterbacks.

Tevin Coleman, RB (SF)

 

After years of operating as part of a running back duo in Atlanta with Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman had the backfield to himself last year after Freeman missed most of last year with a collection of injuries (hamstring, foot, and groin). Coleman surpassed 1,000 total yards for the first time in his career (1076) as he had a career year across the board.

Following the mini-breakout season, Coleman entered free agency and decided to team up with former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. In their one year together in the 2016 season, Coleman scored a career-best 11 total touchdowns and averaged a career-best 6.3 yards per touch.

Coleman’s 528 career attempts are 105 more than the entire San Francisco team attempted a season ago. He’s coming into the 49ers as a relatively fresh option at running back. The Niners top ball carriers totaled 153 (Matt Breida) and 111 (Alfred Morris) carries last year so it’s unlikely Coleman will be overloaded right off the bat.

This is the second straight offseason where the 49ers sought out a running back free agency. Last year they spent big on Jerrick McKinnon, but a torn ACL kept him from contributing. The initial thought would be that Coleman is leaving one running back committee for another, However, early reports out of San Francisco is that Coleman has emerged as the team’s lead back.

With Jimmy Garappolo coming back from an ACL injury of his own, the 49ers are attempting to push all of their chips into the middle of the table this season. Garappolo has operated best out of play action, and in order for that to work, they first need to establish the run game. With Coleman as the primary back, that means he’s likely to repeat the numbers he produced in 2016 but on a bigger volume.

Jaylon Smith, LB (DAL)

 

The 2016 NFL Draft was very good to the Dallas Cowboys. They got their quarterback and running back tandem of the future in Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. As the seasons have passed more and more praise has been heaped onto the organization for these moves, however, the pick that they really nailed was drafting linebacker Jaylon Smith of Notre Dame with their second-round choice.

Smith was on track to being a top-10 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft before an ACL injury in his final college game. The initial thought was that the knee injury could possibly ruin his NFL career, however, Smith has managed to appear in all 34 games–starting in 24 of them–with the Cowboys since being drafted.

Last season, the Cowboys got a version of Smith that looked more in line with what was expected of him pre-injury. He was second on the team in tackles (121 total), forced and recovered two fumbles, and scored Dallas’ only defensive touchdown. Smith’s ability to play sideline-to-sideline and make an impact against the run and pass make him a mainstay on the Cowboys.

The risk that Jerry Jones and co. took with drafting Smith looks to be paying off and as long as he remains healthy then the decision to take him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft will look better and better going forward.

Teamed with 2018 first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch Dallas has put together a formidable linebacker duo. We’ve seen the importance of protecting and defending the middle of the field and Dallas has that area of the field locked down now and going into the future thanks to their smart moves in the last few drafts.

Desmond King II, CB (LAC)

 

The Los Angeles Chargers defense was led by players like Joey Bosa, Derwin James, and Melvin Ingram III last year. All three were phenomenal at their position and wreaked havoc all over the field for opponents. The Chargers main goals on defense were forcing turnovers (19 combined interceptions and recovered fumbles) and capitalizing off them as well (two defensive touchdowns).

In the end, it was a complete 11-man effort down-after-down that made Los Angeles’ defense stingy throughout the season. Within that collective style of play, cornerback Desmond King II started to shine through. He tied with James for a team-high three interceptions last year.

Coming out of Iowa, King II’s knack for getting his hands on the ball (14 career interceptions and three fumbles recovered) made him stand out. However, a down senior season and inconsistent performance at the NFL Draft Combine led him to fall to the fifth round.

With the Chargers though he has found his role on the big stage as a slot cornerback, a position of increasing value in the NFL today. King II’s performance in Week 6 against Jarvis Landry and the Cleveland Browns was his pièce de résistance last season. Targeted four times, Landry only had one catch for seven yards when covered by King II. He also baited Baker Mayfield into throwing an interception on a crossing route.

If King II can continue his dominance in the slot he will be a big piece of the Chargers evolving defense going forward. He also adds the benefit of being the primary punt returner for the team. Los Angeles wants the ball in King II’s hands and so far he has obliged.

Lamar Jackson, QB (BAL)

 

Coming out of Louisville, Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson was often penciled in as the second coming of Michael Vick. Jackson is an incredible athlete, whose ability to stretch plays outside of the pocket and down the line of scrimmage make defensive coordinators have to alter their game plans when they face him.

After sitting behind Joe Flacco for the majority of his rookie season, Jackson was handed the reigns to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11. Over the final seven weeks of the year Baltimore went 6-1 with their only loss coming on the road to the Kansas City Chiefs—a game the team lost by three points.

Jackson was a breath of fresh air for a stale Ravens offense. Baltimore changed its entire philosophy seemingly overnight. They became a option-heavy running team with Jackson toting the ball for an average of 17.1 carries a game. With little to no time for opposing teams to scout what the Ravens and Jackson were doing, opponents often entered the game against Baltimore playing on their heels.

Yet, in the team’s Wild Card loss to the Los Angeles Chargers (playing Baltimore for the second time in two weeks) Jackson’s inability to consistently and accurately make plays in the passing game was a fatal flaw for the Ravens.

Heading into year two of the Lamar Jackson experience, Baltimore is once again changing their offense. They don’t want Jackson in as many designed running plays and by drafting speedster Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in the first round their hoping to stretch the field with Jackson’s arm just as much as they did last year with Jackson’s legs. With a full offseason knowing that he is the starter in Baltimore expect Jackson to come back noticeably improved in his second season.

Jun 5, 2019 No Comments
2019 NFL Preview: Five Teams On The Rise

2019 NFL Preview: Five Teams On The Rise

NFL

by | Jun 2, 2019 | NFL

The 2019-20 NFL season is steadily getting closer to kicking off. This week most teams are starting Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and the following week will see most teams hold short minicamps.

There has been a fair amount of player movement in the offseason and with rosters still a few months away from being finalized we can only guess what teams will look like on opening weekend in September.

With what we know now, here’s a look at five teams that could be among the cream of the crop in the upcoming season. There are teams that are coming off stellar seasons, teams that disappointed in the playoffs, teams that are on the rise, and teams that have yet to live up to expectations featured below.

As the New England Patriots proved last year, it’s not about how a team starts, but how they finish that matters most. The five teams on this list can either have boom or bust stretches. Look over the list and let us know what you think about these teams heading into the 2019-20 season.

Los Angeles Chargers

 

Dec 3, 2017; Carson, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Chargers defense poses for a picture after free safety Adrian Phillips (31) intercepted a pass during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at StubHub Center. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

 

The Los Angeles Chargers started off last season as the butt of the jokes in the NFL world. It was their first season in Los Angeles and not only were they playing in a soccer stadium but without a cemented fan base in their new location, most of their home games were infiltrated by fans of the team they were playing that week.Attendance issues aside, the Chargers were one of the best teams in the NFL a season ago. Under the coaching of Anthony Lynn the Chargers stepped out of the shadow of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs as they made a run to the AFC West title, but ultimately fell short.

Chargers fans got to see another solid year from Philip Rivers (4,308 yards, 32 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 68.3 completion percentage) and saw the beginnings of a potentially dominant defense come together.

Los Angeles has done well in surrounding Rivers with more playmakers as he gets longer in the tooth. In the backfield, the Chargers have Melvin Gordon who is coming off of a career year that saw him total 14 touchdowns and his yards per carry number finally jump above 4.0 (5.1 YPC in 2018-19).

On the perimeter, Rivers has his trusted ally in Keenan Allen and those two have developed a chemistry that allows them to exploit nearly any type of defense. Mike Williams made good on his promise that helped get him drafted seventh overall in 2017. In their Divisional Round loss to the New England Patriots, Williams was targeted a career-high 11 times.

Lastly, the team hopes that Hunter Henry—who returned from an ACL injury for the Chargers final game of the year—can get a full healthy offseason under his belt and become a mismatch for opponents’ linebackers and safeties going forward.

Defensively this team made its biggest leap. Bookended by edge rushers Melvin Ingram III (11 sacks) and Joey Bosa (7 sacks) Los Angeles had two players in the top 40 of total sacks in the 2018-19 season; and Bosa only played in nine games.

With the modern game becoming more of a pass-first league, the Chargers have invested in their secondary heavily too. Last year’s first round pick, Derwin James made an immediate impact as a rookie. James fluidity allowed him to line up anywhere on the field. In the Chargers playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens it was James who helped keep Lamar Jackson under wraps. James’ 105 tackles led the team. His partner at safety was no slouch either as Adrian Phillips ranked third with 94 tackles.

At corner, the trio of Casey Hayward, Trevor Williams, and Desmond King II did their part to take advantage of the work the line did upfront. Hayward was only targeted 63 times by opposing quarterbacks in 2018. King’s three interceptions tied with James for the team-high and Williams remained solid as a replacement for Jason Verrett.

Chicago Bears

 

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Another team that turned heads over the course of the regular season last year was the Chicago Bears. Bolstered by the preseason acquisition of Khalil Mack, the Bears were a real threat week-by-week. The highlight of the season came when they held the vaunted Los Angeles Rams offense to only six points in Week 14.

Their opening round upset loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was one of the more shocking outcomes of the 2019 playoffs. The Bears were one of teams many thought would hold the Lombardi trophy at the end of last season.

The addition of Mack made Chicago’s defense one of the stingiest in the entire league. We saw Mack’s rise to stardom in Oakland, but with the Bears he became a superstar in front of the world’s eyes. Mack, naturally wreaked havoc off the edge, however his presence made it easier for the other pieces of the Bears defense to be impactful in their areas.

Chicago’s defensive linemen Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, and Roy Robertson-Harris saw a lot more one-in-one opportunities as offensive lines focused on Mack’s presence. On the opposite edge, Leonard Floyd started to come into his own as well. Rookie middle linebacker Roquan Smith acclimated himself well to the NFL and that front seven is one of the best in the entire league.

On offense, new head coach Matt Nagy came over from Kansas City and revitalized that entire side of the ball for the Bears. Nagy brought innovative formations and concepts to Chicago and helped Mitchell Trubisky’s second year in the NFL go a lot smoother than his first.

The Bears signed Allen Robinson, Trey Burton, and Taylor Gabriel as free agents and drafted Anthony Miller of Memphis to reconstruct their passing corps and running back Tarik Cohen was a much bigger part of the team’s aerial attack under Nagy.

Modernizing the offense and putting Trubisky in positions to succeed (play action, bootlegs) helped the Bears offense improve from 30th in yards per game to 21st in Nagy’s first year on the sidelines. With a full year under their belt, the Bears could vaunt into the top half of the league’s offenses for the 2019-20 season.

Chicago brought in Cordarrelle Patterson in free agency and drafted Riley Ridley out of Georgia in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to give Nagy even more tools to play with this year. If everything comes together, this team has the pieces to make a real run at Super Bowl LIV.

Cleveland Browns

 

Myles Garrett, Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr. and Baker Mayfield pose with Beckham’s new Browns jersey during a press conference in Berea on Monday. (Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com)

 

Next up is the team that won the offseason, the Cleveland Browns. First, Browns employees, players, and fans are all coming off the high of winning seven games a year ago. Led by rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield and interim (now head) coach Freddie Kitchens, the Browns almost snuck into the postseason through the backdoor.

Instead of resting on their laurels, the Browns attacked this offseason viciously. The headliner acquisition was wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Cleveland was able to pry him away from a rebuilding New York Giants team for the low price of their 2019 first round pick (17th overall), a 2019 third round pick (96th overall), and safety Jabrill Peppers.

Cleveland now has the following players to surround Mayfield on offense: Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Duke Johnson Jr., Nick Chubb, and Kareem Hunt (suspended for the first 8 games of the season). That’s a lot of Pro Bowl level talent to surround the second-year signal caller with.

With a full offseason to rework the offense and ingratiate a talent like Beckham, Cleveland could be one of the more unstoppable units next year.

In the shadow of Hue Jackson’s disappointing tenure, the Browns have built one of the most talented defenses in the entire NFL. Cleveland has developed in-house All-Pro level talent at each level of their defense: defensive end Myles Garrett, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, linebackers Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert, and defensive back Denzel Ward.

On top of that, they added Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon, Morgan Burnett, and Greedy Williams this offseason too.

In his first year as a head coach, Kitchens will not only have the pressure to produce wins on his shoulders, but he will have to make sure that all this talent they brought in this summer is able to coalesce into a team.

Dallas Cowboys

 

Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

 

Over the course of the last decade, the Dallas Cowboys have fallen short of the America’s team moniker they earned during their run of dominance from the 1970s through the 1990s.

Since winning the Super Bowl in 1996, the Cowboys have won a total of four playoff games counting their wild card victory over the Seattle Seahawks from last season.

Tired of not meeting expectations, Jerry Jones has managed to collect a triumvirate of offensive players that are the best at their positions since Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin rocked the star on their helmets. Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper form the new age quarterback-running back-wide received collection for Jones.

Prescott and Elliott were both drafted in 2016 (Elliott with the fourth overall pick and Prescott in the fourth round) and have become the faces of the franchise in short time. Cooper was acquired at the trade deadline for, what was considered controversial at the time, Dallas’ 2019 first round pick. Cooper lived up to the hype of his return on expectations following the deal and Dallas is now tasked with trying to get all three new long-term deals so they can remain together for the foreseeable future.

Dallas has also managed to build one of the better offensive line units in the NFL as well. In the last couple years the depth has taken a slight hit due to injuries and deflections, but the Cowboys can still put a five-man group on the field that is among the league’s best.

On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys have built an underrated unit. They were able to keep stud defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence when the sides agreed to a five-year, $105 million contract after Dallas placed the franchise tag on him to open free agency.

Then there’s their pair of youthful linebackers in Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch. Smith was primed to be one of the best players in the entire 2016 draft class until he suffered tears in his ACL and LCL during Notre Dame’s bowl game.

However, Smith has attacked his recovery like a ball carrier in the open field and he looks in-line to becoming the player many saw during his junior year with the Fighting Irish. Vander Esch was drafted as a potential replacement for Sean Lee, yet an injury to Lee sped up Vander Esch’s timeline. He answered the call and put together a very impressive rookie season.

The Cowboys have had some of the shine scrubbed off their franchise in the last two decades, but they now look more like those fabled teams of the past than they have in any season post-Y2K.

San Francisco 49ers

 

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

 

This team feels like it’s been on the poised to breakout list for each of the past two years. Teaming up offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan with beloved former Tom Brady backup Jimmy Garoppolo quickly made this team a media darling.  

In their first year together promise was shown on both sides—the team went 6-1 in Garoppolo’s seven starts—and the 49ers believed in Garoppolo enough to award him what was then the richest contract in NFL history (five years, $137.5 million). Yet, year two wasn’t as rewarding for the franchise. Garoppolo was lost for the season after tearing his ACL in a Week 3 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

At just 26 years old Garoppolo is young enough to bounce back from this and keep progressing towards the quarterback San Francisco thought it stole away from the New England Patriots.

Last season also saw the 49ers lose their big free agent signing, Jerick McKinnon, to a torn ACL in the preseason.

In the aftermath of those two devastating injuries, the 49ers only mustered four victories. However, the year wasn’t a complete lost season. The team unearthed quarterback Nick Mullens and running back Matt Breida as valuable backups; and tight end George Kittle is among the tight ends trying to take the now retired Rob Gronkowski’s title of best in the NFL.

After bringing in former Shanahan-coached running back Tevin Coleman in free agency, the team now has a stable of running backs that are all proven contributors and can all make plays in the run and passing game.

If the injury bug is finally gone from the Bay Area, the 49ers have a collection of talent that should get them into the postseason.

The determining factor will likely be their defense. With the second overall pick they brought in Nick Bosa to team with fellow first round selections Solomon Thomas, DeForest Buckner, and Arik Armstead in hopes of fortifying a dormant pass rush. Trading for Dee Ford was another move done to spruce up that attack. San Francisco also went out and got linebacker Kwon Alexander from Tampa Bay.

The 49ers set an NFL record last season for the fewest turnovers created (seven) in a season. The NFL’s Next Gen Stats list Ford as the player responsibilities for creating the most turnovers in the 2018-19 season. In 46 games, Alexander caused 14 total turnovers—eight fumbles (forced or recovered) and six interceptions. If those two can help the Niners defense get the ball back to their offense more than this team could go from afterthought to contender in just one year.

Jun 2, 2019 No Comments