San Francisco 49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo poised to return offense to dominance

With Jimmy Garopolo at the helm of Kyle Shanahan’s offense, the San Francisco 49ers are poised to return to dominance on that side of the ball.

Asked about upcoming contract negotiations with Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch stated the obvious. The 49ers want the quarterback around for the long haul. It is absolutely no shock that the 49ers want to lock Garoppolo up long term after he won all five of his starts after replacing C.J. Beathard following his acquisition in a trade with the New England Patriots in October.

Yet Lynch and Shanahan would divulge little else when pressed further about the coming discussions and Garoppolo was similarly diplomatic when questioned on the same topic on San Francisco’s exit day, per Niners Wire:

"“I like being here. I think we had a good thing going at the end of this year. And we’ll see what happens.”"

That Garoppolo wants to keep his cards close to his chest is understandable. He has an incredible amount of leverage over the 49ers after his string of stunning performances and will naturally want to discuss matters with his agent before settling on a starting point for negotiations. But, while Garoppolo was keen to say as little as possible, the fact he also spoke of “waiting until next year” for the playoffs, provided an obvious indication that he does not plan on going anywhere.

More from San Francisco 49ers

• 49ers 7th-round pick turning out to be an absolute NFL Draft steal
• San Francisco 49ers almost did the unthinkable in 2022
• 3 reasons why Trey Lance could be labeled a bust after 2023
• The San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback situation is exhausting
• Sam Darnold could be the diamond in the rough for the 49ers

This is a marriage both sides want to maintain for the foreseeable future and, though Garoppolo’s career with the 49ers has been brief, it is one that looks like returning the franchise to its glory days.

The Niners were of course yards from Super Bowl glory under Jim Harbaugh, however, not even then were they close to replicating the kind of offensive success they enjoyed in the halcyon days of 1980s and 90s when San Francisco’s offense was a juggernaut. It is far too early to suggest that a Garoppolo-led offense will be able to match the achievements of those led by Joe Montana and Steve Young, but the early signs have been extremely promising.

With Garoppolo under center, the 49ers have gone from a team averaging 17 points, 18.5 first down and 321.7 yards per game to one racking up 28.8 points, 23.4 first downs and 410 yards per game.

Ranked 12th in the NFL in yards per game, the Niners have looked close to unstoppable on offense since Garoppolo’s introduction, perplexing opponents with gameplans that see him spread the ball around to a plethora of different targets, pushing the ball downfield while also incorporating fullback Kyle Juszczyk and the tight ends into a short passing attack in which receivers have excelled at picking up yards after the catch.

Much like in their period of dominance in the 80s and 90s, the 49ers look capable of scoring on every drive and Garoppolo has attacked game-winning drives with confidence akin to that of former teammate Tom Bray and the legendary Montana. The scary thing is that Garoppolo has orchestrated this five-game tear with a mediocre supporting cast, with Marquise Goodwin serving as the top receiver.

Boasting an array of draft picks and $114million in cap space, per Over The Cap, the 49ers have a lot of scope to provide Garoppolo with better talent at the skill positions and better protection and accelerate from a rebuilding team to one with a championship window.

Garoppolo has shown enough to suggest he can keep the 49ers competing for the postseason for years to come and in Shanahan, he will be working with the ideal mind to harness the most of his potential.

Next: 2018 NFL Playoffs: Top 15 Super Bowl 52 matchups fans would love to see

A return to the offensive dominance of 80s and 90s is something many 49ers fans have sought for a long time. Garoppolo’s presence puts the Niners in an excellent position to give them their wish, providing of course that the most important contract extension in recent franchise history can be agreed.