The 49ers are facing less controversy and more of a puzzle in the quarterback, with the 2021 league year gearing up to start. The instability at the heart of the modern NFL is a potential death sentence for offices and technical teams, and makes it virtually impossible to win a Super Bowl. Instability has defined the defender’s position for the 49ers since coach Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017, and the team has to figure this out soon if they want to fight for the Super Bowls regularly. To find that stability better, they should consult a page in the Philadelphia Eagles team building book.
At first glance, following the Eagles’ lead in anything doesn’t seem like a great idea, given the turmoil the franchise has gone through since the Super Bowl victory in 2017. However, they found themselves in the last off-season in a similar position to the 49ers year .
Quarterback Carson Wentz was playing MVP football in 2017 during his second season in the NFL. He tore his ACL at the end of that year, and was not the same player in 2018 or 2019. Although Wentz had a big payout coming in, the Eagles did not unnecessarily tie themselves to ex-number 2 in the overall pick. Instead, they acknowledged that their game had deteriorated and used a second-round selection for quarterback Jalen Hurts in the 2020 draft.
That’s the route San Francisco needs to take in this year’s draft, regardless of his feelings about Garoppolo. At best, he is a starter capable of leading a team to the Super Bowl. At worst, he is unavailable. The latter scenario requires a more solid backup option than Nick Mullens or CJ Beathard.
Hurts ended up starting four games at the end of the year for the Eagles and showed enough promise that Philadelphia was willing to eat a $ 33.8 million hit to take Wentz to a couple of draft picks this season. We are likely to see Philadelphia use another important choice in a quarterback this year to compete with Hurts and provide them with more than one starting caliber player below the center.
Given the importance of the position of defender, it is worthwhile to use the choices of Day 1 or 2 callers once or twice every few years until an elite talent emerges.
The old saying “if you have two defenders, you don’t have defenders” may try to show your head, but the phrase does not apply here. It works if a team has two defenders that they cannot choose because both are bad. It is not suitable for a team with several high quality players in the position.
Having two defenders who can start and help a team win is a significant advantage, given the frequency of injuries in the NFL. Garoppolo specifically lost 23 of the last 48 games of the 49ers regular season. The reserve situation this year essentially meant that Garoppolo’s second ankle sprain ended the season. This might not have been the case if they were holding a highly scaled quarterback as their reserve.
In addition, a second quarterback who is talented enough to win games in the NFL could become an asset in the future. Consider how the 49ers acquired Garoppolo. He was chosen in the second round with two NFL games under his belt and was chosen for a choice in the second round. If Philadelphia calls up a quarterback in 2021 and he becomes the starter, Hurts will become a valuable bargaining chip for the Eagles.
The 49ers have gone through four different starting defenders since Shanahan took over as coach four seasons ago. They are taking a chance this offseason to reconfigure their quarterback room with Mullens and Beathard, both ready to attack. They need to do this with a choice of Day 1 or Day 2 they believe in. So, they need to do it again in 2022 if they decide to part with Garoppolo before recruiting.
This is the process they must repeat until they have a player that they believe can help them compete for the Super Bowls on a regular basis, and it is still worth having a higher quality backup than a player with a Mullens roof.
There is no very high cost to find a long-term answer in the quarterback, and the Eagles showed last year why it is important to have contingency plans on the list, even if they already have a franchise flag in place. 49ers are less sure about their QB and less financially committed to the position. It may be unorthodox and counterintuitive, but San Francisco must begin the process of adding high-caliber players under the center until they find the long-term stability they have lacked in recent years.