QB Jimmy Garoppolo
While the memory of Garoppolo’s struggles at the end of Super Bowl LIV linger, the conversation around the 49ers’ quarterback has seemed to push him into the lower tier of NFL signal callers. His larger 16-game sample size showed that he’s a quarterback capable of winning a championship. Despite coming off a torn ACL and making it through his first 16-game season, Garoppolo finished tied for fourth in completion rate, 12th in yards, tied for fifth in touchdowns, seventh in touchdown rate, third in yards per attempt and eighth in passer rating. While there are some flaws to Garoppolo’s game, and Shanahan’s offense makes life easier for a quarterback, Garoppolo still executed and made some key plays and had some big games down the stretch to help earn the 49ers the No. 1 seed in the NFC.