Jimmy Garoppolo (QB, SF) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

4 years ago by Dan Fornek

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ANALYSIS: 2019 marked Jimmy Garoppolo’s first full season as the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback thanks to an ACL injury. The 28-year-old quarterback completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns with 13 interceptions en route to a 49ers Super Bowl appearance. Jimmy G didn’t get a ton of publicity, but he averaged 16.27 fantasy points per week on his way to a QB14 finish overall in fantasy football. Garoppolo was rarely flashy but provided an extremely high floor that you could count on weekly.

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Looking to week 1, Garoppolo gets a fantastic matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals were one of the worst defenses against opposing passing games in 2019, especially from the tight end position. The Cardinals allowed the second-most passing yards (4,510), passing touchdowns (33) and generated the lowest number of interceptions last season (seven).

The 49ers wide receivers are banged up at the moment, with Deebo Samuel (foot surgery), Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring), and Jalen Hurd (ACL tear) all on the injury report heading into the season. Even with that, Garoppolo has targets like George Kittle, Kendrick Bourne, Jordan Reed, and his backfield to make a dent in the passing attack. While the Cardinals added Isaiah Simmons in the first round of the draft, a matchup against George Kittle figures to be a difficult introduction to the league.

Beyond week one, the 49ers have a very soft schedule at the start of the season that benefits rostering Jimmy Garoppolo. According to sharpfootballstats.com, the 49ers will face the 4th easiest schedule when it comes to defensive efficiency in 2020. After the Cardinals, the 49ers face weak secondaries in the form of the Jets, the Giants, and the Eagles. As these games are played out, players will start healing and the passing game will go to full strength.

Even though we haven’t played a game in 2020 yet, Jimmy G should be rostered in all leagues for at least the first quarter of the regular season.