Team Previews - San Francisco 49ers
Projected Starting Lineup
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo RB: Jerick McKinnon WR: Pierre Garcon WR: Marquise Goodwin WR: Trent Taylor TE: George Kittle
LT: Joe Staley LG: Laken Tomlinson C: Weston Richburg RG: Josh Garnett RT: Mike McGlinchey
49ers Offensive Profile Under Kyle Shanahan 2017 Pass Attempts Rank: 2nd 2017 Rush Attempts Rank: 22nd 2017 Play Volume Rank: 6th 2017 Yards Per Play Rank: 16th Unaccounted for Air Yards from 2017 (Rank): 363 (28th) Unaccounted for Carries from 2017 (Rank): 245 (6th) Quarterback-
The addition of Jimmy Garoppolo last season was probably the biggest acquisition in the NFL. He is no doubt going to be a star for the next decade paring with offensive guru Kyle Shanahan. Garoppolo started the final five games of the season for the 49ers leading them to a 5-0 record completing 67.4% of his passes for 1,560 yards and 7 touchdowns. The only negatives that could be taken away were his lack of touchdowns thrown and too many interceptions (5) in five games. The Niners should be dramatically improved on offense, with several key pickups. Pierre Garcon returns from injury, they signed RB Jerick McKinnon and C Weston Richburg in free agency and selected RT Mike McGlinchey 9th overall in the draft. With an improved offensive core and his second season in Shanahan's system, I have Jimmy G as one of my breakout quarterbacks this year.
Wide Receiver-
To the surprise of many, Marquise Goodwin will be the leading receiver for the Niners this year. With Garcon out last season, Jimmy G and Goodwin established a nice connection as he looked his way early in often during the final five games of the season. The olympic sprinter hauled in 56 catches for 962 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first season with the 49ers. In his first three games with Garoppolo, Goodwin was targeted 33 times catching 24 of them for 319 yards. I will be in the minority, but I believe the connection they established last season while Garcon was out will lead to Goodwin seeing more than the 105 targets he saw last season.
With Goodwin taking over as Garoppolo's favorite target, Pierre Garcon will take over the role as the #2 passing threat for the Niners this season. Kyle Shanahan is very familiar with Garcon as he coached him in Washington, before bring him via free agency to San Francisco. Garcon only played 8 games last season in which he saw 67 targets, catching 40 of them for 500 yards. Entering his 11th year, he no longer has the burners and he will be relied upon heavily in the short to medium passing game which should equate to over 100 targets on the year. He should be a very dependable WR3 but will lack touchdown upside as he has never eclipsed 6 in a season while putting up zero last year.
The slot receiver will be an interesting battle between Trent Taylor and rookie Dante Pettis out of Washington. Pettis athleticism gives him a huge advantage over Taylor, but he is still adjusting to the NFL. Pettis is the NCAA all time leader in punt return touchdowns with 9 and ran a solid 4.47 at his pro day. While I am not drafting Taylor, I am intrigued with Pettis especially in dynasty leagues. Tight End-
The injury to second-year TE George Kittle is a big one for this offense. With Goodwin and Garcon on the outside and not much of a threat in the red-zone, Kittle looked like he would become the main target for Garoppolo inside the 20. With a separated shoulder it will be tough to gamble on him any higher than the 11th round for me. Coming off of a rookie season with 43 catches for 515 yards, he was one of my favorite tight ends to target late in the draft. We will await more information from the doctors and see if he is placed on the pup-list to start the season.
Running Back- The addition of Jerick McKinnon this off-season is one of the more intriguing situations in the NFL. I do not see McKinnon carrying the ball more than 215 times this season and view this 49ers backfield much like the Falcons when Shanahan was the OC. McKinnon will assume the "Devonta Freeman" role with roughly 50% of the carries and 10% of the team targets. McKinnon had a breakout year last year, finishing with 570 yards rushing, 421 yards receiving on 51 receptions and 5 total touchdowns.
With Shanahan as the offensive coordinator each of the following achieved career highs in all purpose yards. Steve Slaton (1,659), Alfred Morris (1,690), Devonta Freeman (1,634), Tevin Coleman (941), Carlos Hyde (1,288), it is easy to see why everyone is willing to risk an early pick on Jerick McCkinnon this season. He is currently getting over-drafted in the late second round but if he falls to the third, I will be tempted to take his upside.
The "Tevon Coleman" role was set for Matt Brieda, however he also had a shoulder separation and his status will have to be monitored. Breida averaged 10.4 carries and 4.4 yards per carry in the final 5 games of the season. Breida should see some involvement in the passing game as well. I would figure for him to have a similar workload like Coleman (30% of the teams carries, 10% of the targets). If Breida goes on the PUP-List, expect Joe Williams to take over for him till Breida returns. 2018 Vegas Win Total The 49ers’ Win Total opened at 9. The public will be all over the 49ers this season and I think they're still a year away. The books had to open this number as high as possible with the 49ers finishing with five straight wins. I was ready to bet every dollar I owned had they kept Jimmy G on the sideline and only won 3-4 games last season. The opening line for the 49ers would have been 6-7 wins, instead we have the most inflated team total up at nine wins. The 49ers did not get any favors in terms of scheduling, they will have the difficult NFC North, and AFC West. I will not be touching this inflated win total, I do think the 49ers make a run at the division and will be in the playoff hunt come December.
