Fantasy Upside
The 49ers have their franchise quarterback locked up for years to come as Garoppolo agreed to a five-year, $137.5 million deal with the team in February. He was slated to be an unrestricted free agent in March, but his performance late last season motivated the Niners to get in front of things.
In six games and five starts, Garoppolo outplayed expectations, completing 67.4 percent of his passes for 1,560 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and only five interceptions. In his career as a starter, Garoppolo has led his team to more points per game (28.3) than any other quarterback over the last 25 seasons (minimum seven starts). More importantly, the 49ers were 1-10 when Garoppolo became their starter, but they went 5-0 in the games he started. Indeed, the former second-round pick has never lost an NFL start. Adding to the positives, the addition of Jerick McKinnon as the team's feature back and return of Pierre Garcon add to a cadre of playmakers in supporting roles.
Fantasy Downside
Garoppolo only has seven career starts. Impressive though he's been, it's a limited sample size.
2018 Bottom Line
Coming off his first offseason working with Kyle Shanahan and boasting an impressive new contract, Garoppolo will be riding high on fantasy radars this summer. Some might argue too high. Nonetheless, the interest is certainly well-founded. We'll be watching how he handles the attention and the role as the season draws nearer, but expect to pay a top-10 premium nonetheless.
