The 49ers hold Jimmy Garoppolo in high regard, as evidenced by the massive investment they have in him.
But at least one analyst isn't as impressed by Garoppolo as San Francisco is.
NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms has been breaking down his quarterback rankings, and he recently revealed he had Garoppolo ranked 21st overall in the 32-team league.
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So, 21st? Isn't that a little low? That sandwiches Garoppolo between the Jets' Sam Darnold and the Bears' Mitchell Trubisky, for crying out loud.
In explaining his reasoning, Simms pointed to Garoppolo's relative inexperience, despite the fact he's entering his sixth NFL season.
"We haven't really seen him in crunch time, NFL, you know, consistent, week after week football, yet," Simms explained. "That would be my big question. And, you know, one of the things I'll say about him, he's good at everything. ... I don't know if there's one glaring thing I look at and go, 'Oooh, he is great at this.' “
San Francisco 49ers
A year ago, Simms had Garoppolo ranked as the 15th-best quarterback in the NFL. The six-spot drop can be attributed primarily to the ACL injury he suffered in Week 3 last season, as well as the infusion of several young signal-callers around the league.
While that No. 21 ranking isn't overflowing with confidence, Simms isn't exactly "down" on Garoppolo. In fact, if things fall into place, Simms sees him as a potential dark-horse MVP candidate.
"I don't know what the odds are, but right now, to me, that would be a value bet for MVP," Simms said. "If you start going under-the-radar MVP picks ... Jimmy Garoppolo would be one of those guys."
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"If you got some extra money laying around, and you want to hit the jackpot, he'd be the guy," Simms continued.
Safe to say, if Garoppolo garners any MVP votes this upcoming season, that ranking will shoot up next year.