Mike McGlinchey is the latest to join the tour of defending Jimmy Garoppolo ever since the 49ers' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
McGlinchey, one of Garoppolo's key protectors on the offensive line, believes the 49ers and their QB have just touched the surface of their potential. If and when an NFL season begins again, big things are ahead in Santa Clara.
"We're so loaded," McGlinchey said Tuesday to ESPN's Jordan Schultz on Instagram Live, per 49ers Webzone's David Bonilla. "We're on a point where we can do something really special. You think about legacies of football players, and how (Aaron) Rodgers, and (Tom) Brady, and Brees have built their careers up. It almost feels like we're on the precipice of that with Jimmy.
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"He's right there, and I think -- if we do have a season -- I think he's going to prove that he's going to take another step forward again."
Despite his impressive numbers, despite leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl one year after tearing his ACL, it feels like half of San Francisco's roster has defended Garoppolo this offseason. The front office sniffing at Tom Brady's free agency didn't help, but we're talking about the greatest to ever play the position. General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have made it clear Garoppolo is their guy.
Every great team needs a great leader, and McGlinchey made it clear that's exactly what Garoppolo is.
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"He's way different once he steps across the line," McGlinchey said to Schultz. "He's got that kind of aw-shucks, like Joe Cool, like really chill personality off the field, but as soon as you look at him in the huddle, the way that he looks at you, and the way that he's talking, and the way that he commands everybody around him, there's just something that switches in his brain. And it's just like, 'Alright, it's go time.'
"And he's such a competitor. He's one of the most competitive people I've ever been around. Like, really has a drive and works his a-- off to be so good. Playing with him is so fun.
"Hopefully, it's something where we're at the start of something really, really special here in San Francisco. Jimmy's young, and he's only going to get better."
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Expectations are sky-high for Garoppolo and the 49ers after their breakout season last year. Now, who's next on the defending Jimmy G tour?