49ers Quarterback Situation Ranked No. 13 by Sports Illustrated

Are the 49ers' quarterback situation ranked correctly by Sports Illustrated?

Debating about what the San Francisco 49ers should do with pick No. 13 in the NFL Draft has been the topic of discussion. The draft is less than two weeks away, so the anticipation will only grow stronger.

However, the discussion about what the 49ers will do in the draft is not the only topic at hand. The quarterback situation of the team is one that continues to be thrown out there week-after-week. Jimmy Garoppolo has constantly been at the forefront of anyone who criticizes the Niners. He apparently has been deemed as the weak link of the team.

Despite the far-fetched slander, the quarterback situation of the 49ers is strong. And if you compare theirs with the other teams in the league, then it looks even brighter. 

So where would the San Francisco 49ers rank in the NFL regarding their quarterback setup? 

Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated ranked every NFL team's quarterback situation in his latest article. He placed the 49ers at No. 13, right behind the Las Vegas Raiders. 

"Garoppolo, despite a few unfortunate moments, played like a top 10 quarterback last year (or at least hovered around the No. 10 area for most of the season). Hopefully people will not confuse the entirety of his work with a few throws he should or should not have made in a big spot. The 49ers have one of the best coaching infrastructures in football and a solid room backing Garoppolo, not to mention Garoppolo’s contract looks good about now." 

The description of Garoppolo by Orr is spot on. He is a good quarterback that will make a few questionable throws here and there. Overall, he is someone the 49ers can continue to roll out to aid their goal of reaching the Super Bowl.

However, ranking him and the overall quarterback situation 13 seems low. As I mentioned, the Raiders and their situation is ranked a spot higher than the 49ers. In this case, I am going to have to disagree with Orr's assessment here. Derek Carr is not a better player than Garoppolo nor is he setup in a better situation. 

Garoppolo has Kyle Shanahan to propel him forward and keep his game sharp. Carr just has Jon Gruden who is a sporadic play-caller. 

Unfortunately for Garoppolo, having the luxury of Shanahan as a play-caller is also a point used by his critics. It is that he is just a system quarterback, which is arguably one of the laziest remarks someone can make. 

Garoppolo will continued to be dragged through the mud until the start of the 2020 NFL regular season. The only way he shut his doubters up for good is by balling out during the season. Something that I believe we will see from him once the season kicks off.