Ranking the NFC West Quarterbacks

How does Jimmy Garoppolo stack up?

During the next two weeks, I will publish a series of articles in which I rank the 49ers position-by-position against the other three teams in the NFC West. Which team has the best running backs? Which one has the best cornerbacks? And so on.

Today, we rank the NFC West teams based on their starting quarterbacks.

1. The Seahawks

Russell Wilson is the most underrated player of his era and probably the second-best quarterback in the NFL right now behind Patrick Mahomes. Imagine Wilson on the Chiefs. That offense wouldn’t slow down a bit. Wilson can do everything Mahomes can do, and yet Wilson has never won an MVP. Ridiculous.

Last season, Wilson threw 31 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He also gained 4,110 yards through the air and 602 yards on the ground. He is the Seahawks offense. He’s a future Hall of Famer who could win the MVP next season.

2. The Cardinals

Speaking of a quarterback who could win the MVP next season.

Kyler Murray is just as talented as Wilson and Mahomes. Murray played better against the 49ers’ No. 1 pass defense last season than any other quarterback in the league, including Wilson and Mahomes.

Now Murray has a new No. 1 receiver -- DeAndre Hopkins. Meaning Murray will be another legitimate MVP candidate next season, considering the past two MVPs (Mahomes and Lamar Jackson) each won the award as sophomores in the NFL. Murray was a rookie in 2019. He could take a giant leap forward in 2020.

3. The 49ers

Jimmy Garoppolo is better than all but 10 quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s a good player who has lost only five starts during his career, and he’s a gifted drop-back passer from the shotgun. He gets the ball out of hands quickly and doesn’t fold under pressure, especially on third downs.

Garoppolo doesn’t necessarily need a strong run game to be effective, like Jared Goff. Had Goff and Garoppolo traded places last season, the Rams might have made the playoffs despite all their issues, because Garoppolo is a better drop-back passer than Goff.

Would the Rams trade Goff for Garoppolo right now? Almost certainly.

Would the Seahawks trade Wilson for Garoppolo, or would the Cardinals trade Murray for him? No on both counts.

4. The Rams

Goff is a play-action quarterback, so he needs a strong run game. When the Rams running game tanked last season, Goff’s stats did too. Suddenly, he became a drop-back passer and the focal points of the Rams offense, and he finished the season with an 86.5 quarterback rating. Yuck.

But Goff can play well in the right system. Imagine him on the 49ers last season. He throws one of the best deep passes in the NFL. He and Emmanuel Sanders probably would have connected for quite a few long touchdowns.

But Goff folds under pressure. And he seemed to never recover from losing the Super Bowl. If he has another down season in 2020, the Rams might look to replace him.