As the offseason goes on, people will wonder just what Jimmy Garoppolo can do in 2018. Sure disaster could strike or he could regress, but right now there’s no indication that he isn’t going to get any better as a passer.
Well, here’s another stat for you that he tops. Passer rating in five-step dropbacks. Seven-step dropbacks aren’t near as common for the 49ers offense, but five steps are the bread and butter of many an NFL offense. Our friends at Pro Football Focus gave us this:
Leaders in passer rating on five-step dropbacks in 2017! pic.twitter.com/jawXZ7uaSJ
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) June 4, 2018
I keep forgetting that Alex Smith had a good season passing last year. 2017 started and he was on fire. As the season wore on, he started to get a bit inconsistent until the wheels fell off in the playoffs (or tight end Travis Kelce got hurt—take your pick). I also forgot that Josh McCown didn’t play terribly.
Regardless of McCown, the other three quarterbacks are good company to be in. Matthew Stafford took 47 sacks in 2017, yet managed only 10 interceptions. Sure, he fumbled the ball nine times, but the numbers Stafford put up with all those defenders in his grill is nothing short of impressive.
Yet another statistic Jimmy Garoppolo tops. The 2018 season can’t get here enough so we can stop looking at stats and see some records get broken.