While the league continues to figure out this quarterback thing as their starters get injured, sick, or incompetent, the San Francisco 49ers can *knock on wood* enjoy the fact they don’t just have a decent quarterback, but they also have a good backup situation.
And that’s not me saying this. The Ringer’s Riley McAtee ranked the backup quarterback situation from first to last through the NFL. Who’s No. 1? Why the San Francisco 49ers of course:
The One Guy Who Has Truly Flashed Potential
1. Nick Mullens, 49ers
After bursting onto the scene in a Thursday Night Football game for the ages last season, Mullens was quietly solid for the back half of San Francisco’s 2018 campaign. Mullens’s ANY/A of 6.7 was 15th-best in the league among the 33 passers who registered at least 200 attempts. That may not be replicable over a larger sample size or in an offense that isn’t built by Kyle Shanahan, but it was an incredibly promising level of production for the then-rookie. To put that number into perspective, Andrew Luck registered a 5.7 ANY/A in his rookie season.
Mullens is not the next Luck, of course, but if Garoppolo ever misses time, Niners fans should feel confident in their backup. Look at the other 31 names on this list: Outside of teams with rookies on the bench, there is no other squad that can put the same faith in their backup. The Niners are the only team that wouldn’t be [site-decorum].
Nick Mullens had to do something right, or else he wouldn’t be eliciting those crazy takes from some desiring the benching Jimmy Garoppolo for him. I do think it’s going to be hard to hold onto him in free agency, even if he’s a restricted free agent. He’s young, he’s shown some good stuff and a team might make an offer to build around him. If you wonder why a team would do such a thing rather than send a draft pick to the 49ers, remember, the 49ers were doing the same thing for Kirk Cousins in 2017.
It’s interesting how McAtee doesn’t mention C.J. Beathard. While Beathard has been a healthy scratch and is the clear No. 3, he’s not a bad backup quarterback in the slightest. He also makes the 49ers have a decent backup situation in case of a disaster for two or three games.
If there’s anyone who knows a season is somewhat over after a quarterback’s season ends, it’s 49ers fans. At least if Garoppolo were to be out for a game or two, we know tha t