Lynch can watch QB draft drama unfold stress free
SANTA CLARA >> Thursday’s NFL draft promises an unpredictable quarterback derby. Wake up the 49ers when those pickings are done. They’re set, thanks to Jimmy Garoppolo.
Four years removed from his second-round selection by the New England Patriots, Garoppolo is beaming as he prepares for his first full season as the 49ers’ quarterback, and he’s even conducting throwing sessions with receivers on the weekends beyond the team-supervised offseason program that began last week.
“It kinds of gets us away from the coaches and everything, and allows me to talk to the receivers about specific things, or the tight ends or running backs,” Garoppolo said Monday.
General manager John Lynch relishes the fact a quarterback isn’t needed with their top pick, at No. 9 overall.
“We’re sitting back and couldn’t be more happy with the way things broke,” Lynch said. “But it wasn’t a bad year to be searching for a quarterback because of the multiple options out there in free agency and the draft.”
Lynch says four quarterbacks are first-round worthy — presumably Sam Darnold, Josh Alllen, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield, although Lamar Jackson and Mason Rudolph also have drawn first-round chatter.
“One of the fun things is we haven’t spent a whole lot of time on those guys,” Lynch said. “It’s just the reality. We were on that process early.”
Then came Garoppolo last Oct. 30 from the Patriots, and they rewarded his 5-0 December debut with the richest contract in NFL history in February.
And now, the Jimmy Garoppolo Passing Academy could be coming to a field near you. Only he won’t say where. Or let you sneak a peek. Where can fans find this field of daydreams?
“I can’t tell you guys that, man,” Garoppolo responded Monday. “What, are you going to be out there spying on us?”
Last weekend, after the first days of offseason workouts, he and teammates retreated from 49ers HQ to a mystery field — Spartan Stadium, rumor has it — to get a better feel for each other. It has been a routine of his since high school, not just since he became the 49ers’ big man on campus.
Among those he’s feeling out is veteran Pierre Garçon, who was out the second half of last season with a neck injury and didn’t catch a pass from Garoppolo until this past week.
“It was good,” Garoppolo added. “Just to be on the same page with those guys, talking through route concepts and how they see it versus how I see it. It just gets us on the same page.”
It’s also an example of the leadership expected out of a NFL quarterback, as left tackle Joe Staley testified.
“He’s very business-like on the football field. He gets along with a lot of the guys,” Staley said. “He’s not an awkward human being, like it’s forced for him to be a social person and have camaraderie and all that stuff you look for. But he’s very business like, very serious on the football field and has a high standard of himself and the people around him.
“It’s going to be pretty natural for him. He’s not going to be all of a sudden changing because he signed a contract,” Staley said. “It’s kind of expected that people are going to look at you and you have to conduct yourself in a certain way.”
A recent video compilation on the Internet showed Garoppolo mirroring many ways former Patriots teammate Tom Brady conducts himself.
“I did see that,” Garoppolo said. “It kind of creeped me out. I don’t know. We were always kind of similar. Obviously, I picked up some stuff from him. But, I don’t know. I saw it and I was like, ‘That’s a little weird.’ “
Garoppolo got a new center, Weston Richburg, and running back, Jerick McKinnon in free agency. What other reinforcements are coming through the draft?
“Explosive dynamic players that can finish plays and finish games are what we’re looking for now to add to the multiple role players we have on our offense,” Lynch said. “We have a great advantage in our head coach and offensive coordinator has a real specific vision in what he wants.”