College: Eastern Illinois

Ht: 6’2”

Wt: 222 pounds

Positives

Quickness: Garoppolo’s quickness does not pertain to just one specific area, it is a description of his entire style of play. Partly due to the system he plays in, Garoppolo is quick to find his man, lock in, and fire away. He is not gun shy and is willing to take advantage of a defense as soon as he sees an opportunity. When he fires, he does so swiftly. His release is executed with lightning speed and gives defensive backs less time to see him start his throwing motion then react to make a play on the ball. Once the ball is out of his hands, it travels with impressive velocity to his target. This velocity, in addition to his quick release, also gives defensive backs less time to make a play on the ball. To further add to his repertoire, Garoppolo is a sneaky athlete. He is no Manziel, but when needed, he can quickly escape the pocket and pick up a few yards.

Placement: Much like Derek Carr, who has been picking up steam as of late, Garoppolo has tremendous placement when throwing the end zone fade.

He understands exactly when the ball needs to be thrown and where it ought to be thrown to. Garoppolo places the ball in a spot just over the defensive back where only the wide receiver can make a play on the ball.

Although, even when not in the red zone, Garoppolo knows how to throw his receivers open. Over the middle, he leads his receivers well and puts them in a position to create yards after the catch.

When throwing deep, he throws with an impressive arch and drops the ball over the defensive back.

He never under throws deep passes because he understands that an underthrow is asking to be intercepted.

Negatives:

Pocket Presence: In the pocket, Garoppolo is not bad, per say, but he has some apparent issues. When he senses pressure, more often than not, he quietly panics. It’s not noticeable erratic movements like Manziel, but he scuffles about and takes plenty of wasted steps. Such wasted steps often lead to sacks. On other occasions, Garoppolo will rush passes when he sees pressure. He fails to step up into or around the pocket. He also fails to simply throw the ball away. Instead, Garoppolo tries to get the ball out, even if that means the receiver is not open.

Decision Making/Vision: Partly due to his pocket presence, Garoppolo makes plenty of poor decisions in regards to throwing to blanketed receivers. He feels the need to get the ball out, no matter the consequences, and more often than not, there is one. A majority of his interceptions are a product of him trying to force a pass to a receiver who quite clearly was not open. If not that, he simply fails to see a defender. His interception against Tennessee-State was due to his lack of vision. Garoppolo was targeting a receiver running a slant, but failed to pick up the linebacker underneath. The linebacker got a hand on the ball and forced a turnover.

NFL Comparison

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

Ironically, Romo also attended EIU, but that is not why Garoppolo garners the comparison. Both have quick releases and flashes of athleticism, when necessary. They both succeed with impressive placement, yet struggle with decision making. When looking at the surface of each player, they appear quite similar.

Draft Outlook: Due to him being from a small school, it is unlikely that he ends up in the first round unless he absolutely dominates a post-season bowl, as well as come off well during team interviews. Talent wise, he deserves to be taken in the second round. Considering his evident upside, it is tough to imagine Garoppolo slipping into the latter half of the third round.

Best Fits

Ideally, he would be a perfect fit for Chip Kelly’s fast-paced spread offense. Had Nick Foles not performed so well this year, Garoppolo would have likely been rather high on the Eagles draft board.

Although Minnesota signed Josh Freeman, it is apparent that they have little to no faith in him and Matt Cassel or Christian Ponder are not the answer. After recently investing in receivers (Patterson via 2013 draft and Jenning via free agency), investing in a catalyst for such receivers is the next step to success. Also, Garoppolo could finally be a quarterback talented enough to make defenses respect Minnesota’s passing attack and allow Adrian Peterson to run with less pressure and more space.