By: Brennan Sokowski

Given the 49ers’ current quarterback situation, it’s an obvious thought that they could be in the market for an upgrade at the position. Jimmy Garappolo’s current contract situation gives the 9ers some much needed flexibility at the position, as he’s due just $4.6M in guaranteed money on his current contract if he’s cut today. From earlier reports, the 9ers are not currently happy with their current situation, as they’ve been active in trying to acquire a quarterback this offseason via trade, while being in on Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Derek Carr and others.

Jimmy Garappolo stands to make $26.4M in 2021, which is the highest cap figure the 49ers currently have on the roster. Given the amount of rookie contracts, and the just $2.8M owed to Garappolo if cut, they have the funds, and the roster, to be true contenders in the NFC West this season. Here are three options the 9ers could look for if Jimmy G is cut this offseason.

Dak Prescott

The Cowboys’ signal caller is due to enter Free Agency for the first time in his career, after being franchise tagged for the 2020 season. Reports coming out of Dallas have made it seem like the team and Prescott are far and away from a long term extension for the 2021 season.

Adam Schefter reporting that the Cowboys and Dak are not close on an extension means where there is smoke, there is fire. Even after coming off a fractured ankle, Dak represents the cream of the crop of the free agency class. After three straight seasons of passing for 3,300+ yards, Dak exploded in 2019 with 4,902 yards in a season that saw him complete 65% of his passes while throwing for 30 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions.

Dak’s 2020 season was derailed by the aforementioned ankle fracture however, after playing just 5 games Dak passed for 1,856 yards with nine touchdowns to just four interceptions, which is a pace that would’ve set career highs in each mark, while improving his completion percentage by nearly three whole percentage points. Given Dak’s recent success, he will command a contract of $30M+ annually but, given the 49ers’ recent success without an average quarterback, they should be willing to commit this money to a proven commodity in Prescott.

Deshaun Watson

Given the 49er’s draft position (12^th overall), they may be willing to sit and wait to see if a college quarterback falls to their spot in the draft. However, there are few quarterbacks, not named Trevor Lawrence, in the draft that could rival the skill that Deshaun Watson possesses. Not just the skill, Deshaun Watson seems to be interested in the thought of playing for Kyle Shanahan.

Watson is coming off the most productive year of his young career, a year in which he set career highs in completion percentage, passing yards, touchdowns, and a career low in interceptions. The Texans are asking for a kings’ ransom in return for their franchise quarterback, rightfully so as he enters the first year of his contract extension, however the team is losing leverage daily. Watson has already threatened to avoid team activities for the 2021 offseason, which is being supported by teammates and opponents around the league, and even sit out the 2020 season.

Watson would fit the exact mold that Shanahan looks for in a quarterback with his mobility and arm strength, while still maintaining accuracy outside of the pocket. Watson was second in the league in completion percentage and touchdowns thrown from outside of the pocket to only Patrick Mahomes. Watson should be the ultimate prize for the 49ers this offseason at any cost.

Trey Lance

Lastly, a draft option for the 9ers to consider at 12. Trey Lance is a very raw prospect out of North Dakota State, the alma mater of Carson Wentz, who helped lead the Bison to an undefeated National Championship in the D-1AA division. Lance was the eventual successor to Easton Stick, currently of the Los Angeles Chargers, who won two national titles for the Bison as well.

Lance will come into the NFL as a very raw prospect with all the intangibles to succeed however, much like Carson Wentz, he must refine his skills to have success in the NFL. Lance offers the dual threat ability that Shanahan’s system thrives on, while having immaculate arm talent that would allow for deep plays down the field to the 9ers’ explosive receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Additionally, pairing the dual threat ability of Lance with running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. means an additional element for defenses to have to game plan against.

Lance does come with uncertainty given his raw ability, small sample of experience and low level of competition in college. However, in Lance’s one lone full season as the starting quarterback for Bison, he set an NDSU for passer rating at 180.6. Lance added to that with a 67% completion percentage and 28 touchdowns with ZERO interceptions in 287 pass attempts. Lance does come as more of a question mark than those mentioned earlier in the article, he may have untapped upside that the other two do not.

There it is, three premier options in each facet of the offseason for the 49ers. Any of these quarterbacks would make an instant impact on the 49ers’ chances of reclaiming their former Super Bowl aspirations under General Manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. All three of these quarterbacks represent an upgrade over Jimmy Garappolo and all three would significantly increase their opportunity to WIN a Super Bowl rather than being there.

As always, follow Pro Football Mania on all major social media platforms and follow me on Twitter at @SokoNFL to stay tuned in to the latest updates on the NFL offseason.

The post Three Quarterback Options for the San Francisco 49ers appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Brennan Sokowoski

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Eagles are in need of some help along the offensive line.

The offensive line allowed the most sacks in the NFL (65), including 50 of those coming to their franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz.

Well, at least he WAS the franchise quarterback prior to his benching this season. Even Jalen Hurts’ escapability wasn’t enough to slow down the sack rate that the Eagles were allowed, as he took 13 sacks in just 4 games played.

Not even just the sacks were alarming, as the offensive line allowed the quarterback to be hit on 116 plays in the 2020 season, which converts to their quarterback being hit on 10% of the offensive snaps played this season.

If you take away the 403 rushing attempts that the Eagles had this offseason, the Eagles’ quarterback hit rate jumps to over 15%! So with that being said, let’s look at the top five options for the Eagles to replace their abysmal offensive line!

Joe Thuney

It’s no secret that Joe Thuney is the top interior offensive line that will hit free agency this offseason. Thuney moves fluidly across the offensive line, has ran a similar zone blocking scheme to what Jeff Stoutland utilizes in Philadelphia’s blocking scheme and is at a position of need, considering Isaac Seumalo’s horrifying 2020 season.

Of his 980 offensive snaps this past season, Thuney only allowed 2 sacks and was flagged for just 3 penalties. Over his ENTIRE five year career, Thuney has only allowed 7.5 sacks and committed just 19 penalties. However, given his terrific career numbers, Thuney’s services will not come cheap.

Spotrac estimates his market value to be $15.3M/annually and cites Eagles’ right guard, Brandon Brooks, as a comparable contract. The one thing that ties Thuney to the Eagles though, is general manager Howie Roseman’s willingness to spend money in the trenches to protect his quarterback.

Landon Dickerson

Landon Dickerson is a perfect fit for the Eagles’ offense. A 6’6”, 325 lbs center, coming from the Alabama Crimson Tide, Dickerson is the perfect heir to the throne that Jason Kelce has held since 2011.

Kelce has teetered at the thought of retirement over the past three offseasons and, with a rebuild on the horizon, it seems to be the perfect time for the 34-year-old All-Pro to finally hang up his cleats for good.

Originally, Dickerson started his career at Florida State, where he was an offensive guard along the right side of the line for the Seminoles offense. Once he transferred to Alabama, Saban utilized Dickerson at center for his power run based offense that allowed Dickerson to hide some of his lack of athleticism.

Whenever Dickerson is asked to be a drive-type, straight line blocker, he is as nasty of a center as the come which is why he’s a fit for Philadelphia. Philadelphia has utilized their offensive guards to pull on plays, rather than favoring their center like some teams.

The one downfall to losing athleticism similar to Kelce is, Stoutland often asked Kelce to swing out wide on running back and tight end screen plays, and that’s something that could haunt Dickerson in his early career.

Elijah Wilkinson

A sixth offensive lineman/swing guard for most of his career, Wilkinson gets to enter free agency as a restricted free agent for the first time in his young career having come off one of the best years of his career.

Wilkinson has committed just seven career penalties and allowed just two sacks in 503 offensive snaps played in 2020. Originally a Downington, Pennsylvania native, Wilkinson could serve as the Eagles’ sixth offensive lineman if he doesn’t get the opportunity to start, as he has played both left and right tackle in his time with the Broncos.

Finally, Wilkinson would inject a sense of youth into an old offensive line, as he’s just turned 26 years old recently, and the Eagles currently project to have the oldest starting offensive line in pro football next season. It doesn’t hurt that Wilkinson would come much cheaper than Joe Thuney as well.

Josh Myers

Everything that Landon Dickerson doesn’t do well, Josh Myers does. Myers, a product of the Ohio State Buckeyes, is the best all around center prospect in the upcoming draft.

A steady pass protector for Justin Fields, and lane clearer for J.K. Dobbins and Trey Sermon, Myers has good size with the excellent length for an interior lineman and was impressive in multiple fronts as a blocker.

Myers has the mobility to sink in his pass sets and turn out defensive lineman on scoop and combo blocks. For a bigger, lengthier center, Myers shows great lateral mobility and was on display VERY often in the screen game for the Buckeyes.

Myers has the mobility, anchor, strength, length, and natural athleticism to anchor the interior offensive line of the Philadelphia Eagles for another decade, instead of worrying about it from year to year.

Get Healthy

The best, and most realistic option, for the Philadelphia Eagles is to simply get healthy. Before the offseason program even began, The Eagles lost all-pro right guard, Brandon Brooks, to a serious achilles injury, the second of his career, that cost him the entire 2020 season.

Additionally, on the first snap of training camp, first round left tackle Andre Dillard tore his bicep and was lost for the entire season. Mix that in with injuries to Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Nate Herbig, Jack Driscoll and Lane Johnson that cost them games throughout the season, and it ended with the Eagles starting 14 different offensive line combinations throughout the duration of 2020.

No continuity, plus injuries to your all-pro players, is a recipe for disaster for any offensive line, let alone one that has been intact for the better part of the last five seasons.

So here’s the recipe for the Eagles to get back to some stability along the offensive line. You’ll notice that I didn’t include a left tackle on this list, and that’s because I believe the Eagles found a diamond in rough in Jordan Mailata.

He should be the franchise cornerstone that the Eagles build the line through in the future with the impending departures of their current all-pro players. An aging offensive line needs to get younger and with that, some instability is going to happen. It’s time to look forward though, and forget about 2017.

The post 5 Offensive Line Targets for the Philadelphia Eagles appeared first on Pro Football Mania.