How would Jimmy Garoppolo fit with the Washington Commanders?

Taking a closer look at an affordable quarterback option available to Washington this offseason.

The Washington Commanders are widely expected to pursue a variety of veteran quarterbacks this offseason. Head Coach Ron Rivera has already stated his intent to take a big swing at the position, which could see Washington make offers for the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson. However, each one of those players could be unavailable for various reasons. One of the likely most attainable quarterback options for the Commanders is Jimmy Garoppolo. 

The 49ers quarterback is likely to be made available to trade with the 49ers looking to move on to Trey Lance after trading a fortune to get him last offseason. Garoppolo has been a productive quarterback but has also failed to take full advantage of his situation with the 49ers. Many Commanders fans will be underwhelmed by the idea of Garoppolo, which is understandable given his failings with the 49ers. Personally, he wouldn’t be my choice either. However, there is some logic to making a move for Garoppolo as an upgrade over Taylor Heinicke while still being a bridge quarterback to a rookie that could be developed on the bench for a year or two.

On the field, there is actually some crossover in what Garoppolo does best and how Scott Turner likes to run his offense. Garoppolo works at his best processing pre-snap information and best getting the ball out of his hands quickly to stay ahead of the chains, similar to how Heinicke played during Washington’s four-game winning run during last season. To get the most out of this style of play, the 49ers used a lot of empty formations and motions to give Garoppolo as much information as possible before the snap.

On this play, the 49ers start with an empty formation, having the running back align outside to the right. After getting set and forcing the defense to spread out, the back then motions into the backfield. How the Packers’ defense reacts tells Garoppolo a lot about what they intend to do on the play. A corner lines up over the back initially, which suggests zone. As the back motions to the backfield, the corner shuffles inside but stays as the widest defender. The slot corner follows suit, shuffling inside while the linebacker comes off the slot and works back into the box. 

This all tells Garoppolo it’s likely a zone coverage. He can also see the linebacker signalling to his teammate to push outside. Garoppolo knows he has the running back working to the flat and the tight end spotting up inside, so the push signal to the other linebacker could be read as that linebacker has the flat to that side. Indeed, that linebacker does work to the flat to match the running back, which leaves a gap for Garoppolo to find his tight end.

It might seem like a simple play, and to an extent it is. But it’s an example of how Garoppolo best operates an offense. He can handle pre-snap information well and knows where to go with the ball post snap.

 Here’s another similar example. The 49ers start the play in an empty formation with the running back outside to the right again. The Eagles defense reacts in a similar manner to the Packers defense on the previous play, shuffling inside and indicating zone coverage. The 49ers add another motion, with the tight end working from the left side to join a bunch to the right. That motion confirms the likely zone look from the Eagles, which tells Garoppolo he can probably work to his left. He knows he has a running back working to the flat, which will likely take a linebacker out to the flat with him, opening up a throwing window for the outside receiver spotting up before the outside corner can make up ground. 

Garoppolo shows some clever quarterbacking here too. As he snaps the ball, he quickly gets his eyes on the running back, showing the line on top of his helmet to the flat to force the linebacker to rush outside quickly and open up that window for the outside receiver earlier. Garoppolo then quickly gets the ball out and finds his receiver for a first down conversion on third and short.

Again, it’s not necessarily an amazing play from Garoppolo, but it speaks to his ability to process pre-snap information and find throwing lanes to move the ball efficiently. This style of offense isn’t too dissimilar from some packages that Commanders’ Offensive Coordinator Scott Turner likes to use. With versatile players that have played multiple positions, Turner likes to move his pieces around and work out of various formations with numerous shifts and motions to keep defenses as basic as possible and give his quarterback plenty of pre-snap information. 

 This is a play from Washington’s 2020 season with Alex Smith at quarterback. Turner uses 13 personnel, consisting of one running back, three tight ends and one wide receiver. The offense initially comes out in a very run-heavy look, with two tight ends to the left of the formation, the third tight end lining up at fullback and the lone receiver, Terry McLaurin, aligned inside the numbers and close to the right tackle. The Cowboys respond to this run-heavy personnel and look with a run-heavy defense, using five defensive lineman and two linebackers with just four defensive backs. 

However, Alex Smith makes a call and suddenly Washington shifts formation. Smith drops back into the shotgun while everyone else spreads out in an empty formation. Suddenly, the Cowboys are forced into a basic coverage check and have to spread out to ensure every eligible receiver is accounted for. For Washington, this generates great matchups. To the left, Alex Smith has a defensive end lined up over his number one tight end in the slot. To his right, Smith has Terry McLaurin working against a linebacker. Washington uses a four verticals concept with McLaurin running a juke route underneath to beat the linebacker over the middle for an easy completion and first down.

That type of offense would fit Garoppolo well. Using various personnel groups to generate matchups and moving versatile pieces around to give the quarterback information is exactly what Garoppolo does best. If Washington can bring back free agent J.D. McKissic, a running back that played receiver in college, and get Curtis Samuel healthy, a receiver that can play running back, those two combined with Antonio Gibson could be moved around all over the place to try and generate favorable matchups for Garoppolo to exploit.