C.J. Beathard

A third-round pick of the 49ers in 2017, Beathard appeared in 19 games (12 starts over the past four seasons) before reaching a two-year, $5 million deal with the Jaguars this offseason. While No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence is set to immediately take the reins of Jacksonville's offense, holdover Gardner Minshew remains a prime trade candidate. The 27-year-old Beathard started two games for San Francisco in 2020, in the process completing 38 of 59 passes for 455 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions, also rushing six times for 28 yards while losing two fumbles. Beathard is poised for backup duties with the Jaguars as long as Lawrence remains healthy.

The 49ers retained Beathard as a third quarterback on the 53-man roster even with the triumphant return of starter Jimmy Garoppolo and breakout backup Nick Mullens. The 26-year-old unsurprisingly did not see the field with both signal callers ahead of him on the depth chart staying healthy all year. Beathard will enter the final year of his rookie contract in the same situation as 2019, sitting at third on the QB depth chart, assuming the team does not move him.

Beathard received his second opportunity to start after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a torn ACL in Week 3. The 25-year-old had slightly improved results compared to his trial by fire in 2017, completing 60 percent of his passes for 1,252 passing yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions over five starts. Beathard's league-average production did not result in a victory, so rookie Nick Mullens took over and remained the starter for the remainder of the year with more dynamic results statistically and in the win-loss column. Coach Kyle Shanahan stated that the two signal-callers will compete for Garoppolo's backup slot, but Beathard figures to have the bigger hill to climb based on last year's results.

Beathard was expected to be Kyle Shanahan's project quarterback of the future after he was taken in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. The 23-year-old didn't necessarily perform poorly when pressed into action in October - 1,430 yards on 55 percent passing in seven games - but his projection quickly changed to "backup" once the team acquired Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade from New England. The night-and-day difference in San Francisco's offense after Jimmy G took over indicates that there will be no QB controversy heading into the 2018 season.

The 49ers used their top draft picks on improving a shaky defense, opting to go with a project quarterback in Beathard with their third-round pick. The senior out of Iowa didn't put up eye-popping numbers in the Big Ten last season (1,929 yards, 17 TD, 10 INT), but he was limited by a lack of receiving options (55.9 completion percentage compared to 73.5 adjusted completion percentage in 2016) and a porous offensive line (58 sacks in two years as starter). The 23-year-old's transition to the NFL will benefit from his accuracy on short and medium throws combined with his experience playing in a pro-style offense. The 49ers already announced that Beathard will not compete for the starting quarterback job this season, allowing the team to develop the young arm behind the scenes until he is deemed ready.