3 NFL Storylines to Watch in Week 16

San Francisco Is All Smiles Since Trading for Jimmy Garoppolo​

While the San Francisco 49ers are only 4-10 this season, they're a team that no one wants to face right now. Back at the NFL trade deadline, the Niners pulled off a stunning trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. After -- quite literally -- years of guessing over how the New England Patriots would handle the final stage of Tom Brady's career, which included wild speculation over Garoppolo's trade value, things came to an abrupt (and somewhat unspectacular) end. After selecting Garoppolo with a late second-round pick in the 2014 draft, New England moved him for what projects to be an early second-round pick in the upcoming draft.

In order words, New England got less for a possible franchise quarterback than it took them to acquire wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who cost a first- and third-round pick back in March.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, that second-round pick keeps dropping slightly in value because Garoppolo has yet to lose a game. Since becoming the starter, Garoppolo is 3-0. He's averaging over 330 passing yards per game while completing more than 68 percent of his passes.

Granted, the sample is small, but our NEP metric loves Garoppolo, too. In fact, he ranks first among all quarterbacks in NEP per drop back.

However, the recent level of competition that San Francisco has seen is nothing like what's coming this week when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not only are the Jags easily the best pass defense by our metrics, they also lead the league in sacks.

Even if Garoppolo suffers his first loss as a professional quarterback, his future remains extremely bright and gives the 49ers a perfect piece to build their future around. How he performs against a historically great pass defense despite a lack of weaponry could provide some insight into just how high the ceiling could be for Jimmy G.