Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo believes his skill set as an NFL prospect resembles the style of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Yet, it's one of Rogers' chief rivals for which he'd most like to play.
Garoppolo's draft stock has been on a steady rise from his impressive week at the Reese's Senior Bowl in January, to his NFL Scouting Combineperformance in Indianapolis. There isn't much of a consensus as to where he'll be drafted, however, other than that it won't be in the first round. Garoppolo sees himself like the former first-rounder Rogers, however.
"I like to think I'm pretty close in comparison to Aaron Rodgers," Garoppolo told csnchicago.com. "He's very athletic and gets the ball out quickly. He's very knowledgeable of the game, controls the offense totally and that's something I try to do. Just know the offense inside and out, and if you're able to do that as a quarterback, it makes your team that much better."
One thing Garoppolo undoubtedly has in common with Rodgers is a quick release. An AFC scout told College Football 24/7 that he had the quickest release of any quarterback at the Senior Bowl, which included first-round hopeful Derek Carr of Fresno State. San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh worked Garoppolo out recently and came away with a slightly different impression of Garoppolo's delivery.
"Quick release yes, but sometimes too quick," the 49ers coach said. "You want to see him go through the whole motion."
"That's always been my dream since day one," he said.
The Bears could be in the market for a quarterback in the later rounds. Though they've made a contract commitment to starter Jay Cutler, former backup Josh McCown needs replacing.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter *@ChaseGoodbread.*