After averaging 2.5 catches and 52.5 receiving yards in each of the San Francisco 49ers' first 11 games, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin is benefiting from his new quarterback. Of course, so his the entire team, which has now won three consecutive games.
Since Jimmy Garoppolo was named the starting quarterback, Goodwin's averages have jumped to eight catches and 106 receiving yards per game. That's an impressive increase with the only difference being a change at quarterback. His average receptions per game have tripled while his average receiving yards have doubled.
Goodwin now sits just 103 receiving yards shy of his first career 1,000-yard season. He'll hit that mark if his receiving yards per game continues to increase as it has in each of the past three games (99 at Chicago, 106 at Houston, 114 vs. Tennessee). Goodwin's 10 receptions on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans set a single-game career-high for the receiver in that category.
Goodwin has become a reliable receiver for the 49ers following the loss of Pierre Garçon to a neck injury. He was targeted 13 times against Tennessee. That's tied for the third-most targets by a receiver during Week 15 (so far – Falcons and Buccaneers play on Monday night), according to Pro Football Focus. Only Sterling Shepard of the New York Giants (16) and Michael Crabtree (17) were targeted more, and only the former had more catches (11) this week.
Following the 25-23 victory over the Titans, Goodwin revealed to reporters that he is suffering through his second tragedy of the season. Just hours before the 49ers' Week 10 matchup against the New York Giants, which ended up being San Francisco's first win of the season, Goodwin and his wife lost their baby boy after having to deliver him prematurely. During the week leading up to Sunday's game against the Titans, Goodwin lost his biological father.
"I'm blessed," Goodwin told reporters. "I've been dealing with a lot. I'm blessed. I'm thankful for the opportunity. God has shown me so much in this season. I had a lot going on this year losing my baby and I just recently lost my biological father this week. It's just been a lot, but I really didn't let the outside negative energy affect how I play, how I approach this game or how I come to work each day. I just kind of stayed positive and kept my mind fresh, and I relied on God to bring me through all of the situations that I've been through."
Despite the challenging year, Goodwin is flourishing as the 49ers' number one receiver. As already stated, much of that is due to Garoppolo. Goodwin doesn't even feel the need to be perfect with the talented quarterback.
"He's just very in tune with everybody," Goodwin said. "It's crazy. I don't think I've ever played with anybody like him. If you look, my route, it may have been a good route and it may have not, but I don't have to run a perfect route."
Garoppolo admires his Goodwin's work ethic. While nine different players caught passes from the 49ers quarterback on Sunday, including Garoppolo himself who hauled in a batted throw, the two have developed good chemistry on the football field.
Following the game, Garoppolo was asked about the confidence he has in Goodwin and how it developed.
"Just the hard work he puts in," Garoppolo said "Quise is one of the first guys that came up when I first got here and said hi to me and introduced himself. He's just a hard worker. You really got to tip your hat to that. The extra time that we put in, not even just with him, but with all the skill position players. The extra meetings we have, the stuff in practice, the extra routes, it's starting to pay off now."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has also noticed the improvement in Goodwin, who had some issues with dropped passes earlier in the season.
"Marquise has been unbelievable," Shanahan said after the game. "I think he's made a huge jump throughout this year. We put a lot of pressure on Quise going into this year. He had never started before, and we brought him here to do that for us. He had some up and down times at the beginning. By no means would I say he played bad, but he just wasn't as consistent.
"He's fought through that, and anytime you see guys who go out there, and they get the pressure of starting, all of them are going to have some successes and some failures. It's just, how do they respond to it.
"I've been real impressed with Quise because, as you guys can all see in this second half of the year, especially with Pierre down, he's really taken a lot on his shoulders. He's been through a lot, and he's responded well. You guys see it on the field. We see it in practice throughout the week. He's turned into a true pro, and he's playing like a legit starter."
The 49ers signed Goodwin, who is in his fifth NFL season, to a two-year, $6 million contract on March 9. He spent the previous five seasons with the Buffalo Bills, where he had 431 receiving yards during his best season (2016). With 897 receiving yards in 2017, Goodwin has more than doubled his previous career-high.
