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SANTA CLARA Earl Mitchell Jersey , Calif. (AP) — All the optimism the San Francisco 49ers had coming into the season crumpled less than a month into the campaign when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo blew out his knee.Talk of a playoff run and a return to the upper echelon of the NFC was put on hold for yet another year as the 49ers were headed to a fourth straight losing season instead.Despite the injuries to Garoppolo and projected starting running back Jerick McKinnon, coach Kyle Shanahan said he believed the Niners should have done better than finish 4-12, a drop of two wins from his first season in San Francisco.“I look at this year and we went through some tough things this year,” Shanahan said. “I look back on it and with the stuff we went through, are you going to have a great record? You have a chance to. But, odds are it’s going to be tough. We only won four games. I’m not happy with that despite what’s happened. I believe specifically going through the games and everything, I think we should have won seven. So, I’m down about that.”The 49ers hope the experience the young players got, plus the expected returns of Garoppolo and McKinnon next season, will be enough for the franchise to end a stretch of losing that began when Jim Harbaugh was forced out as coach following the 2014 season. San Francisco has lost 47 games since Harbaugh left, tied for the worst four-year stretch in franchise history.The one possible bright spot is that run of ineptitude from 1977-80 led to a Super Bowl title the following season. Whether the Niners have enough pieces in place even to be a playoff team next year remains in question.“It’s hard to say,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “It’s hard to tell without your guys out there. Without Jimmy G, you got your franchise quarterback you lose, what, three games into the season. You lose the running back you just paid, no games into the season. Your starting receivers get banged-up. You lose a safety a game almost every game all the way up until the 10th, 11th game. I think it will be tough to know how good we’ll be until we have a consistent unit out there and show some continuity.”As much as the season-ending knee injuries to Garoppolo and McKinnon in September set San Francisco back, there were plenty of other issues on the team that need to be fixed if the Niners are to have any success in 2019.The defense set an NFL record for futility with just seven takeaways K’Waun Williams Jersey , including a record-low two interceptions. The defensive members of the 2017 draft class expected to be building blocks provided little impact, with first-round lineman Solomon Thomas getting only one sack, first-round linebacker Reuben Foster getting released after another arrest, and third-round cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon struggling.Those problems overshadowed the few highlights: a blowout win in the final Battle of the Bay against the Raiders; a home win against Seattle in December that snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Seahawks.“We’re not going to sit here and say anything too positive about this season,” said left tackle Joe Staley, one of the only remaining ties to the winning teams under Harbaugh from 2011-13. “It’s kind of been a downer for everybody. But the thing I am proud of is we’ve been out of it for a little bit, but we keep fighting every single week and the guys still show up. … I’m proud of the effort of the guys. But at the end of the day, it’s not an effort business. It’s a results business.”The 49ers will need to get results in 2019 in the third year under Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.The duo has provided strong leadership and Shanahan has proven to be a top play caller, as evidenced by the success he had late in the season with undrafted free agent Nick Mullens at quarterback.The hope is the offense will be even more dynamic with a full season of Garoppolo at quarterback, the speedy McKinnon at running back after missing the entire season with a knee injury, and big-play tight end George Kittle, who set a record at the position with 1,377 yards receiving for the season.But questions remain about Garoppolo, who was given a $137.5 million, five-year contract last offseason after leading the Niners to a 5-0 record as starter at the end of 2017.Garoppolo wasn’t nearly as efficient in his two-plus games this season before the injury. He threw three interceptions in an opening loss at Minnesota, took six sacks the following week in a win against Detroit, then fell behind 35-7 the following week at Kansas City before eventually going down with the torn knee ligament.But the Niners are counting on Garoppolo to be a difference maker in 2019.“We put more pressure on ourselves than anyone,” Garoppolo said. “All that’s just hearsay and stuff. We went through a whole offseason of that last year Joe Staley Jersey , so we’re prepared for that. We just have to keep getting better as a team, coming together, getting together in the offseason and working. That will help us going forward.” The quarterback position is the most important in football, and it doesn’t take long for teams to grow enamored with a potential franchise option. Even when there are questions of the position group heading into the annual draft, teams will reach thinking they’ve found “the one.”The 2019 NFL Draft does not have a clear-cut dominant quarterback that will run the table as the top option. There is no Andrew Luck or Cam Newton or even a Peyton Manning/Ryan Leaf pairing that everybody believes is worth grabbing at the top of the draft. Instead, we have Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State) and Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) competing to be the first quarterback off the board. Drew Lock and Daniel Jones are among others who could get into the first round, but for the time being, Haskins and Murray seem likely to be the first two quarterbacks off the board in some order.There has been speculation about whether or not Arizona might grab Murray, and there are questions as to who will be willing to move up if they think they have to leapfrog some teams to grab a QB. Some teams legitimately are interested in drafting a quarterback, while others simply want a team to move up and take a QB to guarantee one more non-QB is available for them.It appears we can add the Detroit Lions to the mix. They have Matthew Stafford in place but general manager Bob Quinn said on Monday that the team won’t rule out any position with the No. 8 pick.We’ve seen teams jump on the QB position even when it seemed unnecessary (Chiefs two years ago), so nothing would surprise me. But again, it could be a matter of convincing a team behind the Lions that they need to make a move up.So who exactly needs a quarterback in the top half of the draft? You could make arguments for teams in the back half of the draft, but the odds seem long of any of them being interested in moving up to the No. 2 overall pick.1. Cardinals: They have Josh Rosen, but....2. 49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo starting, and Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard competing for the backup role. Maybe they deal one of their backup quarterbacks, but they won’t be spending a first round pick on the position.3. Jets: Sam Darnold took his lumps, but he’s their guy.4. Raiders: After the Cardinals, this is where it gets interesting. Derek Carr seems unlikely to be going anywhere at this point Steve Young Jersey , but Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock adding a quarterback in the first round would not surprise me in the least. That being said, I would expect it with one of their other first round picks.5. Buccaneers: Jameis Winston is signed through 2019, on his fifth year option. I would not be surprised to see them sign some competition in free agency, but if they are relatively quiet on the QB front in March, they are a dark-horse to make some noise in the draft.6. Giants: They need a replacement for Eli Manning, but they kicked the can down the road this past year. If rumors heat up around the Raiders and/or Bucs, the Giants seem like a strong contender to be chatting up the 49ers and Jets about moving up — pending the Cardinals own decisions.7. Jaguars: Blake Bortles is not the answer, and in spite of signing him to a three-year, $54 million extension a year ago, the Jags seem likely to be in the market. Free agency is a wasteland at the position this year, so they might be forced to be aggressive in the draft.8. Lions: They’re playing the game, but I would be surprised if they drafted a QB at this spot.9. Bills: Josh Allen is their guy.10. Broncos: Hahahahahahahahaha. Yes, they will be drafting a quarterback. One rumor has GM John Elway smitten with Drew Lock.11. Bengals: Andy Dalton is not the answer, but a lot will come down to how conversations have gone between new head coach Zac Taylor and the front office.12. Packers: Aaron Rodgers isn’t going anywhere. They need a replacement at some point, but it’s not yet.13. Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill seems like he could be out the door, and right now they are the favorites to draft Kyler Murray. They’ll be a player.14. Falcons: Matt Ryan is their guy for the foreseeable future.15. Washington: They seemed settled with Alex Smith, but his devastating leg injury leaves them entirely uncertain of the future. I would not be at all surprised to see them looking at the QB position in April.