Leading up to the Super Bowl, then-Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan dished his scouting report of Eastern Illinois quarterback prospect Jimmy Garoppolo after evaluating him before the 2014 NFL draft.

“He was a very good thrower,” Shanahan told CSN Bay Area last month. “Tough guy, kept his eyes down the field, could get rid of the ball fast. Really liked the person. Had a chance to go out to dinner with him and stuff. He played at Eastern Illinois, and it was a different type of offense where you can’t always evaluate with how quick they get rid of the ball. But I really thought he was a very intelligent, tough player with a good throwing motion.”

At the time, Shanahan was the Browns’ offensive coordinator. Cleveland wound up taking Johnny Manziel, despite Shanahan reportedly preferring Garoppolo or Derek Carr to the Heisman Trophy winner. Manziel went 22nd in the first round while Carr (36th) and Garoppolo (62nd) went in the second.

Shanahan, who’s become well known for his work with quarterbacks, may have been right. Carr in 2016 was an MVP candidate for the resurgent Raiders before breaking his ankle in December, while Garoppolo is among the hottest names on the trade market.

The 49ers have an obvious need at quarterback given the likelihood Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert don’t return in 2017 – which could lead to trading the Patriots for Garoppolo.

Former New England executive Mike Lombardi thinks San Francisco is the most logical landing spot for Tom Brady’s backup. He was on The Ringer NFL Show podcast this week and spoke about it at length.

“I think the team (Garoppolo) would end up on would be San Francisco, because I know for a fact that when I was in Cleveland for the little bit of time, then when I left and went to New England, Kyle Shanahan, whom we hired, came in, and he loved Garoppolo,” Michael Lombardi told Bill Simmons. “Loved him. I think he would have enough assets in San Francisco to make that work.”

The 49ers have the second-overall pick in the draft, which is likely too steep a price. But they have the second pick in each round thereafter. It’s been floated that a package centering around two second-round picks might be enough.

“Let’s face it: If you’re Kyle Shanahan, and you have six years at huge money — and by the way there’s no offset clause in your contract, which is significant in the NFL. Which means that if Kyle Shanahan gets fired in Year 2, he gets all of his money and can double dip, which is unheard of the NFL. You might as well use sustainable values and go for the long play.”

“Belichick makes every decision based on sustainable values. ‘How am I going to look in the year 2017 and ’18.’ Most teams in the NFL operate under situational values, which means what’s the best thing we can do right now,” Lombardi said. “And that’s where he takes advantage of the marketplace. He’s one of the few traders on the market who … sustainable values and everyone else is situational.”

However, Lombardi thinks the Patriots will stand pant. Tom Brady is approaching 40, and there’s no precedent for a quarterback continuing to play at an MVP level at such an advanced age.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Lombardi said of New England moving Garoppolo. “I really don’t. I’m not saying this because I’ve talked to him (Belichick) about it. I just know the feeling of it. … I could be wrong.”

New England doesn’t have to move Garoppolo now. He’s entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. The Patriots could keep him around as insurance to Brady and then decide if they want to pay him next offseason. But they also have Jacoby Brissett, whom they drafted in the third-round last spring.

Lombardi added: “If I was in New England, I would be telling Belichick every day there’s no way we can trade him. I know you’ve got [Tom] Brady. But Brady is 40 years old. We don’t know where that’s going. There’s no history that says Brady’s going to be great.”

If the 49ers can’t land Garoppolo, another logical target would be Washington’s Kirk Cousins, who’s unsigned for 2017 and could get the franchise or transition tag, potentially making him available in a trade.

Shanahan was Washington’s offensive coordinator in 2012 when Cousins was drafted in the fourth round.

[H/T NESN.com]