49ers hope they have their quarterback in C.J. Beathard

C.J. Beathard is going to get his chance to audition to be the quarterback of the future for the San Francisco 49ers. After replacing Brian Hoyer in Week 6, the rookie showed enough that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan says Beathard will be the team’s starter moving forward.

Beathard, 23, finished his first regular season action with 245 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception that ended the 49ers’ chances at a come-from-behind victory over Washington, but it was a fourth-down desperation heave.

His 72.1 passer rating wasn’t the smoothest performance, but one thing was clear: The 49ers were much better with Beathard in the game.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thought Beathard was going to be anywhere near an NFL franchise quarterback during his collegiate career at Iowa. Even as he compiled a 21-7 record as the Hawkeyes’ starter, he averaged just 148 yards per game as a senior.

When the 49ers drafted him in the third round, it was a pick that was mostly laughed at.

”C.J. Beathard had mostly fifth-, sixth-round grades from the teams I spoke with,” NFL Network’s Mike Mayock said, via NFL.com. “[He’s] very smart, understands where to go with the football, better arm than expected when you really sit down and study him. I haven’t seen him live, and the people who went to his Pro Day told me he had an excellent day.”

But Beathard looked good in preseason with 401 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, as well as a 62-yard touchdown run. His revival of the San Francisco offense against Washington on Sunday is more reason to be encouraged about his NFL future.

Ultimately, Beathard looked fine. He didn’t look like a franchise quarterback and he wasn’t enough to solve the many problems of a now 0-6 team.

The 49ers’ offensive line isn’t great in pass protection and the team still has a long way to go in rebuilding its wide receiving corps. If Beathard plays well, it’d be an impressive feat on a team that isn’t set up to find much offensive success. The likelier scenario is that the rookie struggles as a starter.

His first test will come in Week 7 when the 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys.

If the 49ers continue to lose, it’s hard to imagine San Francisco being so impressed with Beathard that the team passes on the opportunity to upgrade the position in a big way during the 2018 offseason. But he’s going to get his shot and so far he’s already exceeding the expectations of many.