Time travel isn’t possible yet, but that isn’t gonna stop me.
Midway through the 2017 season, the Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a 2nd round pick. Bill Belichick had to choose between Tom Brady and Jimmy G, and he chose TB12. What if he chose Jimmy Garoppolo instead?
*insert time travel noise here*
Belichick trades Tom Brady to the 49ers, and he gets a 1st round pick in return (If Jimmy G’s getting you a 2nd rounder, there’s no way Tom Brady doesn’t get you a 1st rounder.) The 49ers don’t really change that much. Jimmy G won all five of his games, and Tom Brady probably would have done the same.
The Patriots, however, see their season change dramatically. The Patriots were down big to the Jaguars in the AFC Championship, and they came back to win that game. They aren’t able to do this with Jimmy G, so the Jaguars (!) led by Blake Bortles (!!) go to the Super Bowl (!!!) and win (!!!!). The Eagles were able to beat the Patriots, but the Jaguars defense was something else. One of the reasons that the Eagles beat the Patriots was because the Patriots pass rush couldn’t get to Foles. The Jags are able to do that, and Foles falls apart. He throws three picks, including two to Super Bowl MVP Jalen Ramsey.
Now, we fast-forward to the offseason. There’s only one big change in free agency: the 49ers sign Dion Lewis instead of Jerick McKinnon. Brady wants Dion Lewis as his receiving back, and with Brady as his QB, Lewis becomes an elite RB in San Francisco.
The draft is where the most change happens, though. In real life, the Patriots wanted Bradley Chubb, but they didn’t have the ammo to go get him. Here, they have the #9 pick, and the package it with the #23 pick to trade with the Browns to draft Chubb at #4 (as a Broncos fan, this hurts to write). The Broncos now decide to take Josh Rosen at #5 (this somehow hurts even more). The Browns take Minkah Fitzpatrick at #9 and D.J. Moore at #23. Mike McGlinchey slips to the Cardinals at #10, and Denzel Ward falls all the way to the Dolphins at #11 (!). The Panthers take Calvin Ridley at #24, and the Falcons take Isaiah Wynn at #26.
The 2018 season is pretty similar in the AFC, but it changes vastly in the NFC. Armed with an elite veteran QB, a borderline elite RB, and a dominant defense, the 49ers take over the NFC. They finish the year as the #1 seed, and they go to the Super Bowl after Richard Sherman picks off Drew Brees in the end zone and delivers an iconic postgame interview (when you try me with a sorry receiver like Thomas, that’s the result you’re gonna get!).
In the Super Bowl, they face… the Patriots (see how it all comes full circle?) and their star young QB, Jimmy Garoppolo. Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick. The final showdown to determine who’s really responsible for the Patriots’ success. In the end, Belichick is victorious. The addition of Bradley Chubb turns this defense into one of the best ever. Joe Staley holds his own, but the other tackle gets turned into a turnstile by Chubb. He gets to Tom Brady four times, and he becomes the first rookie to win Super Bowl MVP.
As a final note, the 2019 draft also changes dramatically. The Cardinals don’t have the first overall pick because Sam Bradford is good for at least five wins, and the 49ers don’t have the second overall pick for obvious reasons. Because of that, the Jets take Nick Bosa at #1, and the Raiders (!) take Kyler Murray (!!) at #2 overall.
That’s a wrap! Jimmy G wins a Super Bowl, Dion Lewis becomes elite, Bradley Chubb is the unquestioned best young pass rusher in the NFL, and Blake Bortles wins a Super Bowl (this is still the weirdest part of all this).
