With Rookie QBs Having Early Success, 49ers May Regret Not Taking One Sooner in 2016 Draft

The San Francisco 49ers passed on a number of quarterbacks in the 2016 NFL Draft. And with many of those playing well to start the season, one has to wonder how much the Niners’ efforts have been hurt.

Sure, the team did take Jeff Driskel in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, but it was a throw away pick for all intents and purposes. Driskel was cut and is now on the Cincinnati Bengals roster.

With Blaine Gabbert’s less-than-stellar history with the Jacksonville Jaguars(a 5-22 record and total 28.5 QBR), and former starter Colin Kaepernick rehabbing from injuries sustained in a disastrous 2015 season in which he played just eight games, perhaps it would have been wise for Baalke and company to have put more emphasis on getting a potential franchise signal-caller going into this season.

So far in this 2016 season, the combined record of Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott, Jacoby Brissett and Cody Kessler is 6-2.

Their touchdown-to-interception ratio is 6-0. But beyond the stats, they have operated their offense with precision and a sense of maturity usually reserved for veteran QBs. And while Wentz was drafted second overall, Prescott was a fourth round pick, while Brissett and Kessler were third round selections.

The Niners, meanwhile, decided to take another ACL-injured player in cornerback Will Redmond from Mississippi State, and another defensive back in Rashard Robinson from LSU who was considered a high risk player after being suspended for violation of team rules while with the Tigers. And while the jury is still out on these picks, the rookie QBs are producing on the field right now.

The Niners simply do not have the luxury of waiting on draft picks to develop the same way they were a few seasons ago when the roster was stocked with talent and the team was successful.

There is still a long way to go in the season, and while each of these QBs will most likely hit some bumps in the road along the way, they are providing not only solid play, but they also give the organizations that drafted them hope for their future. In the Patriot’s case, it provides them a solid third QB and potentially a trade asset going forward.

As for the 49ers, the decision to pass on QBs earlier in the last few drafts has left them with what seems to be a career backup (at best) in Gabbert, and a guy who never reached his full potential and may never get back to where he was in his first season and a half in Colin Kaepernick.

Should the Niners continue to struggle with Gabbert under center, Kaepernick may very well be taking over before mid season.