San Francisco 49ers: Best and Worst Players at Each Position Entering 2017
By Peter Panacy
Quarterback
Best Player: Colin Kaepernick
Worst Player: Blaine Gabbert
Ah, yes. The most obvious of the obvious.
Quarterback Blaine Gabbert was pretty awful in 2016. Awful enough to be benched in favor of Colin Kaepernick, who wasn’t entirely much better.
Yes, Kap was an upgrade. But just a marginal one. His completion percentage (59.2) was less than three points higher than Gabbert’s (56.9). Kaepernick did have a 16-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio though, which stands notably better than Gabbert’s five touchdown passes against six picks.
Still, Kaepernick is nothing like the quarterback he once was. But at least he was an upgrade and someone who seemed to perform better in former head coach Chip Kelly’s offense than the guy replaced under center.
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Regardless, San Francisco will likely be looking for another quarterback this offseason. It’s pretty clear neither Kaepernick nor Gabbert will be the answer, and both could easily be off the roster in 2017.
And like many other positions, the best players certainly wouldn’t be holding down the same accolade on a vast majority of other NFL teams.
Next: 10 Big-Name Free Agents the 49ers Should Target
Hence the reason why the Niners need some substantial upgrades this offseason.