The San Francisco 49ers most vital decision this offseason will be regarding the future of their quarterback position. Although there are limited options in the NFL Draft, the 49ers should refrain from taking QB Mitch Trubisky.
The San Francisco 49ers will mostly likely head into the 2017 NFL Draft looking for their franchise quarterback.
Their current roster features only one quarterback: Colin Kaepernick.
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson and Adam Schefter, Kaepernick will likely opt out of contract, thus making him a free agent as well.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder and Thad Lewis will likely not return to the team this upcoming season.
This alludes to the obvious — the 49ers are in desperate need of finding the future of their franchise this offseason.
As per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the 49ers will be in play for free agent QB Kirk Cousins. San Francisco also could be a destination for the New England Patriots backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo, as stated by Sporting News.
But in order for John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan to “build this thing up right,” they will need to find their QB in the draft.
But, the quarterback John Lynch and Co. will draft should not be University of North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky.
Breaking Down the Numbers
The ex-Tar Heel quarterback has a small sample size, but below are his numbers:
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2014 | North Carolina | ACC | SO | QB | 9 | 42 | 78 | 53.8 | 459 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 5 | 4 | 114.2 |
| *2015 | North Carolina | ACC | SO | QB | 9 | 40 | 47 | 85.1 | 555 | 11.8 | 14.4 | 6 | 0 | 226.4 |
| 2016 | North Carolina | ACC | JR | QB | 13 | 304 | 447 | 68.0 | 3748 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 30 | 6 | 157.9 |
| Career | North Carolina | 386 | 572 | 67.5 | 4762 | 8.3 | 9.0 | 41 | 10 | 157.6 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 2/16/2017.
His 68.0 completion percentage and 8.4 yards per attempt from 2016 are impressive. But, he has the benefit of playing in an spread offense. A lot of the throws Trubisky makes are run-pass options (RPOs). This opens up a lot of the quick, easy throws for the ex-UNC QB, which boosts his completion percentage.
He stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 220 pounds, meaning he’s built to be an NFL quarterback.
On the outside just looking at these passing numbers, many would think Trubisky could potentially be a solid NFL starter. But NFL scouts and game film say otherwise.
Breaking Down the Scouting Reports
According to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, Trubisky is a high-end NFL quarterback prospect and has all the tools to be successful. But, Zierlein backtracks saying that the ex-Tar Heel QB has not put all of the pieces together yet.
More from SF 49ers Draft
- 49ers 2023 NFL Draft tracker: Pick-by-pick news and analysis
- Predicting 49ers NFL Draft picks by looking at final mocks
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- 2023 NFL Draft: EDGE Byron Young could be impact player for 49ers
- 5 low-key NFL Draft options for 49ers who are flying under the radar
CBS Sports has Mitch Trubisky as their 12th ranked prospect in this year’s draft. With the San Francisco 49ers selecting second overall, this could be a huge reach. It’s something John Lynch cannot afford to do in his first year as General Manager.
No executive or scout is excited about the potential and talent that Trubisky showcased this year, as stated by Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com. This is a scary sight, as scouts do not find Trubisky to be a top-10 prospect.
Jeremy Klump of NFLSpinZone.com broke down Mitch Trubisky and said that his ceiling could be Russell Wilson and his floor could be Alex Smith. That’s a wide range of possibility, not sure if that is something the 49ers can risk this early in the Kyle Shanahan era.
Breaking down the Film
Watching highlights of Trubisky this year, he featured excellent poise and good short to intermediate accuracy. Like Russell Wilson, Trubisky also does a fantastic job of evading pass rushers and hitting a receiver down the field.
In the Sun Bowl game vs. Stanford, Trubisky showcased a polarizing performance. On one hand, he completed 23 of 39 passing attempts, but had three ugly turnovers that ultimately led to the Stanford victory.
Taken from Draft Breakdown, the first clip shows how evasive Trubisky can be. He continues to keep his eyes down the field, even with a rusher chasing him. He’s able to set and plant his feet and complete the throw:
Trubisky also has good deep-ball accuracy and the arm talent to be able to get the ball down the field. Against Pittsburgh, Trubisky is able to drop the ball in between two defenders.
Here’s the snippet of the ex-UNC QB throwing it down the field to his receiver for the touchdown, which can be seen on Draft Breakdown:
On the other hand, there are some head-scratching plays that Trubisky could potentially frighten a GM or head coach.
Against Stanford in the Sun Bowl, Trubisky does not make the correct pre-snap read. He believes that there will be two safeties deep in zone coverage. The ex-Tar Heel signal caller gets fooled, as the Stanford safety drops into coverage on the running back.
Found on Draft Breakdown, here’s the clip of Trubisky being intercepted for a pick six:
Trubisky also has a tendency to hold on to the ball for too long. The ex-UNC QB takes an unnecessary sack when he should throw the ball away.
On a 3rd and 10, Trubisky holds the ball for too long instead of throwing the slant to the slot receiver. The full video can be seen at Draft Breakdown.
Bottom Line
Mitch Trubisky is a late first round prospect, who features good arm talent, mobility and size. He has the potential to be an NFL starter, but is seen primarily as a project. Trubisky will require a few seasons to develop and could face a steep hill in translating his game to the NFL.
Trubisky primarily plays in a spread system, taking all of his snaps out of the shotgun. Also, he only had one full year of being the starter under his belt. This might not be enough for the 49ers’ Front Office to determine if Trubisky is a good fit with their franchise.
According to Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., Trubisky is projected to go second overall the San Francisco 49ers.
More from Niner Noise
- 49ers 2023 NFL Draft tracker: Pick-by-pick news and analysis
- Predicting 49ers NFL Draft picks by looking at final mocks
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- 2023 NFL Draft: EDGE Byron Young could be impact player for 49ers
- 5 low-key NFL Draft options for 49ers who are flying under the radar
With the amount of defensive talent in this draft, the 49ers cannot afford to swing and miss on a polarizing prospect like Trubisky. The 49ers must have a starter from day one with the number two pick.
The San Francisco 49ers have too many needs to fill for this current roster and cannot afford to risk on a project quarterback. At the same time, he is probably going to be off the board by the time the 49ers make the 34th overall selection.
There are other exciting QB prospects, such as Patrick Mahomes, who the 49ers could take later in the draft.
Next: 49ers Should Take QB Patrick Mahomes in Round 2 of NFL Draft
John Lynch and Co. cannot afford a swing and miss this early in the NFL Draft. They must look at other quarterback options and steer away from Mitch Trubisky.