The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the most talked about teams this offseason, and not for good reasons, as they have made a coaching staff change after finishing with the worst record in the NFC West and now are at the center of a quarterback controversy. Earlier last week it was reported that Kaepernick was "more than open" to returning to San Francisco in 2016, and on Thursday afternoon different reports surfaced that the 49ers quarterback was seeking a trade to leave the franchise.
The 49ers are looking to rebuild, and while Kaepernick may make for a strong fit in head coach Chip Kelly's offensive system, the 49ers might be best served by cutting ties with the former second round pick. Their front office of course will look to get compensation should they choose to trade Kaepernick and move onto their next franchise quarterback in the 2016 NFL Draft.
If either North Dakota State's Carson Wentz or California's Jared Goff is still on the board by the time the 49ers select with the seventh pick, they should pounce on one of them. Wentz would likely be an ideal fit in San Francisco and is a very athletic quarterback who could run Kelly's fast paced offense both with his arm and his feet. While Wentz would make a strong fit in San Francisco, it's unlikely he will be on the board by the 49ers' selection, as both the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys are ahead of them. The Browns would make the most sense, as it's known they are in the market for a quarterback, and Wentz impressed them at the 2016 NFL Combine this past weekend.
The Cowboys are the biggest question mark heading into the draft with the fourth pick, as quarterback Tony Romo broke his collarbone twice last season, and Dallas could be looking to draft his eventual successor. "What is the one unequivocable fact that you can count on relative to the preparation for this draft and on draft day is that I'm planning on Romo being the quarterback for the next four or five years," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, via ESPN. "That's a fact. You won't see a decision on draft day that will fly in the face of not believing, from our standpoint, that he'll be our quarterback for four or five years."
Jones clearly believes in Romo as the future starter in Dallas for the next four or five seasons, but the Cowboys owner could be using gamesmanship to try and land the quarterback prospect he wants in the draft. The Cowboys have plenty of needs this offseason on the defensive side of the ball and at running back and could look to pass on a quarterback in the first round to fill other holes on their roster.
If the California quarterback slips past the Cowboys at four, the 49ers should select him at seven, as he could be a franchise quarterback in San Francisco for years to come. Goff may not reach the desired measurements or size as Wentz does, but there is no doubt that he is a rare talent and has shown that he can perform under pressure.
Goff completed 64.5 percent of his passes his junior season for 4,714 yards and threw 43 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. While many 49ers fans may not be ready to let go of Kaepernick, it may be the best decision for the franchise in the long run. Kaepernick has been an inconsistent passer throughout his career and has struggled to turn into a legitimate pocket passer in the league. While the 49ers quarterback clearly has talent, it's unknown if he will ever return to the same form he showed the year they made it to the Super Bowl. San Francisco has lost a ton of key playmakers especially on the defensive side of the ball since that Super Bowl run, and time has shown that Kaepernick may in part have been there for the ride as opposed to leading them there.
The 49ers have plenty of holes to fill this offseason, but if Goff is on the board with the seventh pick the 49ers should look to lockup their potential future franchise quarterback.
