5 Reasons why Blaine Gabbert to the 49ers is a perfect fit. No, this is not a joke. I didn’t randomly wake up and think, man this Blaine Gabbert kid is going to be something special. That’s reserved for the 2011 NFL draft when I had him ranked ahead of Aldon Smith and Colin Kaepernick.
For shame.
In any event, here are five reasons why Blaine Gabbert to the 49ers is a perfect fit.
1. Jim Harbaugh
Photo: Kirby Lee, USA Today: Smith owes a lot of his success to Harbaugh.
It might be too soon to call Harbaugh the “quarterback whisperer,” but he’s done a darn good job turning lemons into some pretty tasty lemonade. From Josh Johnson during his University of San Diego days to Alex Smith with these very same San Francisco 49ers, Harbaugh has upped the play of every quarterback with a perceived lack of talent.
Give him some talent and the end result is Colin Kaepernick, who has accounted for 40 total touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 23 career regular season starts. He also boasts a 17-6 record in those 23 starts.
Kaepernick was a perceived project coming out of Nevada and it took a couple years of learning the system and honing his craft to become one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. Back in 2011, there weren’t many who concluded Kaepernick would be an upper-echelon NFL QB.
The following is from NFL.com…
Kaepernick has enough physical tools to be viewed as a developmental backup quarterback prospect. Experienced, competitive, productive and durable but very raw in terms of making NFL reads and throws.
While reads and progressions are certainly two things Kaepernick still needs to work on, his success on the field speaks for itself. Now enter into the equation Gabbert, who has accounted for 22 touchdowns compared to 24 interceptions in 27 career starts. Can Harbaugh continue his winning ways with quarterbacks? This will likely be his most difficult task since he coached Rich Gannon to the best single-season performance of his career with the Oakland Raiders back in 2002.
2. No Pressure Backup Role
Let’s face facts for a second here. The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t necessarily put Gabbert in the best situation to win. Thrust into a starting role on a talentless offense, Gabbert struggled. In fact, there are a lot of comparisons to how Gabbert played in Jacksonville and Alex Smith in San Francisco prior to Harbaugh’s arrival.
Barring an injury to Kaepernick, who hasn’t missed time in either college or the NFL, Gabbert will be that “developmental backup” that NFL.com called Kaepernick leading up to the 2011 NFL draft. There is some reason for optimism here, as it’s not like Gabbert lacks physical skills…
3. At One Point, Gabbert Did Have “Talent.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPfJgy8n_LA
Gabbert didn’t go No. 10 overall in the 2011 draft for no reason. He was perceived to be a potential franchise quarterback in the lead up to the annual event in New York City. Looking again at NFL.com, this is what they had to say…
Gabbert has it all physically, but has a long way to go before he’s ready to lead an NFL offense. He played in a spread offense and will have to learn to take snaps under center and make progressions in the pocket.
However, he is a smart football player that seems to understand coverages and he has the arm strength to fit the ball into tight windows.
He is also very mobile and elusive in the pocket and shows the ability to make plays with his feet. Overall, Gabbert’s tools will be too alluring for a team without a quarterback, and he seems assured to be a top-10 pick, maybe even the first QB off the board.
Much sexier scouting profile than Kaepernick, aye? In any event, the talent hasn’t magically disappeared. Gabbert’s lack of progression in Jacksonville coupled with a lack of talent on offense are two of the primary reasons he’s now considered a major bust. With Harbaugh leading the way, there is a chance he turns it around.
4. 49ers Needed An Upgrade Over Colt McCoy
Cary Edmondson, USA Today: McCoy was never a long-term backup option in SF.
No matter your thoughts on Gabbert, he is an upgrade from McCoy and offers a lot more upside from the backup quarterback position. Would the 49ers be in a good spot if Gabbert had to start for a long period of time? Not at all. However, this could be said for pretty much every team in the league. Just take a look at the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers last season.
He does, however, offer the 49ers more upside from this position. If you had the “pleasure” of watching McCoy play with the Cleveland Browns or in preseason with the 49ers last season, you know that he is nowhere near a NFL-caliber quarterback, even as a backup or third-string option. While Gabbert hasn’t played like a starter-caliber QB in three seasons, there are logical reasons to believe that Harbaugh can get the most out out him.
It does remain to be seen exactly what “the most” is as it relates to Gabbert. Decent backup option or mid-tier starter quality? Hopefully for the 49ers sake, we don’t find out an answer to that final question anytime soon.
5. Sixth-Round Pick
Thomas J. Russo, USA Today: Marcus Cooper, a seventh-round pick last year, didn’t make the team out of camp. Starred for KC as a rookie.
Let’s face reality here for a second. How many 2014 NFL draft picks are going to make the 49ers roster? Give one of the three-most talented teams in the NFL a dozen picks and expecting all 12 to make the 53-man roster is foolish.
San Francisco may still look for a developmental No. 3 late in the upcoming draft, but who could it have targeted at the quarterback position in the sixth round that would be a better option than Gabbert? Not only that, acquiring a rookie quarterback that late in the draft is more of a down-the-road decision, as he won’t even be anywhere near ready to make an impact for a few years.
Some assume that the likes of Tajh Boyd and Logan Thomas will be available in the sixth round. That’s simply not the case. Based solely on their upside five years down the road, neither will make it out of the fourth round. In Gabbert, the 49ers spent a low-round pick on a former top-10 pick with some upside. That’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Photo: Phil Sears, USA Today