It's still the offseason, which means all we can do is talk about the things we've already talked about, and of course, talk about the things other people talk about. Over at SI.com, Andy Benoit posted an NFL quarterback ranking. I think it's always fun to see what the national media thinks when it comes to the 49ers.
Kaepernick comes in at No. 21 on his list, and he gives a shorter explanation for Kaepernick than most quarterbacks, saying that his "raw tools are startling, but so are a lot of his decisions." He finishes by saying there are "also mechanical flaws."
I have to say, even outside of Kaepernick and his spot in the list, I massively disagree with much of this list. Andy Dalton is ridiculously low for his stats, Jameis Winston is above a bunch of guys he shouldn't be, and he calls Marcus Mariota the most mysterious quarterback drafted in the top five ever -- which itself is rather puzzling. Mariota looks like your standard first-round quarterback to me, but perhaps I've missed something!
That said, it's just an opinion and I don't find anything about the list particularly offensive. Mr. Benoit at least gives explanations for most of his picks, which is more than we can say for a lot of these kinds of lists. As for Kaepernick, he comes in above Nick Foles, the probable starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams but below both Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks.
It's difficult to argue any of those points. Kaepernick could very well find more success than Palmer this season, especially given Palmer's age and injury history. But going by last season, Palmer was definitely more productive. Wilson is somewhat underwhelming as a pure passer but in my opinion, he's leagues more impressive than Kaepernick when it comes to being mobile with the football.
I think most of us here see what Kaepernick can be more than what he's shown thus far and that colors our opinions of him now. He's obviously had a few big games, but he was mediocre at best last season. I personally think he'll bounce back from that, especially with Torrey Smith to throw to, but for now I guess I can't argue with this ranking too much.