The San Francisco 49ers finished up the 2015 NFL season on Sunday, and will pick No. 7 in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The team fired head coach Jim Tomsula on Sunday, and the search is officially on for a new coach. NFL mock drafts are of course in full swing, but it will be interesting to see how the new head coach impacts the offense and what the 49ers might look for in that first round pick.
I would assume if Trent Baalke is going to retain full powers, it won't make a huge difference. Of course, maybe a new head coach has thoughts on what Colin Kaepernick can do at quarterback. I still think Kap ends up elsewhere by April 1, but everything is officially up in the air with Jim Tomsula's departure.
Dan Kadar posted his latest 2016 NFL mock draft at SB Nation, and even though the 49ers slipped two spots, he still has them landing a quarterback. Kadar has Cal quarterback Jared Goff going second to the Cleveland Browns, and then has the 49ers landing Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch. Here's what he has to say about the pick:
Lynch entered the draft following three very good years starting for a Memphis team that went from being poor to winning 19 games the last two seasons. Lynch is a tall and athletic passer who has considerably more potential than Goff. He's not a perfectly refined passer at this point, but his tools and accuracy are too intriguing to pass up.
Blaine Gabbert is not the future at quarterback. He could very well be the team's Week 1 starter next season, but he is not a long-term answer. Colin Kaepernick's future is highly in doubt, but like I said, the next head coach could convince Trent Baalke to keep him around (and convince Kaepernick to not demand out).