Mock drafts do not hold much predictive value, but they can be interesting for discussion of positions, and the associated thoughts provided with them. The comments about a given pick can provide as much interesting discussion as anything else, and that is the case with Daniel Jeremiah's latest 2016 NFL mock draft.
The NFL Network analyst has the San Francisco 49ers selecting quarterback Jared Goff with the seventh pick of the draft. He has Carson Wentz going No. 2 to the Dallas Cowboys. The picks are interesting and all, but it was Jeremiah's comment accompanying the Goff pick that was more interesting:
There's a lot of buzz about the 49ers' growing faith in Blaine Gabbert, but it would take considerable courage to bypass a talented signal-caller in your own backyard.
The idea of buzz surrounding Gabbert is not exactly a shocking revelation. However, given the questions at the position, and Gabbert's own inconsistencies in 2015, I find myself wondering who is pushing the buzz about faith in Gabbert. And of course, the bigger question is why that is being pushed. It is certainly possible Chip Kelly, Trent Baalke or others are legitimately impressed with Gabbert and think he can develop in Kelly's offense. It's also possible it is about leveraging the situation with Colin Kaepernick to potentially work out a trade at some point.
We have a month and a half until Colin Kaepernick's 2016 base salary becomes fully guaranteed. April 1 is not the drop-dead date for anything to happen. Kap's $11.9 million salary is not that big a deal if there is a team out there that thinks he can be their starter. That is not backup money however, and if the 49ers cannot work a deal, I don't expect Kap to willingly restructure his contract. The 49ers can take the cap hit given their sizable space, but if they don't think he can be their starter, I don't see them keeping Kap around with that dollar amount.