The San Francisco 49ers quarterback remains unresolved, with Colin Kaepernick the subject of trade rumors. Mike Silver has reported the team would be willing to retain Kaepernick if a deal could not get done, but most people are not letting that influence their first round mock drafts.
Dan Kadar released his latest 2016 NFL mock draft, and he has the 49ers selecting quarterback Carson Wentz. He has Jared Goff going No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns. The position is a popular choice for both teams, but a lot of mocks actually go the reverse way. Adam Stites updated his 77-site mock draft database, and his pie charts have the Browns focusing on Wentz, and the 49ers focusing on Goff.
Cleveland Browns
San Francisco 49ers
The Browns have repeatedly been connected to Wentz over the last six weeks, but some believe that might be a smoke screen and Goff will be the pick. Dan Kadar went with Goff to the Browns because he views him as the better option. Here's what he said about the 49ers pick of Wentz:
Here's the question San Francisco's front office has to answer before the draft: Do you start with the quarterback, or build the rest of the foundation first? My opinion is the former because all the other pieces will be useless if the quarterback isn't in place. Wentz might need a year or two of development, but he has the ceiling of a franchise quarterback.
It's hard to know two things: 1) what kind of sway Chip Kelly will have on the first round pick, and 2) how he feels about Wentz and Goff. I still don't think the 49ers go quarterback in the first round, but I know we won't be able to answer those questions anytime soon, so it's more guess-work on my part at this point.