Both San Francisco 49ers fans and fantasy football owners want to know what the heck happened to quarterback Colin Kaepernick. One minute he was on top of the world; a dynamic, playmaking young QB starting in the Super Bowl. The next, he's a failed experiment; someone who can't get the ball down field accurately. It's hard to believe the dramatic swings Kaepernick's reputation has taken in just three seasons as a starter. He must be motivated to prove the doubters wrong this season and prove he's a worthwhile starting QB in both reality and fantasy.
"While the hyped [Carlos] Hyde and the somewhat forgotten [Reggie] Bush - it's his fourth franchise in six seasons! - surely have points to prove, that' nothing compared to confident but flawed quarterback Colin Kaepernick," ESPN.com Senior Writer Eric Karabell wrote. "Two seasons ago, the Nevada product was a fantasy darling. While he improved on some of his numbers in 2014, he fell from a top-10 fantasy quarterback to no longer in starting consideration this fall. What happened? Kaepernick's decision making and downfield accuracy need work, and the 49ers did add a deep threat in former Baltimore Ravens veteran Torrey Smith to help the latter. It would also be nice to see what tight end Vernon Davis has left, if anything. He remarkably went from 52 receptions, 850 yards and 13 touchdowns to 26 catches for 245 yards and two scores. Now, at 31, this can't happen again if he wants to remain in the league."
Kaepernick throw for 3,369 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season while completing 60.5 percent of his passes. He also ran the ball 104 times for 639 yards (6.1) and one score.
There's no denying that Kaep has to turnaround this downward trend. However, it will be difficult to do so this year. San Fran's offensive line wasn't a great unit to begin with, but they lost a lot when Pro Bowl guard Mike Iupati departed in free agency. Kaep may not have the protection he needs to operate effectively in 2015.
On top of that, the amount of sudden retirements from many of the team's starters (Anthony Davis, Chris Borland, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, etc.) has put this roster into questionable territory. Is there enough talent in SF to compete?
The 49ers may not be a great team this year and that won't help Kaepernick's cause in the long run.
