Ranking the NFL's Quarterback Situations Entering the 2016 Season
30. San Francisco 49ers
Early reports out of Niners' camp suggest that Blaine Gabbert has a lead for the starting quarterback job and has a better understanding of Chip Kelly's offense over Colin Kaepernick.
While our NEP metrics point towards Kap (0.03 NEP per drop back) being a more productive option over the past two seasons than Gabbert (-0.02 per drop back), they both were negative contributors in 2015, each averaging -0.03 NEP per drop back.
As you can see from the table below, Gabbert's 2015 numbers were certainly superior to Kaepernick's.
| SF Passing | Comp% (Rank) | Yds/Att (Rank) | TD% (Rank) | QB Rate (Rank) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabbert | 63.1% (18) | 7.2 (22) | 3.5% (27) | 86.2 (27) |
| Kaepernick | 59.0% (30) | 6.6 (32) | 2.5% (33) | 78.5 (31) |
Clearly, with Gabbert at the helm, they were in better hands last season. With just an eight-game sample size to draw from, it's hard to rank Gabbert and the Niners much higher than 30th, though, especially after he posted a 22-to-24 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his three seasons with the Jaguars.
