ADVERTORIAL:
There were plenty of draft-day rumors regarding the San Francisco 49ers and their prospects with
the No. 7 pick overall. Without question, the 49ers had a big need for a quarterback considering the
lockout is back in place and …

Meanwhile, the 49ers had a shot to select Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert with the seventh pick overall, the player that some scouts and analyst had as the best quarterback in the draft. They decided to go in another direction.

The 49ers also fielded plenty of calls from four or five teams – including the Atlanta Falcons – in regards to trading down but eventually they stuck with the pick. While many people were hoping they would take Gabbert, they in fact took his Missouri teammate: Aldon Smith.

Some experts making their NFL betting picks found at BetUs immediately thought that with the 49ers passing on Gabbert, that there would be an outside chance that new head coach Jim Harbaugh was holding out hope to potentially draft his former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL Draft. That was also merely just speculation as the 49ers ended up drafting Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the second round of the draft.

Kaepernick is fairly raw but that’s likely what Harbaugh wanted. He’s known as a quarterbacks guru and now he’ll get a chance to mold a very talented player. He has excellent arm strength, he’s tall and he has great athleticism. From a physical standpoint, it’s hard to suggest that he lacks anything.

It’s the first draft for the new coaching staff and regime and while they’ll get a free pass since it’s still the honeymoon stage, the jury is still very much out. Smith in particular was a surprising selection at least to some but the truth is that nobody knows. Next year, we’ll look back and reevaluate.

One thing is for certain, the 49ers had a big need for a quarterback and a pass rush and they did a good job of addressing those concerns right away in the 2011 NFL Draft.