Famed quarterback coach and guru Steve Clarkson joined Larry Krueger on The Krueg Show podcast on Friday, and talked about what the San Francisco 49ers should do this offseason when it comes to their QB situation.
With a top five pick all but certain, many believe that the 49ers should select a potential franchise quarterback in the first round, but Clarkson doesn’t believe that’s a smart plan, based on the weakness of the QB class as a whole.
“They all have issues,” Clarkson said of the top college quarterbacks. “How NFL ready would they be? Deshaun Watson (Clemson) certainly has a big platform and he had a really great redshirt sophomore season. This year he came out of the gate a little bit slow, but he started to come on down the stretch…Brad Kaaya (Miami) I believe is staying in school, and that would be a good choice for him based on where his development is. DeShone Kizer (Notre Dame) probably in his situation is not going to get any better, but he’s not a first rounder.”
“If I’m the 49ers, first you have to figure out what are you going to do with your head coach,” Clarkson continued. “Are you going to make the commitment and sit down and say look, ‘we’re gonna have to have some stability here.’ If they can do that, then the next thing you’ve got to look at is you’ve got these young quarterbacks you could draft, or you could take the guy who was in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Obviously there are some things that have happened recently, but you’re starting to see signs that he’s getting back to where he was a couple years ago. Can you make that situation work?”
The “he” in question of course is Colin Kaepernick, and despite his uneven track record over the last few seasons, he’s an ideal option for Chip Kelly’s system according to Clarkson.
“I think he’s a perfect fit for what Chip wants to do,” Clarkson said. “I think he’s right now your best option to get yourself back on point… I think the 49ers more than anything need to show a path of stability. I think if they can do that…I’d be very optimistic about having Chip and Colin Kaepernick back.”
“Where I would give you room for hope is you can always take a guy in the third or fourth round, look what happened to Dak Prescott. If I’m the 49ers, you need pieces. I don’t think you need to start all over with your quarterback position. Not with a first round pick.”
Listen to the full podcast below.