San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has tallied a total of 9.78 fantasy points over the last two games after putting up a whopping 30.68 points against the Green Bay Packers in the season opener.
It's not a secret that I have been a major supporter of Kaepernick's fantasy football ability. While these two games are nothing for the young quarterback to write home about, there are many different factors playing roles in his struggles at this point.
For example, talented tight end Vernon Davis was not in action against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Couple that with injuries to Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham, and Kaepernick is missing receiving targets who combined for 168 receptions and 15 touchdowns last season. That's 60 percent of San Francisco's reception total and 65 percent of the total amount of receiving touchdowns they had in 2011.
Simply put, not a single 49ers' receiver outside of Anquan Boldin have provided Kaepernick with a window to throw into. Instead, they have been blanketed at every turn, forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away, tuck it and run, or force the ball into good coverage.
No quarterback, is going to have success with the lackluster receiving group that Kaepernick has had to work with over the past two week. Even Tom Brady, who has Julian Edelman to throw to, might struggle with this unit, at least from a fantasy perspective.
Second, San Francisco's offensive line has been downright horrible over these past two weeks. Kaepernick has been sacked six times and hit eight times during that span. And it isn't like he's simply holding on to the ball too long to find an open receiver Pass protection has broken down on a consistent basis, which was alarming against what has been a questionable Colts' pass rush.
Solution
San Francisco is expecting Manningham to return shortly after Week 6, but could also hold him out until after its Week 8 bye. Manningham might not have put up stellar numbers (42 receptions for 449 yards) in 2012, but he did catch over 76 percent of the passes thrown to him. He's a consistent possession guy that could help Boldin create throwing lanes for Kaepernick.
Where San Fancisco might be relying on Manningham later in the season, it really can't expect Michael Crabtree to be anywhere near 100 percent if he returns at some point in November. Even at 80 percent, Crabtree would immediately become a starter and provide Kaepernick with another weapon in the passing game. He tore his Achilles back in May, an injury that usually requires more than six months of recovery times. Reports are good as they relate to Crabtree, but we won't know much more about his rehab until next month.
One name being thrown around is Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who appears to be on the trade block. The second-year man from Baylor recorded 10 receptions for 146 yards and a score in his first outing of the season yesterday after being suspended for the first two games. Considering that Gordon has Pro Bowl talent and Cleveland yielded a second-round pick on him in the 2012 supplemental draft, San Francisco would likely have to give up at least a second rounder for him. The good news here is that San Francisco has a ton of picks for the 2014 draft and could afford to risk bringing on the ultra-talented but troubled young receiver.
Another possible solution here is San Francisco's offensive line actually playing like the best unit in the NFL. As I indicated earlier, it has struggled through the last two games and seems to be taking a major step back from the dominating unit we saw in 2012. If Kaepernick can get more time to pass the ball, his receivers will get open and he can utilize that arm strength to get the ball to them.
Better pass protection would also enable Kaepernick to find holes to run through on the ground. On that note, San Francisco seems to be protecting its franchise quarterback, maybe to a fault. The uber-talented quarterback simply cannot be asked to think twice when he is running the ball. This has been an all-to-familiar site over the first three games of the season.
Listen, most of you drafted Kaepernick with the idea that he'd be a top-10 fantasy quarterback this season. As the 25th-ranked fantasy quarterback through three weeks, he simply hasn't lived up to expectations. Some of that is on him, but San Francisco needs to put him in a better situation to succeed. That will ultimately decide whether Kaepernick ends up as a true QB1 by the end of the season.