We will not speculate on the Colin Kaepernick situation here at eDraft. Instead, it makes sense to let things play out before jumping to conclusions. What we do know is that the talented quarterback was involved in a situation earlier this month in Florida that resulted in authorities being called to former teammates' Ricardo Lockette's house. There is an investigation currently taking place, but authorities have indicated they have no evidence that a crime was committed.
That's about the end of it until more information comes out or the investigation is closed.
As it relates to the San Francisco's 49ers quarterback situation, nothing has really changed in the last month. They traded for former first-round bust Blaine Gabbert to replace a departed Colt McCoy as Kaepernick's backup. San Francisco is still going to be in the market for a young quarterback in the draft next month.
They worked out former Eastern Illinois signal caller Jimmy Garoppolo at Northwestern's Pro Day last month. Garoppolo is a projected Day 2 pick and would fit the 49ers need for a project quarterback to compete with Gabbert for the primary backup role. Other potential mid-round options include Zach Mettenberger, Aaron Murray, Brett Smith and Tajh Boyd.
In addition to owning six picks in the first three rounds of the draft, San Francisco possesses three seventh-round picks. It could go in that direction in order to find a real late-round project, much like what we saw with B.J. Daniels last April. Unlike last year, the 49ers do seem to have a roster spot available for a late-round No. 3 quarterback. If you remember correctly, Daniels was a late cut prior to the start of the regular season in 2013.
Those late-round options include Logan Thomas (Virginia Tech), Connor Shaw (South Carolina), Jeff Matthews (Cornell), Kenny Guiton (Ohio State) and Keith Wenning (Ball State).
In any event, Kaepernick's recent situation, which may be overblown by the media, changes nothing as it relates to the 49ers plans at quarterback in the upcoming draft.
The same cannot be said for outside linebacker, where the 49ers have some question marks following Aldon Smith's arrest at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday. While way to early to draw conclusions about Smith's availability for the 2014 season, it's becoming increasingly obvious that he simply cannot be relied on to stay out of trouble off the field.
Including Sunday's arrest, Smith has now been involved in four different off-field incidents since the 49ers made him a top-10 pick in the 2011 NFL draft. San Francisco also has less than a month to make a decision on whether it wants to pick up Smith's $9.7 million option for the 2015 season.
With Smith absent for five games last season while getting treatment for alcoholism, the likes of Dan Skuta and Corey Lemonier stepped up big time. Skuta started eight games on the season and made an impact both against the run and in the passing game. Meanwhile, Lemonier, a third-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, recorded 15 tackles, one sack and forced a safety. He also put up nine quarterback pressures in limited playing time.
San Francisco could very well be perfectly fine at outside linebacker if Smith misses some of the 2014 season or the organization decides to cut ties with him. Remember, San Francisco's other outside linebacker, Ahmad Brooks, earned a Pro Bowl trip this past season. He is, however, 30 years old and has $25 million owed to him in the three seasons following 2014.
As I indicated before, San Francisco has a ton of draft picks to help address specific needs. Where outside linebacker might not be the most pressing of needs, general manager Trent Baalke and Co. might find it necessary to acquire an insurance policy.
With more important needs at wide receiver, cornerback and safety, it's unlikely that San Francisco spends any of the three picks in the first two rounds on a pass rusher. This pretty much takes the likes of Anthony Barr (UCLA), Jeremiah Attaochu (Georgia Tech), Dee Ford (Auburn) and Ryan Shazier (Ohio State) out of the equation.
Instead, look for the 49ers to possibly add a pass-rush threat with one of its three third-round picks. James Gayle (Virginia Tech), Jackson Jeffcoat (Texas), Aaron Lynch (South Florida) and Trevor Reilly (Utah) could all be had in that area of the draft.
If the 49ers are sold on Lemonier being able to provide a consistent pass-rush threat, later-round options could include Carl Bradford (Arizona State) and Michael Sam (Missouri).
As much as San Francisco has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, not even taking into account Chris Culliver's arrest last month, its draft needs really haven't changed. Even prior to Culliver's off-field incident, it was obvious the 49ers would be looking cornerback early and potentially often. If nothing else, that's magnified a tad more now.
One thing is certain. The days of San Francisco being able to go solely best player available are gone. It has real needs on both sides of the ball and must hit on players who will make an immediate impact. The onus is now on Baalke and Co. to do what they do best, find talent. More than that, find high-character individuals that won't embarrass the orgnization like Smith and Culliver have over the past month.