National Football League

The 49ers Should Select Miami Quarterback Brad Kaaya in 2017 NFL Draft

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:31 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

The San Francisco 49ers have no shortage of needs in the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. With one of them being at quarterback, the Niners could do worse than select Miami QB Brad Kaaya with an early pick.

The San Francisco 49ers would be wise to target Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya with their second pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

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Currently, the Niners are in line to own the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft. And while quarterback is a pressing need, few draft experts are listing the QB position as a deep one.

CBS Sports’ Rob Rang even went on to say “the talent is not as impressive” at quarterback. Rang’s latest big board has the first quarterback, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, at No. 13.

At No. 2 overall, San Francisco would be reaching for a quarterback.

But with the team’s first pick in Round 2, well, that’s another story.

One would be a fool to think current starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the long-term answer. Let’s save the details and simply admit he’s not. Whether or not he opts out this offseason, or the 49ers simply cut him, remains to be seen. But even those scenarios not happening doesn’t mean the Niners can avoid this need altogether.

San Francisco should save its first pick for the best player available, which could wind up being Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett. Or the team could trade down, acquiring more picks along the way.

Just save that second pick for Kaaya. Here’s why.

Breaking Down the Stats

Kaaya’s three collegiate seasons at Miami have almost been mirror images of each other. Just take a look at his numbers, courtesy of Sports Reference:

2015 and 2016 are almost identical, literally. But Kaaya improved his passing touchdown totals by seven, while only seeing two more interceptions on the board compared to the year prior.

If there’s a knock against Kaaya, it’s his arm strength. Various scouts around the league have called this into question, Rang being one of them.

And Pro Football Focus‘ adjusted-completion percentage stats show the difference:

What’s interesting here though is Kaaya’s completion percentage actually jumps above national average (36.5) on throws between 31 and 40 yards. So maybe that’s something to consider.

Breaking Down the Intangibles

At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Kaaya looks the part of an NFL quarterback and has room to put a bit more muscle on his body.

Perhaps this alleviates some of the concerns about his arm strength.

Nonetheless, one of his best attributes is being able to work in a pro-style system, something he’s done as a three-year starter at Miami:

According to Rang, Kaaya has a keen awareness within the pocket and is able to read defenses in order to determine mismatches.

And we can see some of those traits, as well as some touch passes, in this DraftBreakdown.com video below:

There are times where he locks onto his receiver, but it’s not quite as frequent as, let’s say, Kaepernick and his one-read looks.

So would Kaaya be a good fit for San Francisco?

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller thinks so and even has Kaaya mocked to the 49ers in Round 2.

Right where we thought he should go.

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That’s the right move for San Francisco — use the team’s first pick on the best player available or trade down, then take Kaaya early in the second round.

Doing so would be a smart move on the Niners’ part. And they’d have a quarterback to groom and develop into a potential franchise signal-caller for years to come.

Kaaya has until January 16 to decide whether or not he wants to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

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