Projecting Colin Kaepernick's 2013 Fantasy Value After Explosion vs. Packers

Colin Kaepernick fantasy football owners should be confident that they have a quarterback capable of leading their team to a championship after his dominant Week 1 performance.

The dual threat showed off his arm on Sunday, torching the Green Bay Packers defense for 412 passing yards and three touchdowns en route to a 34-28 San Francisco 49ers victory. He completed 27 of 39 pass attempts and added 22 yards on the ground. That last statistic should be the most promising number of the weekend.

After Kaepernick permanently took over for Alex Smith under center in mid-Nov. last season, he tossed multiple passing touchdowns in just three out of seven regular-season starts. In the postseason, he only did so once. He also only eclipsed the 250-yard passing mark once in the regular season.

Such statistics alone aren’t impressive enough for fantasy owners to justify starting Kaepernick weekly. His rushing numbers—304 yards and three touchdowns post-Smith—are what made him startable in 2012. 

Against the Packers, he didn’t record impressive rushing numbers. He didn’t need to, though, throwing for more yards than anyone in the NFL not named Peyton Manning had up to that point in the week.

Kaepernick showed that he’s a talented enough passer alone to be a fantasy starter every single week. Throw in a rushing yards boost that is sure to come in the coming weeks, and he possesses the potential to be an elite fantasy quarterback.

Here is the 49ers’ remaining 2013 schedule:

Seven out of the 15 teams on this list fielded a defense ranked in the bottom 10 in the league in yards allowed last season compared to just four which ranked in the top 10. Not only does Kaepernick possess the potential to be an elite fantasy quarterback, but he’ll face opponents which will make it easier to fulfill that potential.

David Daniels is a breaking news writer at Bleacher Report and news editor at Wade-O Radio.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels