5 Positives That Have Come from the San Francisco 49ers' Disastrous Season

In many ways, this season couldn’t be any worse for the San Francisco 49ers.

They could be the worst team in the NFL, having gotten outscored by a league-high 119 points. No other team has gotten outscored by more than 97.

Plus, the Niners are one loss to the St. Louis Rams away from going winless in the NFC West for the first time since before the Bill Walsh era. This is a team that was in the Super Bowl less than three years ago.

With that being said, not everything about this season has been terrible. In ascending order, here are the five biggest positives that have come from 2015.

The 49ers Learned Vance McDonald Is Not a Bust

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Former 2013 second-round pick Vance McDonald seemed like a complete bust until the 49ers benched Colin Kaepernick in Week 9.

In 30 regular-season games with Kaepernick at quarterback, McDonald caught just 17 passes and scored zero touchdowns. He was one of Kaepernick’s least favorite targets. The young tight end’s hands seemed made of stone.

McDonald’s hands never will be great—he dropped a pass Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. But, since Blaine Gabbert became the Niners’ starting quarterback, McDonald has made 12 catches and scored two touchdowns in three games.

All of a sudden, McDonald seems like an asset. Maybe he always was one. Maybe he just needed a quarterback who threw with touch, someone who threw a more catchable ball than Kaepernick.

The 49ers Learned They Have a Good, Young Defense

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

This offseason, the 49ers’ defense lost seven starters: defensive ends Justin Smith and Ray McDonald, cornerbacks Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox, inside linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland, and outside linebacker Aldon Smith.

Without those seven players, the Niners had to rebuild most of their defense. And, they seem to have re-built it well. This past Sunday, all 11 starters on San Francisco’s defense were younger than 30, and they held the top-ranked Arizona Cardinals offense to just 19 points at Levi’s Stadium.

The Niners’ defense is one of the best in the league at home. But, it’s the absolute worst in the league on the road, allowing 35.2 points per game on average. The Niners’ young defenders play much harder when they can feed off the excitement of their fans.

As they mature, they’ll learn to play with the passion everywhere.

The 49ers Learned Colin Kaepernick Is Not the Franchise Quarterback

Ben Margot/Associated Press

The 49ers set up Kaepernick to succeed this season.

First, they promoted his position coach—Geep Chryst—to offensive coordinator so Kaepernick wouldn’t have to learn an entirely new system. Then, Chryst built his entire offense around’s Kaepernick’s strengths—rolling out, play-action passes, etc.

Then, during free agency, general manager Trent Baalke signed wide receiver Torrey Smith to a five-year, $40 million contract so Kaepernick would have a deep threat to complement his powerful arm.

None of this helped him. Kaepernick posted a quarterback rating of 78.5—his worst since entering the NFL. His replacement, Gabbert, has posted a passer rating of 91.0 through three starts even though he’s running the same offense Kaepernick ran.

Which means the Niners now know for sure Kaepernick is not the franchise quarterback. They finally can move on.

The 49ers Put Themselves in Position to Draft a Potential Franchise Quarterback

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

If the season ended today, the Niners would have the fifth pick in the draft.

They could take almost anyone they want with that pick—they have needs all over their roster, particularly at right tackle, right guard, left guard, inside linebacker and outside linebacker.

But, the Niners can fill those needs in free agency and after the first round of the draft. With the fifth pick in Round 1, the Niners should take a quarterback if they think a great prospect (perhaps Cal's Jared Goff) is available. A franchise quarterback is the Niners’ biggest need by far, and they can’t get one of those in free agency.

Jed York May Have to Clean House

Richard Drew/Associated Press

Niners CEO Jed York made a colossal mistake parting ways with head coach Jim Harbaugh, and he made an even bigger one hiring Jim Tomsula to be Harbaugh’s successor.

York wouldn’t have to own up to those mistakes if the Niners were to win two or three more games this season. In that case, York could blame the team’s losing record on Kaepernick and convince himself to keep Tomsula and Baalke for at least another year.

That’s the worst-case scenario.

Best-case scenario: The Niners lose the rest of their games, so York has no choice but to clean house. Better for him to hire a new head coach and general manager this offseason than to wait a year and delay the inevitable.

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