The San Francisco 49ers have been widely panned for a ho-hum quarterback room featuring Blaine Gabbert and a disgruntled Colin Kaepernick.
The team, though, is excited about the rookie they added in the sixth round of last week's draft: Jeff Driskel.
The former Louisiana Tech signal-caller didn't even meet with the Niners before the draft, but that didn't slow Driskel's enthusiasm for playing under new coach Chip Kelly.
"As a competitor, you always want to be regarded highly, and you want to be the first one taken," Driskel said Thursday, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. "And you think you should go before this guy or that guy. But at the end of the end of the day, I'm happy that I landed here. I think it's a great fit. Can't wait to get to work with these guys. I think it's the perfect fit."
Driskel doesn't lack confidence, calling himself "a rare talent" after the draft. At 6-foot-4 and 234 pounds, he ran the 40 in 4.56 seconds at the combine, the fastest time of any quarterback among this year's class.
Per Maiocco, Kelly pointed to Driskel's physical skills as a major draw, while the passer told reporters he's more than comfortable running the zone read.
"I've done it a lot," Driskel said. "Just about every offense I've been in, I've done the zone read. It's a play I feel like I'm good at. I got a good feel for what the defensive end is going to do. And have a good feel for hitting it up inside when the defense collapses on me. So it's a play I've done before in the past, and I know it's a part of the offense here."
On paper, the Niners loom as a club that could "compete" for the No. 1 pick next season. The problems begin under center, but finding a young quarterback for Kelly to groom would provide plenty of hope down the line.
