It would be easy to lump Wilson, Kaepernick, Griffin and Newton together simply because of their skin color. Aside from the New York Jets' Geno Smith, who just regained his job, and Minnesota Vikings rookie Teddy Bridgewater, they are the only black starting quarterbacks in the NFL. But their commonality (and you could include Indianapolis' Andrew Luck, who appears to be immune to the same growing pains) has more to do with the collective impact they had on the game at such a young age. While other quarterbacks from their draft classes struggled early or failed to pack the requisite sizzle (such as Miami's Ryan Tannehill and Cincinnati's Andy Dalton), this quartet performed at levels that turned them into instant celebrities.
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When it comes to assessing problems, the consensus among most sources interviewed for this story was that Wilson and Kaepernick fall into one category (still promising), while Newton and Griffin belong in another (questions and doubts)
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Newton's mobility has suffered, too. Even having missed the season opener, he's on pace for a career high in sacks and career low in rushing yards per game. Said one NFC defensive coordinator: "Cam has always been at his best when he's scrambling around. He doesn't do much of that anymore, and he wasn't an accurate passer to begin with. Now that Steve Smith is gone, he can't push the ball downfield as much, so he has to fit the ball into tight spots. His problem is he throws a 6-yard pass with the same velocity as a 60-yard pass."
The universal knock on Kaepernick is that he, too, never acquired the necessary touch to take the next step in his development. That fact was most glaring in a 19-3 loss to Seattle on Thanksgiving. Kaepernick passed for only 121 yards and threw two interceptions to Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, in part because he couldn't place the ball in a tight window for his receiver to make a play.
Kaepernick also hasn't elevated his game in ways one might expect, given that the 49ers added veterans Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd to a receiving corps that already had Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis.
"It seemed like this year was about [49ers offensive coordinator] Greg Roman opening up the offense and showing what Kaepernick could do," said Fox analyst and former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb. "And they got away from what works best for them -- the running game and play-action. It's like they wanted to show how much Kaepernick has grown, and he's struggled with that."
Said Dilfer, "I'm starting to think Kap might end up being a more physical version of Randall Cunningham. He's really good at sticking his foot in the ground and throwing on rhythm and the second-reaction stuff [scrambling]. Where he hasn't developed is with the stuff in between those two areas. There are a lot of things that come with playing quarterback, such as manipulating defenses, sliding in the pocket, going through progressions. He's just not good at those things."
