Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
I must admit, I’m embarrassed. I was as bullish as anyone when discussing Colin Kaepernick at the beginning of the season, hyping him up to what I now realize were unreasonable heights. In Week 1, it looked like I might be right as I watched him destroy the Green Bay Packers en route to 30.68 fantasy points. The three weeks since, however, have proven me wrong.
In the last three weeks, Kaepernick has thrown for a combined 444 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions with lost three fumbles, amounting to barely more fantasy points than what he scored in Week 1 alone. The two touchdowns both came last week against the St. Louis Rams, while the interceptions all came in the two weeks before.
His QB ratings in those two weeks were 49.9 and 20.1 respectively, both by far his worst marks since becoming a starter last season. Needless to say, I’m off the bandwagon.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Probably, but it’ll be pitch black this week against the Houston Texans. J.J. Watt and his crew rank first in the league in total defense, allowing an average of just 254.2 total yards of offense to opponents, 141 of which are passing yards. Since Kaepernick hasn’t thrown for more than 167 yards in any of his last three games, it’s hard to imagine him suddenly finding success through the air against the numero uno pass-D in the league.
After giving up over 20 fantasy points to Philip Rivers in the opener, the Texans have buckled down and held opposing quarterbacks in check. Russell Wilson struggled on his way to a lousy 11.62 fantasy points against them last week, 7.7 of which came from rushing yards.
All signs seem to point to another rough night for Kaepernick this week. It would be one thing if he was scrambling more, but he’s barely picked up any yards with his feet, running for just 140 yards so far this season. His fantasy allure from the get-go was his dual-threat versatility, but he has yet to tap into it.
Until he does, it’s going to be very hard to trust him, especially against a very strong Texans’ defense this week. For the time being, keep him out of your lineup.
Dan Freeman is a Fantasy football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanFreeman88.
