SANTA CLARA, Calif. – With Colin Kaepernick's future with the San Francisco 49ers murky at best, what with his still recuperating from surgeries to his left shoulder, right thumb and left knee, and Chip Kelly’s lukewarm endorsement of him in the new coach’s introductory media conference last month.

Yes, the NFL draft is still more than two months away, and while Jared Goff-to-the-Niners was a popular storyline early on, Goff’s stock has risen high enough that many see the Cal quarterback going as high as No. 2 overall to the Cleveland Browns and their new coach Hue Jackson.

Could the Niners, who hold the No. 7 overall pick, still be in the market for another quarterback come April, and if so, what about Memphis’ intriguing Paxton Lynch?

“If you look first round for Lynch at [No.] 7, I think everybody would say, at this point, that’s way too high,” ESPN NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. said on a conference call with ESPN NFL Nation reporters.

“But again, if he’s going to be really good, nobody’s going to argue with you two, three years down the road and I think right now that would be a little high.”

The 6-feet-7, 245-pound Lynch completed 66.8 percent of his passes last year while throwing for 3,776 yards with 28 touchdown passes and four interceptions.

Still, while Lynch’s physical attributes remind many of Cam Newton, Marcus Mariota and, yes, even Kaepernick himself, many wonder if Lynch is ready to start an NFL game as a rookie.

Kiper is not so sure, and offered other potential targets, later in the draft.

“If you’re looking second-round quarterback, like I said, Connor Cook, Michigan State,” Kiper said. “Christian Hackenberg, Penn State, and then Dak Prescott from Mississippi State. I think goes somewhere in the second round.”