After not starting a single game during his rookie season, the 2011 second-round pick failed to oust Alex Smith ahead of his second season. Kaepernick may never have seen the field for the 49ers in a starting role if Smith hadn't suffered a concussion halfway through the 2012 regular season.
That injury set in motion a chain of events that ultimately stopped five yards short of being a fairy-tale beginning to Kaepernick's career.
He immediately showed a comfort and fit in the 49ers offense that allowed him to make the unit more dangerous than it had ever been with Smith at the helm.