Colin Kaepernick and Tim Tebow share quite a few similarities. Both were fantastic rushers in college football, leading their teams to big victories on the national stage. They both put up good passing numbers in their NCAA days. They were both featured as the star in their respective offenses before they ever received paychecks in the NFL.
Since joining the NFL, Tebow and Kaepernick have each had opportunities to start for their respective teams. They have both become popular among fans and garnered plenty of media coverage. The similarities stop there though. Colin Kaepernick has been everything the San Francisco 49ers could have bargained for when they traded three picks to be able to land the former Nevada Wolf Pack quarterback in the NFL Draft. The New York Jets can't get rid of Tim Tebow fast enough after trading for him just a year ago.
Tebow won his first playoff game with a touchdown pass in overtime, but his career has been all downhill since that point. He was traded from the Denver Broncos to the New York Jets after his longest-career NFL throw, and was continually passed over for playing time at the helm of the Jets' offense in 2012. Tebow attempted only eight passes, completing six of them for 39 yards in his first season playing in the Meadowlands. It came on the heels of a 7-4 record with the Broncos plus a 1-1 mark in the playoffs, but the lefty QB didn't connect on more than half of his 271 pass attempts during that stretch with Denver.
Kaepernick led his team to Super Bowl XLVII, both passing and rushing his way to victories. Although Tebow had a more successful season on the ground in his first season as a starter, Kaepernick racked up 181 yards in a playoff game against the Green Bay Packers this year, setting the all-time record for rushing yards by a QB in any game. In the NFC Championship Game against the Atlanta Falcons, Kaepernick completed 76.2 percent of his passes and did not throw an interception. Tebow has only come within 20 percent of that total once, connecting on 66.7 percent of his chances in a 2011 regular season win.
Tebow has never thrown for more than two touchdown passes in a game, while Kaepernick had four on the road against the New England Patriots, plus he threw for two and ran for two in the playoff game against Green Bay.
If there's one thing Kaepernick can thank Tebow for, it's the branding. Tebow made a kneeling position with your head resting on your fist into a memetacular pose (Tebowing), and Kaepernick just recently trademarked a move of his own: kissing his bicep (Kaepernicking).
For what it's worth, Kaepernick shares another trait with Tebow: a big soft spot. Tebow is known for promoting kind acts through Jesus Christ, and Kaepernick watches Disney movies before big games.
Although the 49ers franchise is in much better shape than the Jets' right now, it doesn't seem like a coincidence that Kaepernick's team is playing for a championship and Tebow's is looking for a halfway decent quarterback.