Final Grade: 49ers Draft

[tomikcon1971]

I'm happy with all the DBs we have now.....barring some major injuries we should be able to find a respectable set of players to line up with on Sundays. We know Reid is legit (if he doesn't get concussed) and Bethea will contribute. We have to assume Brock will start.....from there we need a few of the rest to pan out. No way we whiff on all of them. I was nervous heading into yesterday though.

 

[RoboticDreams]

Thanks for all the input, fellas. I had to work a lot the last two days and missed all of the draft beyond their first pick.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Thats another reason why it was a reach. It kind of reminded me of the AJ or Balmar pick. Pick out of no where. Lets hope this turns out better.

Or, you know, Aldon Smith.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Shit, got too wrapped up in discussing the draft picks and forgot the reason I started that post.

The Niners don't use the NT much at all, but still keep all 4 LBs on the field. They tend to push McDonald and Smith inside and line up Brooks and/or Aldon with a hand in the dirt. Sometimes it's a 4-2-5 look, sometimes it's a 3-3-5 look, but the personnel is the same:
DL - Smith & RayMac
LB - Willis, Bowman, Aldon & Brooks
DB - Brown, Brock, Rogers, Whitner & Reid (based on last year)

Now, given that we are without Bowman for the first half of the season (maybe more) and potentially without Aldon (pending suspension), I wonder how that will effect the look in the front 7. Will we see more 4 man fronts? Something like Dorsey or Williams and Ray Mac at DT with J Smith and Tank at DE and Wills, Brooks and Lemonier/Skuta/Wilhoite at LB? On passing downs shift Smith inside, take Dorsey/Williams out and put Brooks and Lemonier at OLB as pass rush threats?

Sorry to hijack the thread. Just a little stream of consciousness.

Glad you posted this, Imac. I was thinking about it as well. I have mixed feelings about the Borland pick, but he just seems like the type of guy who finds a way to get things done despite his limited physical ability. Obviously a huge character guy. I see him as challenging Wilhoite for the starting spot while Bowman is out.

As far as our D, I think we'll see some changes while Bowman is out. I see us playing much more dime on obvious passing downs this year - another reason why Ward will see the field a lot as a rookie. I could also see us running the 4-2-5 but bringing in Lemonier at the LDE spot and having Brooks or possibly Skuta play the other LB spot. Those guys both have experience at ILB, and could cover TEs or RBs at least for a short period. I wouldn't want either on a WR for long, but Brooks has shown he can cover a bit. I'm skeptical that our second ILB will be a three-down player absent Bowman, though.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Re: the draft in general, I have some mixed emotions. Overall, I like it, though.

I was as surprised as anyone by the Ward pick, but I'm off my game a bit this year and didn't realize how much Ward played in the slot. He fills a huge need, and he really rose up the board after a strong showing at the senior bowl. Sure, there's a chance we could have gotten him a few picks later, but if he pans out, we can keep him for the fifth year at a reasonable price.

I like the Hyde pick. I was optimistic about Lattimore, but admittedly there are questions. Hyde, Lattimore, and Hunter give us a very strong group going forward (though we'll have to try to re-sign Hunter, who I'd like to see more involved). This is probably Gore's last year, and we rely too much on him, so this is a good pick.

I like the Martin pick. Good value for a guy who should come in and challenge to start right away. He should be more of a physical presence, certainly, than Goodwin was last year. And he's got some versatility.

As I mentioned above, from a pure talent standpoint I don't love the Borland pick, but the kid is just one of those guys who gets it done. I think he plays a major role on STs, gets on the field while Bowman is out, and possibly grows into a starting role at some point.

I love the Brandon Thomas pick. Iupati may leave next year, and Boone could leave the following year. I'm guessing Thomas will redshirt entirely next year, and then be a starter by 2016 if not sooner.

I actually like the Ellington pick. He's not a great fit for what we need right now, but he's a talented kid with some upside as he focuses just on football. It seemed the value was very good at that point, and he's also a great character guy. He'll compete for return duties for now, with a shot to take on more of a role in the years to come. A lot of people assume Patton is a slot receiver, but I think he can play outside.

I don't love that we added 12 guys to a roster than can't handle that many. Admittedly the continual trading back was curious (I think we only ended up with one future pick?). That said, I love just throwing a ton of picks at CB, including a guy who can probably redshirt. We've done a nice job of developing those guys, and obviously it's an area of tremendous need. Just gotta hope we don't cut the wrong one this year (read: Marcus Cooper). If Aaron Lynch can get his head on straight - let's just forbid he and Aldon from interacting right now - he's got tremendous physical talent, so that's an interesting pick.

All-in-all, I like this draft. I don't see a ton of immediate impact, but Ward could basically be a day-one starter, and there's a fair chance Hyde could be in something like a starting role by the end of the year. Martin could also start. Adding basically three year-one starters to this roster is no mean feat. Several guys we passed on who I liked, but that's inevitable in the draft. We'll see what happens.

 

[Kinzu]

It's a weird draft. We didn't really get a homerun this guy will make an immediate impact type player, but we got a lot of future potential and depth. If we were not already such a stacked team our grade would be A+.

 

[Pattersonca65]

Same here. I also think it was a huge mistake not re-signing Ted Ginn last year. Archer would have instantly made a significant part of the team a lot better IMO. He might end up being one of the 2 or 3 best return men in the game.

Would have liked to See Ginn back in that Special Teams role. 49ers miss that dynamic playmaker

 

[Pattersonca65]

Re: the draft in general, I have some mixed emotions. Overall, I like it, though.


I don't love that we added 12 guys to a roster than can't handle that many. Admittedly the continual trading back was curious (I think we only ended up with one future pick?). That said, I love just throwing a ton of picks at CB, including a guy who can probably redshirt. We've done a nice job of developing those guys, and obviously it's an area of tremendous need. Just gotta hope we don't cut the wrong one this year (read: Marcus Cooper). If Aaron Lynch can get his head on straight - let's just forbid he and Aldon from interacting right now - he's got tremendous physical talent, so that's an interesting pick.

.

LOL, that doesn't sound good if the become good friends.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Would have liked to See Ginn back in that Special Teams role. 49ers miss that dynamic playmaker

There's no way Ginn would have come back, even if we pursued him. He wants to actually be utilized as a WR. Our staff didn't do that when he was here.

 

[Pattersonca65]

There's no way Ginn would have come back, even if we pursued him. He wants to actually be utilized as a WR. Our staff didn't do that when he was here.

I've always wondered why he never made it into being a good receiver since being drafted. He had the speed but lacks something to be a consistent receiver.

 

[TobyTyler]

ESPN gave the 49ers an "A". We'll see.

 

[TobyTyler]

Re: the draft in general, I have some mixed emotions. Overall, I like it, though.

I was as surprised as anyone by the Ward pick, but I'm off my game a bit this year and didn't realize how much Ward played in the slot. He fills a huge need, and he really rose up the board after a strong showing at the senior bowl. Sure, there's a chance we could have gotten him a few picks later, but if he pans out, we can keep him for the fifth year at a reasonable price.

I like the Hyde pick. I was optimistic about Lattimore, but admittedly there are questions. Hyde, Lattimore, and Hunter give us a very strong group going forward (though we'll have to try to re-sign Hunter, who I'd like to see more involved). This is probably Gore's last year, and we rely too much on him, so this is a good pick.

I like the Martin pick. Good value for a guy who should come in and challenge to start right away. He should be more of a physical presence, certainly, than Goodwin was last year. And he's got some versatility.

As I mentioned above, from a pure talent standpoint I don't love the Borland pick, but the kid is just one of those guys who gets it done. I think he plays a major role on STs, gets on the field while Bowman is out, and possibly grows into a starting role at some point.

I love the Brandon Thomas pick. Iupati may leave next year, and Boone could leave the following year. I'm guessing Thomas will redshirt entirely next year, and then be a starter by 2016 if not sooner.

I actually like the Ellington pick. He's not a great fit for what we need right now, but he's a talented kid with some upside as he focuses just on football. It seemed the value was very good at that point, and he's also a great character guy. He'll compete for return duties for now, with a shot to take on more of a role in the years to come. A lot of people assume Patton is a slot receiver, but I think he can play outside.

I don't love that we added 12 guys to a roster than can't handle that many. Admittedly the continual trading back was curious (I think we only ended up with one future pick?). That said, I love just throwing a ton of picks at CB, including a guy who can probably redshirt. We've done a nice job of developing those guys, and obviously it's an area of tremendous need. Just gotta hope we don't cut the wrong one this year (read: Marcus Cooper). If Aaron Lynch can get his head on straight - let's just forbid he and Aldon from interacting right now - he's got tremendous physical talent, so that's an interesting pick.

All-in-all, I like this draft. I don't see a ton of immediate impact, but Ward could basically be a day-one starter, and there's a fair chance Hyde could be in something like a starting role by the end of the year. Martin could also start. Adding basically three year-one starters to this roster is no mean feat. Several guys we passed on who I liked, but that's inevitable in the draft. We'll see what happens.

This.

 

[Louie26]

ESPN gave the 49ers an "A". We'll see.

Mayock also loved the Niners draft.

I know it's been discussed to death, everyone was hoping for a home run pick early, but it seems we got a lot of value in this draft.

Looking forward to some of these guys making an impact early.

 

[Louie26]

This.

Who do you guys see as the RB being out? LMJ? Anyone else??

 

[Jikkle]

Who do you guys see as the RB being out? LMJ? Anyone else??

We did have one spot vacant from Dixon leaving but LMJ is obviously the guy who's likely to be out.

There is an outside chance of it being Lattimore if they feel he can't play but I think they'll give him a season to see.

 

[Xponentialchaos]

LMJ is so gone. Good riddance.

 

[TobyTyler]

Who do you guys see as the RB being out? LMJ? Anyone else??

Depending on the status of Latimore's knee, LMJ for sure and then Gore next year.

 

[TobyTyler]

Mayock also loved the Niners draft.

I know it's been discussed to death, everyone was hoping for a home run pick early, but it seems we got a lot of value in this draft.

Looking forward to some of these guys making an impact early.

They seem to have a strategy of picking up injured guys and "red shirting" them. Picked up two more guys this year in addition to Latimore and Carradine last year. Not sure what I think of this strategy. It allows you to pay less for potential but you may just end up with guys who will never play.

 

[erckm510]

They seem to have a strategy of picking up injured guys and "red shirting" them. Picked up two more guys this year in addition to Latimore and Carradine last year. Not sure what I think of this strategy. It allows you to pay less for potential but you may just end up with guys who will never play.

That happens with drafting guys who are healthy. I think it's a great strategy. Most teams can't do it because they need to fill spots on the roster right away and they can't afford to have guys sit a year. That the Niners can stash multiple players on the NFI who might have been high draft picks and still be able to keep them for 4 years is just plain smart.

 

[Pattersonca65]

ESPN gave the 49ers an "A". We'll see.

I never put much stock in pre draft grades, but I sure hope they are right this time.