placeholder image

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports


2016 draft do-over: 49ers still take a cornerback in round 3

Apr 6, 2017 at 4:38 PM--


Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
Pro Football Focus wrote an exclusive article for ESPN that takes one selection for each NFL team in the 2016 NFL Draft and performs a hypothetical do-over. "Using a mix of Pro Football Focus grades and data, our analysis team makes the case for a different pick for each NFL team from the 2016 draft, but all in the context of knowing what we do now," the ESPN article explained. "We selected one pick -- not necessarily in the first round -- for each team to 'do over.'"

For the San Francisco 49ers, they replaced the selection of cornerback Will Redmond in the third round. Was the selection of Redmond in the 2016 NFL Draft yet another wasted Trent Baalke pick? Perhaps. It would have been nice if he had been able to get some playing time in so a fairer evaluation could be made. However, like so many Baalke picks of players coming off of injury in years past, he didn't get that opportunity.

Shortly following his selection, Redmond said that he expected to play in 2016 and Baalke said that he was comfortable that the cornerback would be ready in time for the 49ers' training camp. Neither of those scenarios occurred.

Redmond suffered an ACL tear during a Mississippi State practice the October prior to his selection. That continued a disturbing trend by Baalke of selecting injured players.

Redmond started the season on injured reserve and was able to come off of the list in late October. However, he returned to the injured reserve list shortly thereafter. "He's just not ready to go when you talk to him," said ex-49ers head coach Chip Kelly after Redmond was, once again, placed on injured reserve. "He feels like he's about 70/80-percent right now, doesn't have the explosion that he has. His injury has healed, but he doesn't feel like he can – and you've seen it when we had him out there on the practice field – he didn't feel like he could turn it on and go."

In 2016, Pro Football Focus actually liked the selection of Redmond. "In the midst of injury row, Will Redmond saw his final season torpedoed by injury after seven games when he tore his ACL. By that point he had allowed just one touchdown and a passer rating of only 41.0 when targeted by opposing quarterbacks," wrote Sam Monson.

In fact, Pro Football Focus went as far as to name Redmond as one of three possible sleeper selections for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Of course, that depended on Redmond actually getting an opportunity to play – which he didn't. Still, it is a little ironic that they are now using his selection as the 49ers' do-over.

Who did Pro Football Focus choose to select in place of Redmond in the third round? They still had the 49ers going cornerback with the selection. Instead of Redmond, they had San Francisco selecting Brian Poole out of Florida, who would eventually sign with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent.

Pro Football Focus wrote the following about the new selection:

"Poole was one of the best-graded rookie corners in the league last season, and went entirely unnoticed and thus undrafted. He was a key part of the Falcons' defense, and made a nuisance of himself in a variety of roles from the slot. He wasn't beaten for a catch longer than 35 yards all season, and notched eight total QB pressures on the blitz."

Poole actually led the league in the NFL's performance-based pay bonus with $371,873, beating out runner-up Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, who received $353,545. While Poole was signed by Atlanta for the league minimum, he played in 1,029 snaps on defense (834 snaps) and special teams combined.

While on defense, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound corner spent most of his time playing in the nickel spot. Poole was graded by Pro Football Focus as the fourth-best rookie cornerback in 2016.




Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News


placeholder image

49ers forfeit 2025 5th-round draft pick and have 2024 4th-round pick moved

By David Bonilla
Mar 18

The NFL has reportedly penalized the San Francisco 49ers for payroll accounting errors. The team is losing a fifth-round draft pick in 2025 and having its fourth-round pick in 2024 moved to the end of the round as punishment. Just in: The #49ers are losing a 2025 5th-round pick and will have their 2024 4th-round pick (#131) move to the end of the fourth round because of payroll accounting errors. pic.twitter.com/X8D33mY94A— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate)


placeholder image

Daniel Jeremiah explains why 49ers could still address pass rush in NFL Draft

By David Bonilla
Mar 21

Mock drafts will never please everyone, especially when they solely focus on the first 32 selections without offering perspective on what might come beyond the first round. Regarding the San Francisco 49ers, analyst Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock draft was no different. He projected former Penn State pass rusher Chop Robinson to join the Bay Area team. Why the skepticism from fans? The 49ers' free agency focus has been on revamping their defensive front. After allowing Arik Armstead, Chase Young, and others to depart for other organizations, the team addressed last season's inconsistent play by adding defensive ends Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos, trading for defensive tackle Maliek


placeholder image

49ers Mock Draft 5.0: DB help added in first round

By Wayne P. Brown
Mar 23

The Pro Football Focus (PFF) Mock Draft Simulator was used to create this mock draft. In mock draft 5.0, I continued using the "best player available" model for the San Francisco 49ers. This week, the 49ers' position of need and value met in the first round. Round 1, Pick 31 CB, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama The 49ers have three defensive backs in the last years of their contracts. Charvarius Ward is a veteran in the last year of his deal with the team, and Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas are playing in the last year of their rookie contracts. Kool-Aid McKinstry is one of the best outside corners in the 2024 NFL Draft. McKinstry has excellent lateral agility, is strong in press-man coverage, and tackles well


placeholder image

Latest PFF mock draft has 49ers making surprise pick in Round 1

By David Bonilla
Mar 25

The San Francisco 49ers focused on defense in free agency but still have several needs heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. The team did not address the offensive line, and it's a safe bet they will do so with some rookie selections next month. The Niners could also continue bolstering things on the defensive side of the football. Adding to the defensive back, defensive line, or linebacker groups remains possibilities. Pro Football Focus analyst Brad Spielberger released his latest mock draft and doesn't have the 49ers drafting at any of those positions. Instead, he has the team adding a bit of an insurance policy on offense, drafting former Georgia wide receiver


Latest

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone