Niners23's Mock Draft v1.0

Hey guys I thought it was about time to throw my first mock up here. I usually don't like mocks with trades; however, I think this is a unique year which in which we'll see a record-setting number of trades throughout the draft due to the labor situation. Baalke has shown that he is not afraid to go get the guy he wants, and I suspect some of that type of attitude will permeate to this year as well.

The main reasoning behind this mock is that I think Harbaugh will already have a handful of players, primarily from the Pac-10, which he will want to pursue. Due to the uncertainty of free agency, the 49ers will make moves to ensure they get some of these players. I don't see any trades from the niners in the 1st round; however, I expect to see some in the rounds therein, due to the high number of picks they have in the draft's later rounds.

Anyways, here's version 1 of my 2011 mock:

1(7) - Patrick Peterson LSU CB
The niners find Peterson falling into their lap. Realistically this would be a no-brainer situation, not much to say about it.

2(45) - Justin Houston Georgia OLB
I think by this time you'll have seen 7 QBs taken already. The side effect of that is that a potential 1st rounder may end up falling through the cracks. The niners already invited Houston over for a personal workout, so they're definately interested in him. With the likely departure of Lawson, it makes sense that the niners would want to address the OLB position with a high draft pick, and Houston is just too good to pass up.

2(mid-late) - Ricky Stanzi Iowa QB (Trade picks 76+108)
I do not see the niners making a play for Newton of Gabbert, and I think the price-tag to trade up for Kaepernick and Ponder will be too high. Harbaugh feels he has a diamond in the rough with Stanzi, and what's more is that Stanzi is probably the most pro-ready QB in the top 8 of this draft since he played in a pro-style offense and was a long-term starter. I think Stanzi will have a very bright future, and make Harbaugh look like a genius.

I do not think Stanzi will make it out of the 2nd round, and here's a case where Baalke will pull the trigger and move up to make sure that they get their QB. Luckily, the price of moving up into the 2nd round isn't nearly as steep as moving into the 1st.

3(76) - TRADED

4(108) - TRADED

4(115) - Jurrell Casey USC DT
I had a hard decision here between Casey or Fua, and I think Harbaugh and Balke will also. However, I see Casey as the guy with more natural talent, and the higher ceiling. I don't perceive Fua to be able to get much better than he already. I honestly think that given the time, Casey has the chance to be a pro-bowl level NT for us. Harbaugh has gone against him before vs USC and will be attracted to him.

Casey actually had 4.5 sacks and 9 TFL as a sophomore, and then started getting double-teamed all of his junior year. However, I think he dealt with the double teams very well, which leads me to believe that he could have a very bright future as a 3-4 NT.

5th(mid) - Owen Marecic Stanford FB (Trade picks 174+211)
I feel that Harbaugh will get a Stanford player somewhere in this draft. After seeing Marecic fall into the middle of the 5th, I think the niners move up to snag him. Harbaugh will run a power WCO, and the FB was a key element of his offense at Stanford. He doesn't want someone like Norris who has no other ability than being able to block. Marecic knows the system, and the coaches know and trust him - it's a perfect fit.

5(141) - Greg Salas Hawaii WR
Ziegler had a nasty injury last year, and I think the niners will look for a mid-round receiver to add. Salas isn't a blazer, however he has good speed for his size, is big, has very good hands, is a solid route runner and has shown proven performance. He will have a solid NFL career, and may even surprise people given the chance.

6(174) - TRADED

6(190) - Shane Vereen Cal RB
Vereen was basically the only weapon on Cal due to poor QB play, but he still had a good season. Harbaugh will remember him torching Stanford in previous years as well. If he drops into the 6th round like this, I think the niners will have a hard time saying no. The only other RB I really thought about this late was Allen Bradford out of USC, who is a big back at over 240 lbs, but is deceptively quick despite the size.

7(211) - TRADED

7(231) - Eric Hagg Nebraska S
I think we pick up a safety just as insurance due to the uncertainty about Goldson. I see Hagg and Chris Prosinski as the 2 best late round safeties; however, I think Hagg has better ball skills than Prosinski.

7(239) - Akeem Dent Georgia ILB
No one knows if McKillop will be back to form after his injury. Dent can be a special teams stud as well an option in case Bowman doesn't work out.

7(250) - Jarriel King South Carolina OT
If King didn't have some of the character concerns he does, he could have gone in the 3rd-4th round in my opinion. The guy has supreme talent, but lacks maturity. The 7th round is a great time to take a chance on a guy like him.

Not to shabby. Not to fond of trading away so many picks though.

Originally posted by backontop:
Not to shabby. Not to fond of trading away so many picks though.

Yeah realistically we would give up 4 picks for 2; however, all the picks we're giving up would be 3rd round or later, and we don't give anything from next year.

Like I said, I think there will be a ton of trades in this draft, and I fully expect the niners to make a minimum of 2 trades before the draft is complete.

Clever mock...although, draft trades are so difficult to predict...and i'd rather trade up for Ponder if we are going to make a move up for a QB.

Do like Stanzi, but second round???

Originally posted by 9erguy:
Clever mock...although, draft trades are so difficult to predict...and i'd rather trade up for Ponder if we are going to make a move up for a QB.

Do like Stanzi, but second round???

i think he'll be there in the 3rd

You lost me at Stanzi.

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by 9erguy:
Clever mock...although, draft trades are so difficult to predict...and i'd rather trade up for Ponder if we are going to make a move up for a QB.

Do like Stanzi, but second round???

i think he'll be there in the 3rd

I don't think so, think about it, common consensus is that 7 QBs will be picked long before the niners 2nd round selection. There will be a team within the next 20 or so picks that will take Stanzi. The fact is that nearly 1/3 of the teams in the draft are in the market for a QB, and with the labor situation, they will most likely rely on the draft.

Originally posted by PTulini:
You lost me at Stanzi.

Not sure what you have against Stanzi, he comes from a pro-style offense, passes the 26-27-60 test, and most importantly played exceedingly well against the best competition. In fact, look at the 3 best teams he played during his years against Wisconsin (11-2), Michigan State (11-2) and Ohio State (12-1). He had 7 TDs and 0 INTs, which is remarkable.

He also played against Arizona which was a defensive powerhouse that allowed only 2 players to get 3+ TDs against then, and those quarterbacks were Darron Thomas and Ricky Stanzi. Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Jake Locker all managed to fail that.

Moreover, one of the most important metrics for measuring a QB out of college is the attempts/int ratio, and Stanzi's is the highest of this year's class, and it's not even close.

Stanzi is a player that can be molded to be a great QB in my opinion. If nothing else, I'm curious why people dismiss him as a 3rd or 4th round player and career backup.

Originally posted by Niners23:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by 9erguy:
Clever mock...although, draft trades are so difficult to predict...and i'd rather trade up for Ponder if we are going to make a move up for a QB.

Do like Stanzi, but second round???

i think he'll be there in the 3rd

I don't think so, think about it, common consensus is that 7 QBs will be picked long before the niners 2nd round selection. There will be a team within the next 20 or so picks that will take Stanzi. The fact is that nearly 1/3 of the teams in the draft are in the market for a QB, and with the labor situation, they will most likely rely on the draft.

Originally posted by PTulini:
You lost me at Stanzi.

Not sure what you have against Stanzi, he comes from a pro-style offense, passes the 26-27-60 test, and most importantly played exceedingly well against the best competition. In fact, look at the 3 best teams he played during his years against Wisconsin (11-2), Michigan State (11-2) and Ohio State (12-1). He had 7 TDs and 0 INTs, which is remarkable.

He also played against Arizona which was a defensive powerhouse that allowed only 2 players to get 3+ TDs against then, and those quarterbacks were Darron Thomas and Ricky Stanzi. Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Jake Locker all managed to fail that.

Moreover, one of the most important metrics for measuring a QB out of college is the attempts/int ratio, and Stanzi's is the highest of this year's class, and it's not even close.

Stanzi is a player that can be molded to be a great QB in my opinion. If nothing else, I'm curious why people dismiss him as a 3rd or 4th round player and career backup.

I don't understand that either. Personally I see him as the best QB in this draft class. As long as we draft him it will be a steal at any spot.

Stanzi will be there in the 4th rd and I hope we pick up a change of pace back like Tiawon Jones in the 3rd. His stock is rising

Originally posted by filthyrich49er:
Stanzi will be there in the 4th rd and I hope we pick up a change of pace back like Tiawon Jones in the 3rd. His stock is rising

I'm not seeing Stanzi in the 4th. I honestly don't think he gets out of the 2nd. Once again, nearly 1/3 of the teams in this draft are looking for a QB, and due to the labor situation, QBs will be picked up quickly. If you're saying that Dalton, Ponder and Kaepernick are borderline 1st rounders, and Stanzi is a 4th rounder, I'd like to ask for your reasoning behind that.

It's not a bad mock. But like others said it's trading away a lot of picks.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
It's not a bad mock. But like others said it's trading away a lot of picks.

I think one of the strengths we have in this draft is the amount of picks, and with a likely shortened time to work with new players due to the labor dispute, JH and Baalke will try to get players they know can work. That's the reason behind the Marecic trade, and getting more Pac-10 players than normal.

Also, maybe it would help to look at it this say, we trade a 3rd and 4th for a 2nd, and a 6th and 7th for a 5th. Realistically, we're giving up a 4th and 7th to move up in the draft. That doesn't sound like too steep a price to get the players that are targeted.

Stanzi is really flying under the radar. I think without a doubt he makes it to our pick in the 2nd/3rd. I like his size and accuracy. Nice, potential WCO quarterback.

Originally posted by mayo49:
Stanzi is really flying under the radar. I think without a doubt he makes it to our pick in the 2nd/3rd. I like his size and accuracy. Nice, potential WCO quarterback.

I wouldn't risk him sliding into the 3rd. I would select him with our 2nd.

Originally posted by backontop:

Originally posted by mayo49:
Stanzi is really flying under the radar. I think without a doubt he makes it to our pick in the 2nd/3rd. I like his size and accuracy. Nice, potential WCO quarterback.

I wouldn't risk him sliding into the 3rd. I would select him with our 2nd.

I agree. I don't think he makes it out of the 2nd.