Originally posted by Firenze:
OTC, MD and others draft guru... A simple question. You are Baalke, at n. 7, and 49ers pick is...
If you think Gabbert is a franchise QB, and you see no hope for Smith or another existing young veteran QB coming in to be the future leader for the team (Kolb, etc.) then Gabbert makes a lot of sense. However, for me, I still see a ray of hope with Smith, so I would have let Harbaugh play out this season with Smith and see if he can improve his game.
The greatest need is CB, unless they have something worked out with Clements and his giant contract. So, Prince would be an understandable selection. However, to me, Prince is not worth the value of the 7th overall. He is a good player, but in my estimation, not elite.
At the same time, the best player on my board was JJ Watt. If the team feels that Franklin is gone and that Sopoaga needs to move to NT, Watt would be my choice.
To me, the team would have been best served to explore trading up to five and selecting Patrick Peterson, if the Cards would be willing to make that deal. We would be getting an elite player at a key position of need, and the loss of the 3rd rounder, would not be prohibitive for me.
[ Edited by MadDog49er on May 5, 2011 at 19:13:10 ]