2012 Draft Needs

I have seen some discussion on what we should target in the first round, etc, but I have not seen a thread dedicated to a prioritized list of what positions are "needs". Obviously, this is extraordinarily premature, but so is everything in this forum. Here is my list, in order of need, and an explanation of why I see it this way:

1. Defensive Line - Whether that means a NT or a 3-4 end, this has got to be a priority. Right now this is one of the strongest units on the team, but it is very thin. Justin Smith is a beast, Ray McDonald has been tremendous, and Sopoaga has held his ground fantastically. Behind the starters we have Ricky Jean-Francois who is a solid rotational guy and several unknowns. Tukuafu made one play and was injured, Dobbs looked good in preseason but we all know how misleading that can be, and the other rookies have yet to sniff the field. My concern is that one injury to a starter could have this team scrabbling to fill a hole. Now is the time to bring in a stud to give our starters a breather now and then.

2. Wide Receiver - Crabtree looks like he might be turning the corner, but everyone else has question marks. Will Edwards be healthy enough to contribute? Will we bring him back either way? Ginn has shown he is a great returner and a nice addition to the offense for trick plays or deep passes, but he'll never be a consistent WR threat. Kyle Williams has flashed some brilliance. We will see if he is the real deal. Josh Morgan was just breaking out when he went down. I believe he will make a full recovery and resign, but we need another game changer at this position to solidify the group.

3. Cornerback - Carlos Rogers has been a wonderful suprise and I believe he will be resigned. Culliver has shown flashes, but he has also made some rookie mistakes. He has more growing pains ahead of him due to his lack of experience with the position. Brown has played beyond my expectations, but he still makes too many mistakes in coverage. If we have the chance to draft a potential shutdown guy, we grab it!

4. Rush OLB - Aldon Smith looks like an absolute beast and I can't wait for him to take over as the every down OLB. Brooks is also having a damn good year. Beyond them, we are thin. Parys is serviceable, but he doesn't get pressure on the QB very often. This is a position that needs to be stocked.

5. Running back/Fullback - The Bruce Miller experiement worked beautifully. So beautifully that Moran Norris' days are numbered. I think they will draft another H-back/Fullback hybrid to compete with Miller. Those guys usually have good ST value as well. They might also go the route of a bruising tailback like Harbaugh had with Gerhart.

Originally posted by Karma:
I have seen some discussion on what we should target in the first round, etc, but I have not seen a thread dedicated to a prioritized list of what positions are "needs". Obviously, this is extraordinarily premature, but so is everything in this forum. Here is my list, in order of need, and an explanation of why I see it this way:

1. Defensive Line - Whether that means a NT or a 3-4 end, this has got to be a priority. Right now this is one of the strongest units on the team, but it is very thin. Justin Smith is a beast, Ray McDonald has been tremendous, and Sopoaga has held his ground fantastically. Behind the starters we have Ricky Jean-Francois who is a solid rotational guy and several unknowns. Tukuafu made one play and was injured, Dobbs looked good in preseason but we all know how misleading that can be, and the other rookies have yet to sniff the field. My concern is that one injury to a starter could have this team scrabbling to fill a hole. Now is the time to bring in a stud to give our starters a breather now and then.

2. Wide Receiver - Crabtree looks like he might be turning the corner, but everyone else has question marks. Will Edwards be healthy enough to contribute? Will we bring him back either way? Ginn has shown he is a great returner and a nice addition to the offense for trick plays or deep passes, but he'll never be a consistent WR threat. Kyle Williams has flashed some brilliance. We will see if he is the real deal. Josh Morgan was just breaking out when he went down. I believe he will make a full recovery and resign, but we need another game changer at this position to solidify the group.

3. Cornerback - Carlos Rogers has been a wonderful suprise and I believe he will be resigned. Culliver has shown flashes, but he has also made some rookie mistakes. He has more growing pains ahead of him due to his lack of experience with the position. Brown has played beyond my expectations, but he still makes too many mistakes in coverage. If we have the chance to draft a potential shutdown guy, we grab it!

4. Rush OLB - Aldon Smith looks like an absolute beast and I can't wait for him to take over as the every down OLB. Brooks is also having a damn good year. Beyond them, we are thin. Parys is serviceable, but he doesn't get pressure on the QB very often. This is a position that needs to be stocked.

5. Running back/Fullback - The Bruce Miller experiement worked beautifully. So beautifully that Moran Norris' days are numbered. I think they will draft another H-back/Fullback hybrid to compete with Miller. Those guys usually have good ST value as well. They might also go the route of a bruising tailback like Harbaugh had with Gerhart.

Great post as usual, Karma.... Totally agree with your points...although I might prioritize them a little differently. I would probably put WR at the top of the list given the recent injury history of Edwards, Morgan, and Crabtree (chronic foot problem)...

That being said, I would absolutely love it if the Niners could draft J Crick in the first round to add to their DL rotation and then eventually take over for Justin Smith, who would act as a great mentor to him. If he is there on the board, take him. Even though he is coming off an injury, he would be a terrific value pick there. If he is gone, go to Plan B and take the best wideout available.

Fortunately, there is such a plethora of good, big, WRs in this draft that the team should get a nice addition to their WR corps, even if they wait until the second round to do so. Considering the uncertainty of that corps next season, I think they should actually draft 2 wideouts....another speed guy and a big, tall WR that can make jump ball plays in the red zone.

You have covered the other team needs quite well but I do think you forgot about adding another OG or center (unless the team decides to get a vet in FA). This team does need some help on the right side of the OL and they will probably lose Chilo next year....oh wait, that could be a good thing.

Cheers!

I like your post but why no mention of Offensive line. I really think we need a right guard and center. I know we wont get both this draft but would really like to see us take care of this in the first second round. Last, love the recognition of need at wide reciever must address this early in the draft.

Pretty good list and explanations, but I don't get the priorities either. If you asked anyone that truly follows this team what is this team's weakest unit, you would never hear defensive line. If a worthy WR or CB falls to us, I'm almost certain that's where we are going. Whichever position we don't hit on in the first, we'll pick that up in the second. I understand why we would want more bodies behind our D-line, but I just don't see it with the first or second round pick. Also, A 1st round NT is MUCH less likely to make a contribution to the team in 2012 than a 1st round CB or WR.

I'd like to see another WR and a stud NT, but I'm jot going to try to guess what we'll do.

If someone told me last year that we were going to draft a FS to play CB and a DE to play FB, I wouldve thought they were crazy. I'm just going to sit back, relax and enjoy this offseason. Same goes with free agency. I'm going to try not to criticize any moves the team makes.

Not mentioning either of the safety positions really confuses me. Goldson, Smith, and Williams are all here on 1 year deals, imagine if we franchise Edwards, Ginn, or Brooks and ended up losing both Smith and Goldson to free agency. I would start panicing. However unlikely I'm just illustrating my point.

Depending on what happens with our free safety group in FA the priority of safety could jump from a near afterthought to day 1 must have.

Also not listing RG when both of the players are free agents is another head scratcher. Rachal should be shown his walking paper unless he just kills it down the stretch and even then I'm pretty scarred from watching him play already. So we're already looking at either a developmental RG behind Snyder or maybe going young and having Snyder come off the bench.

There is a good chance we spend our first 2 of our first 3 picks on RG or FS with the 3rd going to either a CB or WR.

Originally posted by sfout:
Not mentioning either of the safety positions really confuses me. Goldson, Smith, and Williams are all here on 1 year deals, imagine if we franchise Edwards, Ginn, or Brooks and ended up losing both Smith and Goldson to free agency. I would start panicing. However unlikely I'm just illustrating my point.

Depending on what happens with our free safety group in FA the priority of safety could jump from a near afterthought to day 1 must have.

Also not listing RG when both of the players are free agents is another head scratcher. Rachal should be shown his walking paper unless he just kills it down the stretch and even then I'm pretty scarred from watching him play already. So we're already looking at either a developmental RG behind Snyder or maybe going young and having Snyder come off the bench.

There is a good chance we spend our first 2 of our first 3 picks on RG or FS with the 3rd going to either a CB or WR.

I can promise you we wont franchise Edwards

A couple explanations based on your responses:

1. I didn't include OL help for several reasons. We have two young interior linemen that the team is apparently high on in Kilgore and Person. We go three deep at OT and we are set at LG for years with Iupati and Center for the next few years with Goodwin. That being said, RG is still an issue. Snyder has done well but I would like to see an upgrade, I just don't see it as a priority above those other positions yet. I think they will draft another late round guy or two again unless a guy with great value falls to them.

2. We all agree that a top flight CB is a necessity. Several of you mentioned Safety help. That might be a possibility, I just don't see it as a priority above those other positions. We are in a great salary cap position going into next year because we didn't over spend for FAs this year. I believe Goldson will be back and Whitner is locked up for a few more years. Reggie Smith is an adequate backup as well. The other safeties are ST guys which seems to be the way this regime handles that position.

3. Yes, DL is one of our strongest Units, but the depth bothers me. We are one injury away from having a big hole.

4. Again this is pure speculation, but isn't that the fun of fandom?

Originally posted by Karma:
A couple explanations based on your responses:

3. Yes, DL is one of our strongest Units, but the depth bothers me. We are one injury away from having a big hole.

Ice and RayMac have gone down and we didn't miss a beat, would like another solid guy to add to the rotation though

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by Karma:
A couple explanations based on your responses:

3. Yes, DL is one of our strongest Units, but the depth bothers me. We are one injury away from having a big hole.

Ice and RayMac have gone down and we didn't miss a beat, would like another solid guy to add to the rotation though

You're right, but they didn't go down for long. RJF is a solid back-up and seems to improve every time he steps on the field, but the guys seem to wear down as the game goes on. We could be that much better with one more guy to add to the rotation.

Originally posted by Karma:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by Karma:
A couple explanations based on your responses:

3. Yes, DL is one of our strongest Units, but the depth bothers me. We are one injury away from having a big hole.

Ice and RayMac have gone down and we didn't miss a beat, would like another solid guy to add to the rotation though

You're right, but they didn't go down for long. RJF is a solid back-up and seems to improve every time he steps on the field, but the guys seem to wear down as the game goes on. We could be that much better with one more guy to add to the rotation.

Dont see it being a major pick this year
if......we get the DB situation fixed, the RG and C worked out, get another WR and OLB into a rotation and not lose any play makers.....
DL could be a big option in 2013 with picks at LDE and RDE

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by Karma:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by Karma:
A couple explanations based on your responses:

3. Yes, DL is one of our strongest Units, but the depth bothers me. We are one injury away from having a big hole.

Ice and RayMac have gone down and we didn't miss a beat, would like another solid guy to add to the rotation though

You're right, but they didn't go down for long. RJF is a solid back-up and seems to improve every time he steps on the field, but the guys seem to wear down as the game goes on. We could be that much better with one more guy to add to the rotation.

Dont see it being a major pick this year
if......we get the DB situation fixed, the RG and C worked out, get another WR and OLB into a rotation and not lose any play makers.....
DL could be a big option in 2013 with picks at LDE and RDE

I really don't see DL as our top need either. Sure, it would be nice to add some talent there. But we have great starters and some depth there right now. And I think those guys are all under contract.

Other positions don't have great starters, depth, or guys locked up for the future. I'm talking about WR, CB and S. To me, those are much higher priority.

can't believe we missed out on Dalton by one fkn pick!

Originally posted by TheFunkyChicken:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by Karma:

Originally posted by jreff22:

Originally posted by Karma:
A couple explanations based on your responses:

3. Yes, DL is one of our strongest Units, but the depth bothers me. We are one injury away from having a big hole.

Ice and RayMac have gone down and we didn't miss a beat, would like another solid guy to add to the rotation though

You're right, but they didn't go down for long. RJF is a solid back-up and seems to improve every time he steps on the field, but the guys seem to wear down as the game goes on. We could be that much better with one more guy to add to the rotation.

Dont see it being a major pick this year
if......we get the DB situation fixed, the RG and C worked out, get another WR and OLB into a rotation and not lose any play makers.....
DL could be a big option in 2013 with picks at LDE and RDE

I really don't see DL as our top need either. Sure, it would be nice to add some talent there. But we have great starters and some depth there right now. And I think those guys are all under contract.

Other positions don't have great starters, depth, or guys locked up for the future. I'm talking about WR, CB and S. To me, those are much higher priority.

"Some depth" at DL means one guy right now. RJF is the only guy that gets into the regular rotation. I don't count Aldon because he subs in for a linebacker on passing downs and will eventually take over at OLB. Teams want one of two outcomes from drafted players: Standouts or depth. Both are important to have. Right now we have depth at WR, CB, and S. We have a standout CB in Carlos Rogers but we can always use more at that position. We have depth at WR with Crabtree, Kyle Williams, the eventual return of Josh Morgan, Ted Ginn, and possibly Braylon for another year. We just need a standout from this corps. Crabtree is atarting to separate himself, Morgan was having a breakout start before the injury and Edwards just needs to get healthy. Finally, we definitely have depth at Safety. Goldson is having a good year and Whitner plays better every game. Reggie Smith has a few timely interceptions. We can all agree that Madieu Williams is done, but even Spillman has had a few nice plays. Not to mention Colin Jones on special teams. The arguable point would be whether their is a standout in this unit. Goldson seems like he is always on the verge of being a standout. He has been a turnover machine this year. He still has lapses in coverage, but his big plays always seem to make up for his mistakes.

All that being said, the team is in a good position to take their highest rated player at any of these positions in the first few rounds. I ranked DL highest simply because I think getting more depth on this unit is a necessity come April.

not to bring up the giants but one thing i appreciate is there consistency at Dline. They always crank out good dline players. that is probably their strong suit and reason being is they always draft for that. regardless of how good they are they continue to pick up another piece. i think we certainly should draft Dline because we are thin in terms of depth but just because you are set at a position doesnt mean you do not have to draft for it. understand our strengths and continue to get better.

even better dline play means better linebacker play (if possible) which in turns means better dback play.

if we have a glaring need and the player is there of course take it but continuing to get better always is the way of the NFL we cant just settle with where we are at.