Originally posted by communist:I think these are great points... Both Justin Smith and R McDonald have played the vast majority of snaps this season. With Smith in his early 30s and McDonald gritting it out all season with various aches and pains, at the very least the Niners need to add a good veteran or a high draft pick on a DLman to provide some help for these guys.
Originally posted by Paul_Hofer:You have to go after BPA in general, if Crick is a clear BPA, get him. I dont want Baalke to reach for a WR, this class is deep enough. Furthermore, the TO argued that Crick will be picked if certain players are off the board. And he is right about the issue that if RayMac and/or Justin go down, we will have a huge problem. Last but not least, Crick could give our 1st-teamers some rest during the game.
The Niners need more help on offense. The first two picks being defense cuts against that. Crick may not play much next year, let alone start. Replacing Justin Smith for more than a few plays a game is a waste. Having a first string backup is too much of a luxury at this point. Same goes for Irvin. Who sits to let him play? Unless the Niners have already used FA to add at least one starter to the OL and WRs, then I pass on defensive players in the first three rounds.
To get a prospect like Crick would be a great value near the end of the first round IMHO. Before he got injured, he was considered by many to be a top 15 pick....and he would get great mentoring from J Smith, providing the team with nice continuity going into the future.
These are the kind of picks Walsh used to jump on in the 80s. Guys like Pierce Holt and Kevin f*gan were drafted in the lower rounds because of injury histories and they excelled for the team, contributing to back-to-back titles.
Also, unless an obvious great prospect like Floyd falls to the Niners at the end of the first, it makes sense to get the BPA at a position of need....DE, OG, WR, OLB, C, CB or S. That gives the team a lot of flexibility.