MadDog's Niners Draft Grade and Analysis

Originally posted by NineFourNiner:
Thanks, MD, for putting all the time in to do this.

Thanks also to those of you who have remained civil in this thread and others concerning MD's (and OTC's) draft work.

As for the rest of you:

Whoa! Scary.

Gives new meaning to the term "maddoggin"

Originally posted by AB83Rules:

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
Round 1, Coby Fleener TE 6' 3' Stanford
Round 2, A.J Jenkins WR 6' 0" Illinois (Or other WR)
Round 3, Robert Turbin RB 5' 10" Utah State
Round 4, Joe Looney G 6'3 Wake Forest
Round 5, Darius Fleming OLB 6'2" Notre Dame
Round 6, Trent Robinson FS 5'10" Michigan
Round 6, Jason Slowey C 6'3" Western Oregon
Round 7, Cam Johnson DE 6'3" Virginia

I think this would have been better!

disagree. Jenkins would of been picked 33rd by STL, and Harbaugh/Baalke said they felt Jenkins was a better WR then Fleener was a TE, so they went with the better player and a bigger need.

Also rather have it the way happened, got the extra 3 picks for 2013, when we have little need right now, where after 2012 we may lose Sopoaga, RJF, maybe Walker, and unsure of Moss, Jacobs and Goldson isn't extended yet.

I think we could have found value at WR in the 2nd, I would even have traded one of next years picks to move down if I had to, but I'm a fan not a GM! LOL I'm disappointed with this draft right now, but I expect to be happy once I see how JH uses these guys!

MD, you're wrong as always. Remember the time you criticized the Rachal, Cody Wallace, Mays, and Reggie Smith picks? Always thinking you know better...

I really don't get the logic of giving the pick an F when you have the player graded as a C+.

Anyways good player analysis. I really don't care if you feel you could have drafted better for us by trading up for Decastro.

Just stick to grading the picks that we did make. I really think that's your problem. You're very good at scouting out guys but you fall in love with someone or fall in love with addressing 1 certain need and when we pass on them for a more talented player and a different need you change your grading scale because it's not how you would have done it.

Originally posted by tjd808185:
I really don't get the logic of giving the pick an F when you have the player graded as a C+.

Anyways good player analysis. I really don't care if you feel you could have drafted better for us by trading up for Decastro.

Just stick to grading the picks that we did make. I really think that's your problem. You're very good at scouting out guys but you fall in love with someone and when we pass on them for a more talented player that you grade out to be a good selection but not your selection you sh** on the pick.

This is not Niner Talk, so logic does not apply. Duh.

The thing about DeCastro is, don't you think Jim Harbaugh knows more about him than any of us?

Originally posted by oregonniner:
The thing about DeCastro is, don't you think Jim Harbaugh knows more about him than any of us?

No. Harbaugh sucks as a coach.

Originally posted by English:
13 picks! Unless we re-trade them. That is going to be an epic draft

I'm only counting 12. I might be missing something. Ive got 7 regular picks, a 3,5 and 6 from 2012 draft, a 7th for the USC safety mistake, and a compensatory pick ( figuring 3 players lost, 2gained). Did I miss something?

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
I think we could have found value at WR in the 2nd, I would even have traded one of next years picks to move down if I had to, but I'm a fan not a GM! LOL I'm disappointed with this draft right now, but I expect to be happy once I see how JH uses these guys!

I just like Baalke mind set, if he feels Jenkins was a better player then Fleener, then you take the better player, not someone who fan wanted. And by taking Jenkins over Fleener, it shows Harbaugh knew Jenkins is a better player then Fleener.

I know it doesn't look flashy but we didn't have many holes, so it was an effective draft as of now, so I am happy, hopefully the players prove me right, and those picks in 2013 help a lot next offseason.

Originally posted by AB83Rules:

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
I think we could have found value at WR in the 2nd, I would even have traded one of next years picks to move down if I had to, but I'm a fan not a GM! LOL I'm disappointed with this draft right now, but I expect to be happy once I see how JH uses these guys!

I just like Baalke mind set, if he feels Jenkins was a better player then Fleener, then you take the better player, not someone who fan wanted. And by taking Jenkins over Fleener, it shows Harbaugh knew Jenkins is a better player then Fleener.

I know it doesn't look flashy but we didn't have many holes, so it was an effective draft as of now, so I am happy, hopefully the players prove me right, and those picks in 2013 help a lot next offseason.

In JH we trust, oh and TB too! GO NINERS!

LEAVE MADDOG ALONE!

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
We differed a bit this year and one example would be our sixth rounder. I was very unenthused by the Trenton Robinson pick. In my opinion, his trait of "not being afraid to tackle" is negated by his inability to tackle well or get run over because of his midget size compared to most NFL players.

I gave him a 6th-7th round grade because I thought the primary attributes needed to be a starting safety weren't there -- good tackling and the ability to physically match up with strong receivers. His IQ is good I think and he's decently athletic, so my belief is he would make he mark on special teams.

Robinson to me was a guy that wouldn't fit what we need at safety. Too short (below 5-10), easy to throw over because of that and his tendency to get outmuscled would make him less effective fighting for balls he might have a chance at, and a guy who even if he was in position with the receiver may not be able to make the tackle after the catch since I don't think he tackles all that well. In the Senior Bowl, he was horrendous really.

In my mind, he's actually a better fit for a slot corner. I think that matches up to his abilities better. It's all a matter of opinion though, so we'll see. If they really like him, it wouldn't shock me to see them let Goldson walk for big money in 2013. But that'd be a terrible move.

But if he's anything like these early minutes of this clip (and to be honest, this was a game I didn't even catch, but was much like the others I watched of Robinson), he won't do much here.

I was really mad at this pick because we could have gotten George Iloka at some point in the draft, couldve had trumaine Johnson at some point in the draft. IMO, Mark Legree beats out Trent Robinson for that spot as the backup.

I would have taken Minnesota's offer to trade down to 35 which they reportedly offered us. We turned it down and Baltimore then accepted a similar offer. If we accepted we could have taken either Cordy Glenn or Amini Solatou at 35. Rueben Randle at 61 and Lamar Miller at 92. Then in the fourth round Baalke would have had two picks to wheel and deal with.

Originally posted by domingo:
I would have taken Minnesota's offer to trade down to 35 which they reportedly offered us. We turned it down and Baltimore then accepted a similar offer. If we accepted we could have taken either Cordy Glenn or Amini Solatou at 35. Rueben Randle at 61 and Lamar Miller at 92. Then in the fourth round Baalke would have had two picks to wheel and deal with.

I didn't see why anyone liked Randle, he like any LSU WR, doesn't do crap in the NFL. It was clear we valued Jenkins higher than trading down. And We feel Kilgore is ready, so no need to add a flashy OG name in there.

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
I think we could have found value at WR in the 2nd, I would even have traded one of next years picks to move down if I had to, but I'm a fan not a GM! LOL I'm disappointed with this draft right now, but I expect to be happy once I see how JH uses these guys!

Mike Lombardi wrote a piece before the draft about his time with Walsh. You don't draft for value, you draft because the player can contribute. Walsh bristled when scouts said the player wasn't a good 2nd round pick but was a good value for a third round. Here is the link to that article and some highlights...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82857c66/article/bill-walshs-nfl-draft-philosophies-six-lessons-from-the-master

Walsh hated hearing a scout tell him a player was, for example, not a good second-rounder, but a great third-rounder. He always said the only time people talk about rounds is in draft preparation and on draft day. Never during any player's career, Walsh would vent, does anyone say a player was picked in the right round. The day after the draft, every player is graded on his playing performance, not his selection round. Walsh only cared about what a player would be able to do for his team. He thought "round talk" was the wrong way for a scout to measure his own abilities. It was not talent evaluation, but rather round prediction.

Even though Walsh loved to move up or down...
When the cost of draft picks soared in prior years, moving down was a great option. But with the new collective bargaining agreement's reduced rookie pay scale, it is not as financially dangerous to just make the pick. Walsh believed there was always someone worth picking, because three years from any draft, people will look back at the great players in the league who were passed over by a number of teams. Once again, Walsh was all about the talent, not the spot.

Watch out for players from downtrodden programs -- particularly programs that have just fired a coach -- being unfairly downgraded. In Walsh's mind, players from a program that has just fired its coach pay a price in draft evaluation. Coaches rarely admit the real reason for their termination -- bad coaching -- instead placing the blame on bad players. These side effects of a losing culture can taint a scout's visit to a particular school. Walsh insisted that all the college prospects in this situation had to be examined closely.