49er Draft Grades, NFL Team Upgrades, Overall Draft Thoughts...

I wanted to give my grades way earlier, but I didn't spent as much time this draft as I usually do...

AJ Jenkins (B+) seems to catch with his hands well and the IL offense was centered around his play. Was productive in his last year and seemed underutilized in his first couple years. Seems like a future solid starter. Not sure if he'll be star, but has some potential to be. Although the WR position had decent depth I didn't like many of the other receivers coming out other than Blackmon and Broyles.
LaMichael James (A) one of the most productive backs in college ever in a very good PAC12 division. Has superstar potential in the mold of Sproles, MJD and Ray Rice. May be not as tough or strong as them, but has the potential to be as productive. He ran a lot of delays and draws so we'll see how well he does in more of a standard offense.
Joe Looney (B) I don't like offensive lineman with a history of injuries. Missed some games due to a foot injury a couple times in his career. I like less athletic 4 year productive starters with limited history of injuries. Maybe Looney's athleticism and versatility make him useful in the different blocking schemes the 49ers use. Not really sure of Baalke and the staff's ability to pick lineman. In any case he's probably a significant upgrade from Chilo Rachal.
Darius Fleming (B-) not as productive as I'd like to see. Productivity declined a bit as a Senior. Maybe there was a reason. I dunno.
Trent Robinson (C+) had a lot of tackles, but one of the videos of him (I think from OTC) made him look like he couldn't finish tackles. His tackling was a little better in the later parts of the video. Seemed to have decent cover skills, but not that productive. Played in decent competition though. I like Mark Legree from Ap State from the 2010 draft because he's a ball hawk. I wish Legree makes the team over Robinson.
Jason Slowey (A) played in weak competition in D2, but his film is eye-popping. Knocked down everyone in sight. I'm biased because I haven't seen any of the negative film clips. His work ethic and growth in college is impressive. From only being able to do a few 225lb reps entering college to 38+ reps is amazing. Seems like he'll be a good fit moving from LT to Center. Star potential for a late round small school if he keeps improving.
Cam Johnson (A-) was productive and is talented. His sickle cell disease is a concern, but a great pick up in the 7th.

Draft Grade: B/B+

Overall I think the niners did well.. they did well in trading for a lot of picks in 2013.

Draft/Team Upgrades
I think this draft didn't seem to have that much depth in talent .. I liked Cleveland's picks in Richardson/Weeden. That should be a great combo (like LT/Brees years ago), but Weeden won't have many good receivers to throw to though. RJ3 seems like he'll be a superstar and has pretty good receivers in Garcon and Morgan. Luck may struggle a little more with an aging Wayne. I think Tannehill will be a bust...The Dallas defense is scary with the addition of Claiborne and Carr. The NFC East is going to be the toughest division in the NFL. Don't think the Giants will repeat. Likewise Pittsburg got exactly what they needed in DeCastro and Mike Adams and they will continue to be a force. It'll be interesting to see how GB and NE do with their defensive focused draft.... GB picked up Perry, Worthy, Hayward ( a potential top CB)... NE got Jones, Hightower and Wilson... seems like both teams have upgraded there defense and should continue to be Superbowl contenders.

Future Stars:
I think Janoris Jenkins will be very good. Melvin Ingram should be a very good sackmaster coming from SEC competition with good productivity as a SR & JR. Also Chandler Jones from NE. Blackmon should be a superstar, but he has no QB to throw to him so it may take some time for him to produce...There is very good depth at WR (Floyd, Wright, Jenkins, Hill, Randle, Jeffery, Broyles, Sanu, Quick) Many will be solid starters. A couple may be stars, but a few may end up being back ups... I like Broyles... again I don't see this being a deep draft, but maybe it's just because I haven't paid attention.

Future NFL Stars:
QB stars: Luck, RGIII and Weeden. Weeden and Luck need more WRs though.
RB stars: Richardson, James.. probably one other, but not that deep of a RB class
WR stars: Blackmon (has bad QB), Broyles... [Note: solid or avg starters (some may have avg QB's): Wright/Floyd/Jenkins/Quick/Sanu/Randle (has a great QB though), High risk/High potential: Jeffery Bust: Hill? ]
CB stars: Claiborne, Jenkins, Hayward
S stars: Barron
DE Sackmasters: Ingram, Chandler Jones (maybe some others, but not a lot of sack masters in this draft)
DL/OL/ILB/OLB - didn't have much time to look into

Sleeper:
I really like Cliff Harris UDFA - Eagles. I think he'll be a star CB and will be a great punt returner.

Anyways... your thoughts on the overall draft?.. other teams? your picks for future stars?

Lamichael James not as tough? I will tell you, LMJ is as tough as they come. There is no questioning his toughness, Texas tough. He had the horrible elbow injury that should have ended his season but missed only a game and came right back wearing a brace.

And LMJ ran lots of delays and draws? Hardly. He ran mostly inside and outside zone reads at Oregon

Originally posted by domingo:
Lamichael James not as tough? I will tell you, LMJ is as tough as they come. There is no questioning his toughness, Texas tough. He had the horrible elbow injury that should have ended his season but missed only a game and came right back wearing a brace.

And LMJ ran lots of delays and draws? Hardly. He ran mostly inside and outside zone reads at Oregon

Yeah. I'm sure he's tough, but I'm just comparing him to MJD, Ray Rice and Sproles. MJD is 5'7'' 208, and Ray Rice is 5'8 212. Sproles is 5'6'' 190. They seem more compact and strong is what I mainly meant and I'm sure they are all gym rats. All three are superstars so you got to have some extraordinary toughness to be in the league. I think LMJ has to keep working hard in the gym and outside and do workout routines like running the Jerry Rice 'hill' and he may be a superstar too.

What I meant about the delays and draws is probably more based on the option run from Darron Thomas. Maybe I'm using the wrong terminology, but in the highlights there's always a short delay on the hand off. It almost made everything look like a draw when there was always a threat of Darron keeping to throw or run. I've seen limited film so take it for what's worth. LMJ ran almost everything in a single back set in the highlights. However it may be good that LMJ is familiar with inside/outside zone reads. Don't the 49ers run zone blocking schemes?

Overall I think the niners did well.. they did well in trading for a lot of picks in 2013.

Originally posted by keding994:
Overall I think the niners did well.. they did well in trading for a lot of picks in 2013.

Yeah. I wonder if the 2013 draft will have more talent. 2012 didn't seem all too impressive. I'm sure the best teams keep good track of talent in the upcoming years.

Originally posted by Jd925:

Originally posted by keding994:
Overall I think the niners did well.. they did well in trading for a lot of picks in 2013.

Yeah. I wonder if the 2013 draft will have more talent. 2012 didn't seem all too impressive. I'm sure the best teams keep good track of talent in the upcoming years.

I am stoked for next years draft. We will have so much room to maneuver and who knows we may get more before training camp is over with a few trades. We can stock up on 1st and 2nd round picks now for when we really need them. Making the Glory Days part 2 last for a long time, maybe 2 decades this time.

B-B+ on this draft - WAY too early to say.

I read and can't find the link that the `13 draft will be deep in RB and Safeties.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
B-B+ on this draft - WAY too early to say.

I read and can't find the link that the `13 draft will be deep in RB and Safeties.

This is true. I hope we grab a S with the first three picks.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
B-B+ on this draft - WAY too early to say.

I read and can't find the link that the `13 draft will be deep in RB and Safeties.

I think there is no way you can give a draft grade this high, especially when pick 1 was a huge reach by any stretch of the imagination, pick 2, probably would have been available at pick 3.

Looney was not rated that high.

Slowey was not even invited to the combine

Very questionable draft, I think the concerned look on the faces of Baalke and harbaugh with AJ jenkins says it all.

I would have taken, Fleener, and Turbin, rather than Jenkins and LMJ, but WTF do I know lol! I think the two TE offense is a coming thing in the NFL, and I think Turbin could be a star, an every down back to take over for Gore when he retires in a year or two.

I have low expectations from this draft class, C- unless loony pans out.

I actually liked this draft A LOT and agree with a B+. No flashy picks but all good solid promising ones that could have tremendous upside.