Grade the 49ers Draft After Round 3

Originally posted by AmpLee:

Originally posted by theduke85:

Ward - A: versatile enough to play nickelback, strong safety starter long-term. Baalke mentioned they love his speed -- he ran like a 4.48 on an injured foot at the combine, and "ran stride for stride with Dri Archer" in his matchup against him. This makes a ton of sense, and is an immediate upgrade over Rogers.

---

Hyde - A-: James/Hunter/Lattimore/Gore/Hyde. Yikes. What on earth are they going to do with all of these backs? James will probably be traded for a late-round pick. Can they justify having four backs on the roster this year? Interested to see how this plays out.

Anyway, Hyde is a great value where we got him -- some mocks had him a as a late first, and he was the consensus top back in the draft. I love this pick because he demonstrates how loaded our roster is. Because we have so few holes, we were able to go BPA and not feel guilty about it.

---

Martin - A: love this pick. Read one scouting report that said his NFL comparable was -- get this -- Jonathon Goodwin. Nice to see them draft a successor.

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Borland - B+: I think he'll be a great backup and contribute on ST. If a starter goes down, I think he'll fill in like a Dan Skuta did. He'll play first/second down, and then leave in favor of a pass-rusher/DB in passing situations.

---

Thomas - A; LOVE THIS! Before he got hurt, I saw him going in the late-first round in some mocks. This is a tremendous pick, and is totally in-line with the Lattimore/Carradine strategy from last year. Again, for where we got him, this is a fantastic value.

We now have Kilgore, Martin and Thomas in the mix for long-term options for our line. I suspect Martin eventually becomes the starting center, Thomas becomes the starting LG, and Iupati walks next offseason (not good enough in pass protection to warrant a huge contract from us). Iupati will get a huge deal, and we'll pick up a 3rd or 4th round pick as compensation.

By the way, something to consider: Thomas will likely be put on IR the whole year, given that ACL's are harder to recover from for bigger guys. This is really important. If you remember, by IR'ing Lattimore the whole year, we extended our rights to him for an additional year. This means we're not "wasting" a year Thomas by drafting him just because he's injured. We'll still get a full four years out of him.

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MISC: Steve Johnson - A+. Here's why I love this trade so much: we gave up a conditional 2015 4th (i.e. it could potentially turn into a 3rd -- not sure of the details on that). However, Baalke somehow managed to acquire a 2015 4th today by moving down one spot in the draft (+ giving up a 7th). In essence, we got Steve Johnson for a 7th round pick. That is shrewd as hell by Trent.

Johnson will be a great slot receiver for us, and as a bonus, he gives us insurance in case Crabtree walks next offseason. Here's another reason I love this deal: we now have 3 legitimate starter receivers (Johnson, Crabtree, Boldin). If someone gets hurt, we're not stuck with someone like Kevin fu**ing Williams starting games for us. Great, great, under-the-radar acquisition.

---

Overall it was a spectacular day. I mean, honestly, we are truly blessed to have such a kickass coach/GM.

/thread.

Honestly, does anything else need to be said?

No.

Not gonna lie I am extremely dissapointed, I had to work so just saw what happened....

It was horrible reading player after player I wanted to go other teams and trying to figure out WTF happened with all these trades... Do we have alot of picks next year??? OR alot more this year??? I am really disappointed they didnt go after Trent Murphy or a receiver...

Most of you guys are happy about this draft.... so I need to go do some research.... I really hope Baalke didn't smoke crack before the draft...

Originally posted by HarboutTHAT:
Not gonna lie I am extremely dissapointed, I had to work so just saw what happened....

It was horrible reading player after player I wanted to go other teams and trying to figure out WTF happened with all these trades... Do we have alot of picks next year??? OR alot more this year??? I am really disappointed they didnt go after Trent Murphy or a receiver...

Most of you guys are happy about this draft.... so I need to go do some research.... I really hope Baalke didn't smoke crack before the draft...

Follow the draft long enough and you get over the team not taking your crushes.

Tis the IdahoNiner plight. Just ask Phoenix.

Nothing to dislike about this draft so far. they knocked it out of the park.

A-

I'm considering Steve Johnson as part of this draft's haul. Even though the draft pick involved is in 2015, it took place during the time of the 2014 draft.

Love that they took 2 interior linemen that was rated high. Although BThomas won't factor this season, he's set up to compete for the open spot at LG in 15-16. This keeps the foundation of the 49ers rolling as the two tackles are locked down in Staley and ADavis. The future is bright with MMartin and BThomas.

Then add in the next bowling ball RB in Hyde and Kap is assured a good running game for the next 4 years.

The minus comes from the Borland pick, which I get was a fine value pick, but even if he's slated to fill in for Bow, it's only for the first 10 or so weeks. Then Bow should be back and Borland is a special teamer. I don't see Willis slowing down for another 2 years, so Borland may ride pine for at least that long. I see Borland as Willis' possible successor.

Maybe a deep threat WR would have been a better selection? I guess Moncrief was not high enough on their big board or the Steve Johnson acquisition relieved Baalke of needing to draft a rookie that would essentially be the 4th/5th WR this season. Perhaps a DT for when Dorsey leaves after this season? Maybe there's a fine WR class coming in the 2015 draft that Baalke will dip into.

All in all, A- is damn nice and I'm so excited that Baalke didn't forget this offense's roots. Power run game behind a dynamite Oline.

Originally posted by theduke85:
Ward - A: versatile enough to play nickelback, strong safety starter long-term. Baalke mentioned they love his speed -- he ran like a 4.48 on an injured foot at the combine, and "ran stride for stride with Dri Archer" in his matchup against him. This makes a ton of sense, and is an immediate upgrade over Rogers.

---

Hyde - A-: James/Hunter/Lattimore/Gore/Hyde. Yikes. What on earth are they going to do with all of these backs? James will probably be traded for a late-round pick. Can they justify having four backs on the roster this year? Interested to see how this plays out.

Anyway, Hyde is a great value where we got him -- some mocks had him a as a late first, and he was the consensus top back in the draft. I love this pick because he demonstrates how loaded our roster is. Because we have so few holes, we were able to go BPA and not feel guilty about it.

---

Martin - A: love this pick. Read one scouting report that said his NFL comparable was -- get this -- Jonathon Goodwin. Nice to see them draft a successor.

---

Borland - B+: I think he'll be a great backup and contribute on ST. If a starter goes down, I think he'll fill in like a Dan Skuta did. He'll play first/second down, and then leave in favor of a pass-rusher/DB in passing situations.

---

Thomas - A; LOVE THIS! Before he got hurt, I saw him going in the late-first round in some mocks. This is a tremendous pick, and is totally in-line with the Lattimore/Carradine strategy from last year. Again, for where we got him, this is a fantastic value.

We now have Kilgore, Martin and Thomas in the mix for long-term options for our line. I suspect Martin eventually becomes the starting center, Thomas becomes the starting LG, and Iupati walks next offseason (not good enough in pass protection to warrant a huge contract from us). Iupati will get a huge deal, and we'll pick up a 3rd or 4th round pick as compensation.

By the way, something to consider: Thomas will likely be put on IR the whole year, given that ACL's are harder to recover from for bigger guys. This is really important. If you remember, by IR'ing Lattimore the whole year, we extended our rights to him for an additional year. This means we're not "wasting" a year Thomas by drafting him just because he's injured. We'll still get a full four years out of him.

---

MISC: Steve Johnson - A+. Here's why I love this trade so much: we gave up a conditional 2015 4th (i.e. it could potentially turn into a 3rd -- not sure of the details on that). However, Baalke somehow managed to acquire a 2015 4th today by moving down one spot in the draft (+ giving up a 7th). In essence, we got Steve Johnson for a 7th round pick. That is shrewd as hell by Trent.

Johnson will be a great slot receiver for us, and as a bonus, he gives us insurance in case Crabtree walks next offseason. Here's another reason I love this deal: we now have 3 legitimate starter receivers (Johnson, Crabtree, Boldin). If someone gets hurt, we're not stuck with someone like Kevin fu**ing Williams starting games for us. Great, great, under-the-radar acquisition.

---

Overall it was a spectacular day. I mean, honestly, we are truly blessed to have such a kickass coach/GM.

The counter-argument to this is that we didn't attack our greatest areas of need by using our draft capital to move up in the draft. If, for instance, we would have traded most of these picks and one or two future picks we could have had Sammy Watkins. We could have then drafted the best corner, etc., later in the draft. That move might have put us over the top.

I give this draft a B+. I would have preferred to move up for OBJ or Evans and I am dissapointed that we did not. I question whether the draft strategy employed by Baalke was the best strategy available. That said, I do not have complete information. I have no idea what actual offers were available to get the guys I wanted. So, the next best strategy is to cull the bottom 20% of your roster with draft picks. Introduce competition at every position.

After we traded for Stevie Johnson (#3 WR) and drafted Jimmy Ward (slot corner) we already upgraded our 2013 team. Now, with our draft picks, we are just "culling" out the bottom 20% of our roster and looking to 2015+. In that goal, we have been 100% successful. Based on this years draft, even in a bad case scenario (unable to sign Crabtree OR Iupati) I am confident that we will have the best roster in the division in 2016. And for that, I give this draft a solid grade.

All in all, not what I would have done, but respect for Baalke, and a very good draft overall.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by blm7754:

I admit, I am not a huge fan of this draft so far. I give it a C+..... a B if you count Stevie Johnson as part of the draft haul.

However, Brandon Thomas and Marcus Martin could both redshirt the year on PUP/IR a la Lattimore and Carradine. Both were good value picks. With Goodwin gone and Iupati possible entering his last season, there is a need to restock interior OL.

The other picks (Ward, Borland and Hyde) I can see having significant roles this year.

Jimmie Ward - Fills the need for a nickle CB, thus replacing Carlos Rogers. He could also start at FS in a couple years when Bethea leaves us.

Carlos Hyde - Scratching my head a little bit with this one. But it was a BPA pick. He's a very good RB prospect and we have a need for a big back. Hunter and James should be worried though, there won't be room on the roster for both of them. I can see Hyde initially as our short yardage back. Long term, he could form a nice tandem with Lattimore.

Chris Borland - Could be a day 1 starter opposite Willis. Bowman will need a while to recover. Not sure where Borland fits in long term. Could be an insurance policy in case Bowman (god forbid) doesn't return to form after the injury.

Stevie Johnson - Fills the need at WR. Would like to have seen us pick up one of the highly talented prospects in the 2nd round. But our team has shown no ability to draft/develop young WRs. Johnson is a solid pickup.

Still have a BIG whole at CB and have a need for a deep-threat speedster at WR. Not sure that we can address both needs on the 3rd day of the draft. But you never know. Most of the more physically gifted prospects at WR and CB are gone. Would much rather have those needs bet than a couple of injured interior OL.

I think you mean hole, and I'm sure if the 49ers thought they had a BIG hole at CB, they would have taken one by now. Brock and Culliver are the starters, then you have Ward as the nickel corner, then you have Eric Wright, Perrish Cox and Daryl Morris. CB is not nearly as big of a need as some make it out to be, no CB was going to come unto this roster and be a starter from Day 1 other than potentially a slot corner which they took care of.

Agree.

IMO, Morris will be our "hole" card.

Get Colvin and Martvas Bryant tomorrow and another surprise,

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:

Whats not to love?

Ward fills two needs with one player, and is extremely gifted. Will fit in well to our scheme on defense, and adds a dimension the secondary was missing.

A lot of people mocked me in my mocks for predicting we would draft two oline man in the first three rounds.

The didnt take the the players i predicted, but they did better IMO. Top C in the draft on a lot of peoples boards, and a top G who fell due to injury that we can redshirt. f**king brilliant.

Looks like a lot of us had Desir ranked higher than the scouts. Still would love to nab him in the 4th.

Im f**king stoked on this draft. People are gonna love Borland. Anyone that knows me knows im a huge fan of drafting players that offer special teams ability, Borland will be a stud for us at ST, and he is ready to step into that #3 LB role day one. Extremely high character, and just an all around great player to have in the locker room.

The one pick that was iffy for me was the RB pick, and it was not because i didnt like the player, it was simply because we are stacked at RB, HOWEVER, i can find no fault in drafting the RB who i had ranked #1 in the draft.

To top if off, we get a 4th next year and extra picks this year?

This draft has been lights out. A grade no doubt.

I don't think we are stacked at RB. Gore is older and slowing down, Lattimore is coming off a major injury, Hunter has regressed and his fumbles have weakened the coaches' confidence in him. James is not a between the tackles runner. Iron sharpens iron. Let the best back tote the rock.

Well...

I like the Ward pick, especially if he really can be that versatile and eventually replace Bethea. If he lives up to all the promise of playing nickel, playing safety, and being great at both, it's a phenomenal choice.

I would have traded up for a WR. I know Baalke was after Beckham and the price was too high, so I respect what happened. But Baalke's still sitting on 12 picks now for this year. Twelve goddamn players to mix in on a playoff roster?!?

And I like that we added Stevie Johnson, but the problem is that we're not developing anyone from the ground up besides Patton. Now if you believe in Patton, then you're ok with this. I'm personally not sure about it. Boldin's gonna be gone soon... I'm tired of them just finding last minute band-aids at the position. Vernon is still Vernon though, so...

All of the picks make sense, but man, you have to wonder what Baalke was doing in previous years drafting LMJ and Marcus Lattimore. Yes, I know Lattimore was essentially taking a flyer, but it's still weird too me. And I guess Kendall Hunter is never going to be our bell cow? Which is fine... I mean, this team's gonna have 3-4 solid running backs for a while, so you can't be mad at that. We probably need to pretend Frankie isn't even there anymore... the future is coming.

Love the o-line picks if they pan out... still mad at this team for drafting Cody Wallace back in the day when EVERY SCOUT IN THE WORLD said he was a bum. Baalke drafted Navorrow Bowman, so I trust his instincts on LB's.

Onward.

Originally posted by midrdan:

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:
Whats not to love?

Ward fills two needs with one player, and is extremely gifted. Will fit in well to our scheme on defense, and adds a dimension the secondary was missing.

A lot of people mocked me in my mocks for predicting we would draft two oline man in the first three rounds.

The didnt take the the players i predicted, but they did better IMO. Top C in the draft on a lot of peoples boards, and a top G who fell due to injury that we can redshirt. f**king brilliant.

Looks like a lot of us had Desir ranked higher than the scouts. Still would love to nab him in the 4th.

Im f**king stoked on this draft. People are gonna love Borland. Anyone that knows me knows im a huge fan of drafting players that offer special teams ability, Borland will be a stud for us at ST, and he is ready to step into that #3 LB role day one. Extremely high character, and just an all around great player to have in the locker room.

The one pick that was iffy for me was the RB pick, and it was not because i didnt like the player, it was simply because we are stacked at RB, HOWEVER, i can find no fault in drafting the RB who i had ranked #1 in the draft.

To top if off, we get a 4th next year and extra picks this year?

This draft has been lights out. A grade no doubt.

I don't think we are stacked at RB. Gore is older and slowing down, Lattimore is coming off a major injury, Hunter has regressed and his fumbles have weakened the coaches' confidence in him. James is not a between the tackles runner. Iron sharpens iron. Let the best back tote the rock.

Disagree on Hunter completely. My opinion.

Originally posted by midrdan:

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:
Whats not to love?

Ward fills two needs with one player, and is extremely gifted. Will fit in well to our scheme on defense, and adds a dimension the secondary was missing.

A lot of people mocked me in my mocks for predicting we would draft two oline man in the first three rounds.

The didnt take the the players i predicted, but they did better IMO. Top C in the draft on a lot of peoples boards, and a top G who fell due to injury that we can redshirt. f**king brilliant.

Looks like a lot of us had Desir ranked higher than the scouts. Still would love to nab him in the 4th.

Im f**king stoked on this draft. People are gonna love Borland. Anyone that knows me knows im a huge fan of drafting players that offer special teams ability, Borland will be a stud for us at ST, and he is ready to step into that #3 LB role day one. Extremely high character, and just an all around great player to have in the locker room.

The one pick that was iffy for me was the RB pick, and it was not because i didnt like the player, it was simply because we are stacked at RB, HOWEVER, i can find no fault in drafting the RB who i had ranked #1 in the draft.

To top if off, we get a 4th next year and extra picks this year?

This draft has been lights out. A grade no doubt.

I don't think we are stacked at RB. Gore is older and slowing down, Lattimore is coming off a major injury, Hunter has regressed and his fumbles have weakened the coaches' confidence in him. James is not a between the tackles runner. Iron sharpens iron. Let the best back tote the rock.

Dont get me wrong. I think it was a great pick, and like i said, i had him graded as the #1 RB in the draft, we just have a crowded backfield currently. Either Hunter Or James will not be on the roster week one. I lean towards James, but we need to replace him with a return man before we let him go. Think the combo of Lattimore and Hyde will one day be a thing of beauty though.

I think I would grade this a B. But there is still tomorrow. I think we were confused by the Ward pick, hearing the explanation and projection the front office has for him makes more sense. They needed a Nickel Back before they needed a base starter prospect.

The way the board fell, it made no sense to throw away picks to move up. All the people demanding a Wide receiver, where would this guy have played, how much would he have played? Rookie Wide outs rarely make a big impact, this team can win now. The same folks wanting a wide out early would be the same people complaining when they were not playing next year. Great moves getting vets like Stevie Johnson and Lloyd for a song. Pending how Crabtree produces this next season, he will either be resigned or allowed to depart and then you bridge the gap. Despite what they say this team is built for physical balance.

The OL picks, not sure why folks have issue with this, as long as Harbaugh is the coach they will want to be physical grinders up front, they don't want to lose that identity and the O-Line was not the same group as the SB season before. You needed competition at CENTER, Kilgore should not just have the job handed to him and versatility is the key for this organization. Always has been. Next season they will not pay top dollar for Iupati, you don't sink that kind of money into an interior lineman. Tough; nasty guys are available and Looney may be that guy now anyhow.

I still want another DB but only because I am not sold on Culliver or Cook. They both have issues, if their heads are on right then we might have hit a jackpot. Wright might resurrect his career and so might Cook. Unless you could get Denard, Fuller, or Gilbert there was not a guy which would have beat out this group.

I think the comments about Running backs are solid, but most fans on here are too loyal, the beauty of former 49er greats like Bill Walsh was his willingness to walk away from a player a year early versus a year too late. Gore is a 49er legend and I hope he goes out with a ring but I don't know if you can count on his legs to handle a pounding like the last three years. Latimore is recovering, Hunter never really had it. If LMJ was the answer he would have been on the field with that speed. We all want the players we know to do well but take off the fanatic glasses and see the reality. Hyde was a great pick.

Still need a pass rusher, the worst position of depth in this draft. With Aldon Smith concerns and J Smith getting older can Brooks and Lemonier bring the heat consistently? Rusher would have been awesome, lots of folks had the M Smith guy from Louisville for that reason. I wanted a nickel rusher early or just as much as a DB.

Borland is a team guy, for those saying he is not athletic like the 49ers current starting duo in Willis and Bowman, well that makes sense as they are two of the most athletic ILBs in the game today. Borland fits ST need and a high character guy given the issues the team has had off the field makes sense.

All in all a method to the madness, the Niners are lucky to be drafting from position of strength. Don't reach and stick to the board. Tomorrow give me some prospects that can compete. DL, DB, OLB . . .back up QB, and Receiver are all options.

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:

Originally posted by midrdan:

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:

Whats not to love?

Ward fills two needs with one player, and is extremely gifted. Will fit in well to our scheme on defense, and adds a dimension the secondary was missing.

A lot of people mocked me in my mocks for predicting we would draft two oline man in the first three rounds.

The didnt take the the players i predicted, but they did better IMO. Top C in the draft on a lot of peoples boards, and a top G who fell due to injury that we can redshirt. f**king brilliant.

Looks like a lot of us had Desir ranked higher than the scouts. Still would love to nab him in the 4th.

Im f**king stoked on this draft. People are gonna love Borland. Anyone that knows me knows im a huge fan of drafting players that offer special teams ability, Borland will be a stud for us at ST, and he is ready to step into that #3 LB role day one. Extremely high character, and just an all around great player to have in the locker room.

The one pick that was iffy for me was the RB pick, and it was not because i didnt like the player, it was simply because we are stacked at RB, HOWEVER, i can find no fault in drafting the RB who i had ranked #1 in the draft.

To top if off, we get a 4th next year and extra picks this year?

This draft has been lights out. A grade no doubt.

I don't think we are stacked at RB. Gore is older and slowing down, Lattimore is coming off a major injury, Hunter has regressed and his fumbles have weakened the coaches' confidence in him. James is not a between the tackles runner. Iron sharpens iron. Let the best back tote the rock.

Dont get me wrong. I think it was a great pick, and like i said, i had him graded as the #1 RB in the draft, we just have a crowded backfield currently. Either Hunter Or James will not be on the roster week one. I lean towards James, but we need to replace him with a return man before we let him go. Think the combo of Lattimore and Hyde will one day be a thing of beauty though.

James is our return man. Baalke went out of his way to emphasize this tonight. Yes we have a crowded backfield. We had one last year too - we basically swapped Hyde for Dixon. I think the difference was that no one thought of Dixon as a legitimate No. 1. We now have, arguably, 2 or 3 No 1s.

I agree with theduke85's post, after stopping my fuming for all the players we passed up, and looked back it's really not bad. plus glass half full:
1st rd: Ward, 1/2 Carradine, Lattimore
2nd rd: Hyde
3rd rd: Martin, Borland, Thomas
4th rd: 2?
5th rd: Gabbert +1
6th rd: Martin +1
7th rd: Johnson +2
I gave them a B but this way it is a college "A"

Originally posted by NickSh49:

Originally posted by midrdan:

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:

Whats not to love?

Ward fills two needs with one player, and is extremely gifted. Will fit in well to our scheme on defense, and adds a dimension the secondary was missing.

A lot of people mocked me in my mocks for predicting we would draft two oline man in the first three rounds.

The didnt take the the players i predicted, but they did better IMO. Top C in the draft on a lot of peoples boards, and a top G who fell due to injury that we can redshirt. f**king brilliant.

Looks like a lot of us had Desir ranked higher than the scouts. Still would love to nab him in the 4th.

Im f**king stoked on this draft. People are gonna love Borland. Anyone that knows me knows im a huge fan of drafting players that offer special teams ability, Borland will be a stud for us at ST, and he is ready to step into that #3 LB role day one. Extremely high character, and just an all around great player to have in the locker room.

The one pick that was iffy for me was the RB pick, and it was not because i didnt like the player, it was simply because we are stacked at RB, HOWEVER, i can find no fault in drafting the RB who i had ranked #1 in the draft.

To top if off, we get a 4th next year and extra picks this year?

This draft has been lights out. A grade no doubt.

I don't think we are stacked at RB. Gore is older and slowing down, Lattimore is coming off a major injury, Hunter has regressed and his fumbles have weakened the coaches' confidence in him. James is not a between the tackles runner. Iron sharpens iron. Let the best back tote the rock.

Disagree on Hunter completely. My opinion.

His carries were down last year. He basically cost us the Carolina game. Didn't play significant time in the playoffs. I like Hunter and hope I'm wrong, but the Hyde pick had more to say about the team's confidence in Hunter than Gore's age or Lattimore's injury. Hunter is not an every down back.

Originally posted by midrdan:

Originally posted by NickSh49:

Originally posted by midrdan:

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:
Whats not to love?

Ward fills two needs with one player, and is extremely gifted. Will fit in well to our scheme on defense, and adds a dimension the secondary was missing.

A lot of people mocked me in my mocks for predicting we would draft two oline man in the first three rounds.

The didnt take the the players i predicted, but they did better IMO. Top C in the draft on a lot of peoples boards, and a top G who fell due to injury that we can redshirt. f**king brilliant.

Looks like a lot of us had Desir ranked higher than the scouts. Still would love to nab him in the 4th.

Im f**king stoked on this draft. People are gonna love Borland. Anyone that knows me knows im a huge fan of drafting players that offer special teams ability, Borland will be a stud for us at ST, and he is ready to step into that #3 LB role day one. Extremely high character, and just an all around great player to have in the locker room.

The one pick that was iffy for me was the RB pick, and it was not because i didnt like the player, it was simply because we are stacked at RB, HOWEVER, i can find no fault in drafting the RB who i had ranked #1 in the draft.

To top if off, we get a 4th next year and extra picks this year?

This draft has been lights out. A grade no doubt.

I don't think we are stacked at RB. Gore is older and slowing down, Lattimore is coming off a major injury, Hunter has regressed and his fumbles have weakened the coaches' confidence in him. James is not a between the tackles runner. Iron sharpens iron. Let the best back tote the rock.

Disagree on Hunter completely. My opinion.

His carries were down last year. He basically cost us the Carolina game. Didn't play significant time in the playoffs. I like Hunter and hope I'm wrong, but the Hyde pick had more to say about the team's confidence in Hunter than Gore's age or Lattimore's injury. Hunter is not an every down back.

I think losing both VD & Celek cost us the Carolina game.