2nd) Carlos Hyde RB
3rd) Marcus Martin C
3rd) Chris Borland ILB
3rd) Brandon Thomas OT
4th) Bruce Ellington WR
4th) Dontae Johnson CB
5th) Aaron Lynch OLB/DE
5th) Keith Reaser CB
6th) Kenneth Acker CB
7th) Caled Ramsey DE
7th) Trey Milliard FB
UDFA's:
Kory Faulkner QB
Shayne Skov ILB
Morgan Breslin OLB
L.J. McCray S
Asante Cleveland TE
Dillon Farrell C
Fou Fonoti OT
My Analysis 5/17
1st) Jimmie Ward S/CB - C+ = I think it was a reach and that there were better players available. We could of traded up in the 2nd if we valued him that high. I think we had the ammo to trade up and get a stud like Beckham, Cooks, Dennard or Fuller. His level of competition is college was not great. He is small and if moved to safety down the round would push Reid to more of a SS. And Reid's concussion issues concern me when it comes to him playing down in the box like that.
2nd) Carlos Hyde RB - A = Love the pick. Gore is getting old and declining. He was a non-factor late in the year and especially in the playoffs. His contract is up this year as well. Hunter is not the answer long-term. Hes too small and is more of a change-of-pace back.. not to mention his contract expires this year too. I love Lattimore, but lets be honest, there are a lot of uncertainties about his knee and injury prone past. LMJ is talented, but I think he is mentally checked out. Hyde is a big bruiser that will grow into a stud in our Power Offense.
3rd) Marcus Martin C - A = Great value pick. I thought he was the top Center in the draft. I was impressed watching his reps at the combine. Kid is strong and has long arms. I see him being our Center of the future and a solid starter of our Offensive Line for years to come. And to get a guy like that in the 3rd round is a great deal. I was not too excited about Kilgore being our guy at Center but with the addition of Martin I see Kilgore playing backup at Center and Guard this year.
3rd) Chris Borland MLB - C = I'm not as excited as others about this pick. I'll start with the good. The kid looks like a gamer. Tough as nails. Old school hole plugger. This is what bothers me.. I get it, Bowman is going to miss the first 6 weeks of the year, maybe longer. But both Willis and Bowman are our MLB's for at least the next 3 years. Wilhoite filled in great when called upon last year. I can see him doing the same for Bowman to start the year. I understand Baalke wants competition for that spot, but taking a guy in the 3rd round for competition at MLB behind two all-pros doesnt go well with me. Hes small. He has stupid short arms. But guess what? He has special teams value.. but so does Moody who is the other MLB on our sqd. I also thought there were better players out there, at the time.
3rd) Brandon Thomas OG/OT - A- = I love the 'redshirt' system we have working for us in San Fran. Thomas is a mountain of a man that some were saying could sneak into the 1st round before he tore his ACL visiting the Saints a few months ago. Some say he could be the replacement for Iupati next season. Thomas's ACL tear is not a 100% guarantee that he will return the same as he was before, but there was still value.
4th) Bruce Ellington WR - A = Great pick. Tons of value and filled a huge need for us, as a guy who can take the top off of defenses and help in the return game. Leading up to the draft I saw mocks predicting him as a late 1st, early 2nd round guy. I saw him as the 3rd best Speed receiver behind Beckham and Cooks. Great pick by Baalke and company.
4th) Dontae Johnson CB - B = Big bodied.. with short arms and small hands. Aggressive when he needs to be. Average ball skills. Smart. Raw but filled a need.
5th) Aaron Lynch DE/OLB - C = Project. Tons of question marks. Character issues. Some upside if he can pull his head out. Reach.
5th) Keith Reaser CB - C- = Another redshirt coming off ACL injury. Small. Good tackler. Reach. I think he would of gone undrafted.
6th) Kenneth Acker CB - C = Decent size. Could develop into special teams player or Dime/Nickel back in the future. Seemes like Baalke was just shotgunning the CB position at this point hoping one sticks. I think he would of gone undrafted.
7th) Kaleb Ramsey DT - C = Great size. Big time injury concerns. Was never a solid/consistent contributor in college.
7th) Trey Milliard FB - A- = Another ACL tear redshirt, but this guy is a stud. He was one I was hoping we would grab because of his athleticism. With how often we involve the FB in the passing game he could develop into quite the weapon for us.
With that being said I give the draft a solid B. We are a team that are realistically 1-2 players away from winning the Super Bowl. With all the picks we had I would of liked to see us move up in the 1st and maybe again in the late 1st early 2nd. We are definitely going to cut some solid players this year cuz we just cant fit everyone. Players that could come back and bite us in the ass. But Landing Stevie Johnson is a huge PLUS. But he comes with baggage. I just hope he has the right mindset coming in the San Fran. He could be the future at WR for us.
[ Edited by JimHarbaugh on May 17, 2014 at 9:58 PM ]