MadDog49er's FInal Draft Review and Niners' Draft Grade

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by Big_Daddy:
Woah this thread got derailed for a minute there... back on topic... Love the first 3 picks, which I can see you also did.

Maddog, with 12 picks, you see any surprise cuts this coming year?

Also, I think Hyde plays more than Gore. He's already a better runner right now, we'll have to see if he can pick up our protection assignments.

Hyde and Gore will share a lot of carries. Will be a solid combination. Hyde will have to show he can pass protect to get reps on third down. He has very good hands, but if you can't block, you can't play.

Surprise cuts? Look for salary cap cuts. Not sure Cook is going to pan out, and we'll see what the team thinks about Gabbert once he puts on a helmet. I think many fans look at Johnson from a few years ago. He is not the same player today, and I would not be shocked to see him lopped off if Ellington and Patton show up big in camp.

Bills suck, Johnson had a rib injury last year and his mom died.
Who would like playing in South Canada with s**tty QB's?
Dude grew up in SF and is coming home.

So the 9ers gonna pay him $3m+ then cut him to insure Buffalo only gets a 4th round pick

Brilliant!

Originally posted by SoCold:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by Big_Daddy:
Woah this thread got derailed for a minute there... back on topic... Love the first 3 picks, which I can see you also did.

Maddog, with 12 picks, you see any surprise cuts this coming year?

Also, I think Hyde plays more than Gore. He's already a better runner right now, we'll have to see if he can pick up our protection assignments.

Hyde and Gore will share a lot of carries. Will be a solid combination. Hyde will have to show he can pass protect to get reps on third down. He has very good hands, but if you can't block, you can't play.

Surprise cuts? Look for salary cap cuts. Not sure Cook is going to pan out, and we'll see what the team thinks about Gabbert once he puts on a helmet. I think many fans look at Johnson from a few years ago. He is not the same player today, and I would not be shocked to see him lopped off if Ellington and Patton show up big in camp.

Bills suck, Johnson had a rib injury last year and his mom died.
Who would like playing in South Canada with s**tty QB's?
Dude grew up in SF and is coming home.

So the 9ers gonna pay him $3m+ then cut him to insure Buffalo only gets a 4th round pick

Brilliant!

Johnson is only 27 years old and has alot in the tank. Players get tired of a losing culture and they definitely have a losing culture in Buffalo just ask Donte Whitner. Johnson will be recharged with the 49ers. Whitner and Carlos Rogers often talked about losing game after game with the Redskins and Bills and how frustrating it became. Rogers even talked about taking less money in free agency to stay on a winning team. I even think Whitner would've taken less had his hometown Browns not offered a really good deal. Also Johnson was the #1 receiver on the Bills who had little else on the roster in terms of a #2 receiver or much of a QB. How Johnson had 3 straight 1000 yard seasons with very little else in the receiving core and QB's like Losman and Fitzpatrick is beyond me. He'll look very good as the #3 behind Crabtree and Boldin.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
A terrific year has wrapped, as the Niners unwrapped their new toys for 2014. Before going through my Niners' review, a few thoughts:

* Although Bortles was my number one QB entering the draft (Garappolo second and Bridgewater third), selecting him at 3 was ridiculous. Two of the greatest deficiencies with the Jags were pass rush and production at WR. How they could pass on Mack and Watkins is stunning.

* Nobody should be celebrating the Browns draft. As stated before the draft, the Browns will figure a way to screw up the draft. A;ready knowing that Gordon was going to be suspended probably for a year, they bypass Watkins by trading him for a future first and selecting Gilbert at 9. They compound the problem by selecting Manziel, a warm weather QB in Cleveland. Memo to Cleveland: Don't overthink the draft. Just select the best player and move on.

Finally, and most controversially, the Rams selection of Michael Sam reeks of a PR stunt. While I salute Sam coming forward, and hope he finds success in life...I cannot believe I am about to say what I am about to say...here was a guy who was drafted because he was gay. Breaking the barrier in any sports league should be legit, and I feel that the NFL knew there would be a significant blowback if he was not selected...hence making some wink-wink deal with a team to make the pick. An orchestrated breaking of the barrier only does damage to the cause in the end. Michael Sam jumped a vertical of 25 inches at the combine. That is the level of am morbidly overweight, out of shape RT. That number would be dead last amongst the QBs at the combine. His shuttle time was dead last amongst DEs, and by a substantial margin. He was second to last in the bench press. Taking the combo stats of speed, strength, explosiveness into account, and the struggle of the Senior Bowl week, he should not have been drafted.

OK, let's get the Niners' grade: A-

A really solid set of picks by the team. Let me break down each one
1- Ward. Was the top guy on my board. Will be a slot CB immediately. Can cover anything. Dominated Senior Bowl week. I am guessing a move to SS in year two or three. Just a great football player. Instant impact. GRADE: A+
2- Carlos Hyde- Was the top guy on my board. Great value pick with a player I felt was top 10-15 overall in the draft. Of course, the position drops the value down a bit, since the league has really become a pass-first league. Sneaky fast, smooth through holes, tough and durable, great hands. Has all the tools to be great in the NFL. Graded him similarly to Lacy. GRADE: A+
3- M. Martin- Three in a row for top guy on my board....that will never happen again in a million years....was Baalke reading off my sheet? Great athlete, smooth and savvy, and has the ability play center or guard. Future starter. Much better than C. Rachal coming out of college. GRADE: A+
4- Borland- Not the top guy on my board, but not far off it. I believe I had him sixth best at this point. Great college player, Aced the Senior Bowl, terrific instincts, tough as nails. T-Rex arms and limited ability to be a terrific three down backer a slight concern. Can step in and compete to replace Bowman from Day One. Here is the downgrade: when Bowman does return, Borland is not going to hit the field on defense...ever. To me, there were other players that can be long-range starters for the team. My pick was Phillip Gaines of Rice, who I believe will be a solid starting CB in the NFL. We need a starting caliber outside the hashes CB for down the road. This was the area we had to make this move. GRADE: B
5-Thomas. Love Thomas, and love the pick. Near the top of my board, I believe third. Legit starting abilities. Here is the next LG if Iupati leaves after this season. Smooth, smart, good athlete, can play four positions across the line, made Clowney look ordinary in one on one matchup. My pick in this spot was Martavis Bryant. GRADE: A+
6- Ellington- Really talented college WR who add special teams skills. Quick rather than fast, smart instinctual player. Had him fifth on my board at the time. A very good value pick in this spot. My pick- NT D. Jones of Penn State. GRADE: A
7- Dontae Johnson- Loved the pick. Johnson was nearly at the top of my board...I believe third at the time. Legit nickel/dime corner with excellent height and length. Good athlete, productive. No issue with the pick. My selection at 129: Aaron Murray. GRADE: A
8- Aaron Lynch- Suddenly the dark clouds appear. Worst pick of the day in value for the team. At 150, still a bunch of guys who are going to help the team. Lynch is a formerly great, self-indulged, spoiled, bad attitude, me-first train wreck of a person. Now onto his good characteristics...haha. If he makes the 53 man roster, it will be one of the greatest shocks. Do we really want to add this kid onto a list of guys with character questions on our team? No confidence in him. My pick at 150- Jackson Jeffcoat...who went undrafted, surprisingly, but will contribute more to the NFL than Lynch. GRADE: F-
9- Reaser- Kind of a head scratcher to me at this point. Thought Acker was the superior of the two. A pretty smooth athlete, but doesn't seem to have the competitive fire I believe a Dsy Three selectee needs. Will be a PUP guy, so a roster stash. Top guy on my board by far was Jordan Tripp, who has no business being selected this late. GRADE: C
10- Acker- A good value pick. Good, not great athlete, but excellent instincts. I thought played well against good competition this year. Down the board quite a bit for me, and after the selection of Reaser, seems a bit redundant. Seems to me the team had both graded the same, and thinks one of the two will make it, but hedging their bets by selecting both. My pick was safety Craig Loston of LSU, who went undrafted, but I feel will make a roster. GRADE: B
11- Ramsey- Guys with experience along the line, but not a full-time starter. Honestly, nothing to be excited about. Not that athletic, not tall, Would be shocked if he made the roster. Much better player, DE DeAndre Coleman still on the board, who was my pick at 243. GRADE: D
12- Trey Millard- Loved the pick. Had him graded as the number one FB in the draft. Has all the tools- speed, strength, toughness, hands. Would have gone substantially earlier without the injury. A lot to like here. No complaint. My pick: OT James Hurst of North Carolina. GRADE: A

In the end, I get the Niners' strategy with an already deep roster...stash these players on the PUP or Injured Reserve for 2014 and let them compete in 2015. Sometimes this strategy works, sometimes not.

Some people may want to add traded picks for players as part of the draft grade (S. Johnson), or future picks gained through trades. I don't evaluate that way, but only on the picks themselves in their respected slot.

Review of my draft:
1- Ward
2- Hyde
3- Martin
4- Gaines
5- Bryant
6- Jones
7- Murray
8- Jeffcoat
9- Tripp
10- Loston
11- Coleman
12- Hurst

Overall, stellar work by Baalke and Company. Now, if there is a way to go back to 2011 and pick up that 99 kid from the University of Wisconsin.....

Thanks to all for a great year.

In the end, I believe the Niners, if they stay at number 30, will select from this list of players: Cody Latimer, Jason Verrett, Joel Bitonio, Allen Robinson, Jordan Matthews, Read more at http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/178334-maddog49er-best-player-available-top-board-tuesday-may/#lza13TSIlMbOZrOo.99

These dudes were still available when the 9ers drafted

Did you call Baalke and tell him that Ward was the top guy on your board so they didn't make a huge mistake?

I think we all should thank you.

Originally posted by Wodwo:
You just never learn.

I remember having this argument with you before the 2011 draft. You were saying the same type of stuff about Cam Newton. He seems to be doing just fine.

http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/147861-what-yall-think-cam-newton/page33/

Digging in the archives. Well-done. Question: Would you take Cam with a top 10 pick in that year's re-draft? Not in that draft class.

He has had a pretty successful career so far. Rookie year- terrific. Sophomore year- Pretty much a mess. Third year- Better.

The point I made is that he did not have good character. He knew, and everybody knows, that he got away with a certain NCAA violation by selling his services to the highest bidder after being at the JUCO level. Some guys with bad character can play well at the next level; they can overcome it. I made that statement in the post. However, most struggle in the transition. Playing at a high level in the NFL takes a lot of work, discipline, determination. Most of the bad characters get filtered out because at the pro level they are going to find equally talented people....who will outwork them. Who will not party all night, but get proper rest. There are always exceptions, but the norm is the norm.

If Lynch was so exceptional, he wouldn't have been at the back end of the draft. He wasn't Cam Newton out of college, who won the Heisman and a national championship. He was a guy who was at his best more than two years ago, a player who has regressed instead of progressed.

I remain skeptical. I am guessing if the Seahawks selected Lynch, most of those who believe he can turn this around would be skeptical like me.

Originally posted by SoCold:
I wish I lived in my moms basement sat around all day eating bonbons while copying and pasting info from Al Gore's data base.

Me, too.

Originally posted by ninertico:
MadDog,

Thanks for being such a large part of the Zone's drafting experience. Love ya or hate ya, no one can deny the impact you have had on this board. Most if not all wait for this time every year and with such anticipation of your rankings and opinions. You make this board better and the wealth of knowledge share as a result of discussions, sometimes arguments, about players increases the rolodex of info especially for the late round prospects.

Great job and thanks for being a part of it.

Thanks, appreciate your contributions as well.

Originally posted by SoCold:

In the end, I believe the Niners, if they stay at number 30, will select from this list of players: Cody Latimer, Jason Verrett, Joel Bitonio, Allen Robinson, Jordan Matthews, Read more at http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/178334-maddog49er-best-player-available-top-board-tuesday-may/#lza13TSIlMbOZrOo.99

These dudes were still available when the 9ers drafted

Did you call Baalke and tell him that Ward was the top guy on your board so they didn't make a huge mistake?

I think we all should thank you.

I posted this about 48 hours before the draft, and thought this would be the short list. On my final best board, I have Ward as the best player on my board when the team was on the clock (please feel free to review the draft day thread), and Baalke thought the same. The best player available board is different from the Big board, which is a projection of where I believe the players would be selected.

I didn't call Baalke, but maybe he was following me on the board when the team was on the clock?

Tweet about Aaron Lynch gets USF assistant suspended

USF strength and conditioning coach Hans Straub has been suspended for a tweet he made disparaging the San Francisco 49ers after they drafted a Bulls player.

247sports.com reported that after the 49ers selected USF defensive end Aaron Lynch in the fifth round Saturday, Straub tweeted,

"Thought an organization with 5 Super Bowl titles would have a stricter draft criteria. Clearly, integrity & character are not a priority."

That led to what 247sports.com is calling "an indefinite suspension."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000349933/article/report-tweet-about-aaron-lynch-gets-usf-assistant-suspended

just fanning the flames or how social media could be seen as opportunity for stupid to come knocking.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by SoCold:

In the end, I believe the Niners, if they stay at number 30, will select from this list of players: Cody Latimer, Jason Verrett, Joel Bitonio, Allen Robinson, Jordan Matthews, Read more at http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/178334-maddog49er-best-player-available-top-board-tuesday-may/#lza13TSIlMbOZrOo.99

These dudes were still available when the 9ers drafted

Did you call Baalke and tell him that Ward was the top guy on your board so they didn't make a huge mistake?

I think we all should thank you.

I posted this about 48 hours before the draft, and thought this would be the short list. On my final best board, I have Ward as the best player on my board when the team was on the clock (please feel free to review the draft day thread), and Baalke thought the same. The best player available board is different from the Big board, which is a projection of where I believe the players would be selected.

I didn't call Baalke, but maybe he was following me on the board when the team was on the clock?

yeah, I'm sure he was

Originally posted by SoCold:
yeah, I'm sure he was

Was a bit strange that the top guy on my board in the first three picks were the ones that Baalke selected. Will never happen in a million years again. Should have bought a lottery ticket right away.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

You just never learn.

I remember having this argument with you before the 2011 draft. You were saying the same type of stuff about Cam Newton. He seems to be doing just fine.

http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/147861-what-yall-think-cam-newton/page33/

Digging in the archives. Well-done. Question: Would you take Cam with a top 10 pick in that year's re-draft? Not in that draft class.

He has had a pretty successful career so far. Rookie year- terrific. Sophomore year- Pretty much a mess. Third year- Better.

The point I made is that he did not have good character. He knew, and everybody knows, that he got away with a certain NCAA violation by selling his services to the highest bidder after being at the JUCO level. Some guys with bad character can play well at the next level; they can overcome it. I made that statement in the post. However, most struggle in the transition. Playing at a high level in the NFL takes a lot of work, discipline, determination. Most of the bad characters get filtered out because at the pro level they are going to find equally talented people....who will outwork them. Who will not party all night, but get proper rest. There are always exceptions, but the norm is the norm.

If Lynch was so exceptional, he wouldn't have been at the back end of the draft. He wasn't Cam Newton out of college, who won the Heisman and a national championship. He was a guy who was at his best more than two years ago, a player who has regressed instead of progressed.

I remain skeptical. I am guessing if the Seahawks selected Lynch, most of those who believe he can turn this around would be skeptical like me.

I, too, am skeptical. Lynch has a lot to prove before I would trust him even as a backup. He's gonna have to beat out Skuta and/or Lemonier to make the 53 man roster this year, and that will take a great deal of work on the field, in the classroom, and for him in the locker room and off the field. Think of how long it took Boone to prove his worth.

However, given Lynch's potential, I think he was worth the risk of a 5th round pick. So I think Baalke and Harbaugh were justified in taking a risk on the guy.

Originally posted by buck:
Tweet about Aaron Lynch gets USF assistant suspended

USF strength and conditioning coach Hans Straub has been suspended for a tweet he made disparaging the San Francisco 49ers after they drafted a Bulls player.

247sports.com reported that after the 49ers selected USF defensive end Aaron Lynch in the fifth round Saturday, Straub tweeted,

"Thought an organization with 5 Super Bowl titles would have a stricter draft criteria. Clearly, integrity & character are not a priority."

That led to what 247sports.com is calling "an indefinite suspension."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000349933/article/report-tweet-about-aaron-lynch-gets-usf-assistant-suspended

just fanning the flames or how social media could be seen as opportunity for stupid to come knocking.

Got to be careful these days when you hit SEND. However, another example of another bridge burnt by Lynch in the past. Keep this dude away from Culliver, Cook, and Aldon.

Originally posted by oldninerdude:
I, too, am skeptical. Lynch has a lot to prove before I would trust him even as a backup. He's gonna have to beat out Skuta and/or Lemonier to make the 53 man roster this year, and that will take a great deal of work on the field, in the classroom, and for him in the locker room and off the field. Think of how long it took Boone to prove his worth.

However, given Lynch's potential, I think he was worth the risk of a 5th round pick. So I think Baalke and Harbaugh were justified in taking a risk on the guy.

We will soon see. One way or another, this guy has generated a lot of energy on the board. Maybe too much in the grand scheme of things, as the other guys drafted above him should have a markedly greater impact on the team.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

We will soon see. One way or another, this guy has generated a lot of energy on the board. Maybe too much in the grand scheme of things, as the other guys drafted above him should have a markedly greater impact on the team.

Not sure how soon we'll see. No way he's anything but a practice squad guy this year, like Boone was his first year. He'll have plenty of opportunities to screw up if, in fact, he's as bad a character as the USF assistant coach apparently believes.

BTW, were there media reports about his problems at ND and the reasons he transferred? What did they say? No criminal cases against him, but "football related" problems. Do you know what they were? Stealing from his teammates, or just being an arrogant jerk?