Why the 2012 Draft was a big fail.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The first 2 picks they picked for SPEED which we did in fact need and still do need. But...... they went wrong IMO because they didn't pick "football players." Like 2014 is just football player after football player and they didn't worry much about combine workouts or speed. I think they were trying to push for speed in 2012 and forced the issue for quick and fast and combine workouts. Rather than big, physical, "football player" types who really make up this team. Those have been some of the more successful drafts we have had. Just picking "football players" if you will.

Yes we did and still do need speed. I would like to get it. But you can't lose site of who is a player and who has physicality or not. Who will be strong and physical at the next level. Those things are all more important. It's basically on the tape and in the production.

AJ Jenkins had some good highlights but if you watch him he was just good at going deep and in college his speed was overwhelming. Speed caught up to him in the pros. He is not very physical and struggled with contact and getting off the line. LaMichael was fast at a college program but the speed of the NFL caught up to him. Plus he is tiny by NFL standards and I don't think holds up to the physicality of the game real well.

Carlos Hyde is the opposite. Just a big bulldozer. We didn't worry much about his 40 time. But if you watch the games it's obvious he can play. We picked a "football player" there. Which I think is what you want to do 9 times out of 10 at least.

I agree as well SD, good post.

AJ couldn't get off the line, much less shuck Sherman.

Ellington is fast and built like a fireplug. Looking at him play PG at his height, a little like Timmy Hardaway.

Yeah, he's 5'10 but built. Dude can dunk like a monster on Youtube. He will be a beast in the slot.

Originally posted by Tigerlaw:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The first 2 picks they picked for SPEED which we did in fact need and still do need. But...... they went wrong IMO because they didn't pick "football players." Like 2014 is just football player after football player and they didn't worry much about combine workouts or speed. I think they were trying to push for speed in 2012 and forced the issue for quick and fast and combine workouts. Rather than big, physical, "football player" types who really make up this team. Those have been some of the more successful drafts we have had. Just picking "football players" if you will.

Yes we did and still do need speed. I would like to get it. But you can't lose site of who is a player and who has physicality or not. Who will be strong and physical at the next level. Those things are all more important. It's basically on the tape and in the production.

AJ Jenkins had some good highlights but if you watch him he was just good at going deep and in college his speed was overwhelming. Speed caught up to him in the pros. He is not very physical and struggled with contact and getting off the line. LaMichael was fast at a college program but the speed of the NFL caught up to him. Plus he is tiny by NFL standards and I don't think holds up to the physicality of the game real well.

Carlos Hyde is the opposite. Just a big bulldozer. We didn't worry much about his 40 time. But if you watch the games it's obvious he can play. We picked a "football player" there. Which I think is what you want to do 9 times out of 10 at least.

One of your best posts ever SD. Baalke went into uncharted territory with players he doesn't usually favor. I agree he was pushed to get speed/agility guys.

I think the entire organization learned valuable lessons from that draft.

Maybe that harsh lesson will pay dividends as we go forward into a hopeful dynasty period!

I think that is what happened. Hopefully we learned from it and things will be better now.

Originally posted by T-9ers:

We needed speed and it was apparent we needed another receiver. AJ and LMJ were two of the fastest guys in the draft with good character. Just didn't work out because those guys were both products of being in systems in college that benefitted their attributes and in the pros it's much different. I've seen 1000's of better college players fail in the NFL than LMJ and AJ. I think our idea was good, just not the picks.

I agree. Honestly, if you look back at the 2012 draft 1st rounders alone, not many of them are did much in 2012 and/or 2013, some are no longer with their teams. 50% of the teams missed with their 1st round picks, CLE has neither of their 1st rounders from 2012. most of the players that arnt named Luck, Kuechly or OL/DL arnt producing. Blackmon, Richardson(pending), Claiborne, Coples, Jenkins, D.Wilson are all in the bust talks. Doug Martin was playin like crap before his season ending injury last year. A lot of these guys cant stay healthy. We just ended up getting a bad player with most of the other teams that picked on day 1.

people tend to judge the draft based on how good our first pick pans out..

if lattimore turns out to be great, the draft woulda already been good. Remember that after 2011 we were already stacked and super talented.

2012 was year for depth and taking risks on injured player that could be stars. Aside form Jenkins, I don't think the draft was that bad.

Originally posted by tondiman:
people tend to judge the draft based on how good our first pick pans out..

if lattimore turns out to be great, the draft woulda already been good. Remember that after 2011 we were already stacked and super talented.

2012 was year for depth and taking risks on injured player that could be stars. Aside form Jenkins, I don't think the draft was that bad.

Are you talking about 2013? 2012 was really bad.

Any draft, where after 2 years it's possible NONE of the players taken will be on your roster ... that's a bad draft.

There were risks taken and thus far none have paid out.

Originally posted by tondiman:
people tend to judge the draft based on how good our first pick pans out..

if lattimore turns out to be great, the draft woulda already been good. Remember that after 2011 we were already stacked and super talented.

2012 was year for depth and taking risks on injured player that could be stars. Aside form Jenkins, I don't think the draft was that bad.

Drafts like 2012 are what cause GM's to lose their jobs. Baalke is lucky enough that McCloughn built the team for long term success and he is able to weather one bad draft.

AJ Jenkins was a horrible pick and Harbaalke should definitely take the blame on that. As far as LMJ, he was a good pick, but I put the blame on G-Ro for the bad start to LMJ young career. I'd hate to see him leave, but I'm pretty sure he would flourish on another team that is willing to properly utilize his skill set.

Lets call it what it was and is, a BAD draft. I feel the LMJ pick was heavily influenced by Harbaugh as he had been torched by James while coaching Stanford.
But if you look at all of the picks. I didnt like ANY of them. just horrible...Thankfully Baalke has been Excellet in the other drafts and in key free agency pickups...
Future looks bright for us...

All I remember from the 2012 draft is AJ Jenkins and LaMichael James, I don't think they drafted anyone else after those two.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

I think that is what happened. Hopefully we learned from it and things will be better now.

I agree and hope so too.

The 2012 draft was top heavy but overall not very deep. Yes, there were players that we could have drafted over Jenkins and James that would have been much better, but it's not like every pick in the late first and second round that year has turned into a quality contributor in the NFL. So, the 49ers whiffed on their picks. It happens.

Originally posted by bleedREDpissGOLD:
AJ Jenkins was a horrible pick and Harbaalke should definitely take the blame on that. As far as LMJ, he was a good pick, but I put the blame on G-Ro for the bad start to LMJ young career. I'd hate to see him leave, but I'm pretty sure he would flourish on another team that is willing to properly utilize his skill set.

As they should. Remember though that Baalke isn't the one doing all the advanced scouting of these players either. He will rely on his gut but primarily on the analysis of his scouting team. If you are a manager you are ultimately responsible, but that doesn't mean you don't heed the analysis and recommendations of your analysts (scouts).

1st pick: We needed a "field stretcher" (and maybe we still do), and A.J. had the skill set to be that kind of player. Is A.J. physical? No! But his long arms and "E.T. hands" are consistent with the HarBaalke's philosophy.
Hindsight picks: Alshon Jeffery, Jenoris Jenkins, Doug Martin

2nd pick: James was highly productive at Oregon and was projected to be a "change of pace" RB, which was also a need for us. It's hard to say what kind of pro LaMichael is because of his limited opportunities, but I think his best is yet to come, which isn't say too much. Taking a chance on a player with his college production is just fine and I remember being excited when we drafted him.
Hindsight picks: Reuben Randle, Dwayne Allen, T.Y. Hilton, Russell Wilson (LOL!)

3rd picks: Joe Looney (4th round) may never be a starter, especially with Brandon Thomas, Jonathan Martin and Marcus Martin in the fold.

The rest: Darius Flemming was alway hurt. I heard somewhere that he tore his ACL clearing out his locker (Joke), but he's a member of the Patriots, so he's obviously talented. Trenton Robinson is feisty but under-sized. Robinson is still in the NFL, currently playing for the Redskins, so we'll see how he does as a pro. Jason Slowey (Currently a B.C. Lion) didn't pan out, but he was a 6th round pick so no big deal. Cam Johnson was a 7th round pick, but is also still in the NFL, currently playing for the Colts. He played well when given opportunities in the pre-season.

It's the first two picks that tainted this draft class for most 49er fans. Still, most of our selections are still on NFL rosters and A.J. Jenkins might eventually be a starter for the Chiefs. HarBaalke missed out on some talented players, but our 2012 draft class isn't quite as bad as people think. There are still "wait-and-see" types like A.J. (Who we turned into Jonathan Baldwin, also a wait-and-see), James and Looney.

^^ Baldwin is more of a wait-and-see-you-out-the-door kinda guy.