Offensive Line draft priority???

Originally posted by tatdwolf49:
Yes please lets just ignore our D-line needs and draft O-linemen in every round I'm sure we can still have a great defence without Willis,Borland, maybe tha cowboy and a bunch of mediocre D-linemen....But hey at least we got Dockett only 34 and a busted knee but wait Dorsey and Williams can help IF they can stay off tha injury list ...Then we have Dial ooohhhh a big softie luv him ..... Tank has been tha only backup to show a few flashs of what he could do if given tha job ...I really cant see how u guys dont see our biggest need is at D-line we have ok to mediocre D-linemen that no other team will be scared of ... It starts on D-line having a good D-line makes our linebackers look good our linebackers look good makes our cornerbacks look good ...Our defense cant keep us in games if we dont draft good players ...

Agree with you so much. Our defense lost big time players and the remaining cast can't be looked at as great. From all our d linemen i only like a few. Tank, Dorsey, Dockett, Dial in that order. The rest are average players.

I agree with OP. Offensive Line is not a priority for 2015. To build a team you NEED to let players develop. Brandon Thomas did well against frickin Jadaveon Cloowney in college. He was drafted in round 3 as WAS Marcus martin. These two guys need reps as starters.

OT game day
Staley Davis, back up is Boone who can kick out in a pinch.

Center- Kilgore/Martin-

OG- Martin/Thomas/Kilgore/Looney

Unless the niners draft someone in round 1 or 2, there is no chance they are seeing the active roster on game day.

The Niners have so so many holes, DL, CB, WR are defiantely a priority over OL.

There is a ton of talent at OT passed the 1st two rounds. We have ONE spot open at LG and Thomas has a leg up being part of the team for this past year, he was a very good prospect in college as well. Drafting OL in the 1st seems counterproductive to me because either our 1st round pick or 3rd round pick (possibly both 3rd rounders last year) will be riding the pine.

I think Baalke has addressed a ton of the "holes" that everyone keeps talking about on draft picks the past two seasons and FA this off-season. He has the flexibility to move up or down in this draft, plus SF should be seeing some comp picks in 2016 as well.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
There is a ton of talent at OT passed the 1st two rounds. We have ONE spot open at LG and Thomas has a leg up being part of the team for this past year, he was a very good prospect in college as well. Drafting OL in the 1st seems counterproductive to me because either our 1st round pick or 3rd round pick (possibly both 3rd rounders last year) will be riding the pine.

I think Baalke has addressed a ton of the "holes" that everyone keeps talking about on draft picks the past two seasons and FA this off-season. He has the flexibility to move up or down in this draft, plus SF should be seeing some comp picks in 2016 as well.

Agree.

Thomas is going to be the starter and be a very good player.

Kilgore will return to Center and continue his level of play where he left off. AND to you guys who said last year that Martin was going to come in a be an upgrade over Kilgore - please get it - the guy is VERY good and getting better. Martin sucked last year at Center.

I'm looking for MMartin to be the swing Guard and Boone to start at Guard and be the swing Tackle.

I'm thinking Trent will look for a quality OLine player that slips into the 3rd or 4th.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Agree.

Thomas is going to be the starter and be a very good player.

Kilgore will return to Center and continue his level of play where he left off. AND to you guys who said last year that Martin was going to come in a be an upgrade over Kilgore - please get it - the guy is VERY good and getting better. Martin sucked last year at Center.

I'm looking for MMartin to be the swing Guard and Boone to start at Guard and be the swing Tackle.

I'm thinking Trent will look for a quality OLine player that slips into the 3rd or 4th.

I completely disagree that Martin sucked at guard last year. He lost some matchups, for sure. He was very consistent with technique and footwork for a rookie, and all of the coaches said he was sharp with line calls and stunt recognition. When I saw him lose at the point of attack, it was usually him getting beaten by strength. It is not rare for rookies to need significant strength gain at the NFL level, and I'm sure he's been working on that quite a bit. A complete offseason program would be a big help there as well. He's a big, smart guy with remarkable agility for his size. The most significant weak spot in his game is the easiest aspect of a OL to improve. If he has improved that, he can be a hell of a football player, and he could win a starting role, at either G or C.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Agree.

Thomas is going to be the starter and be a very good player.

Kilgore will return to Center and continue his level of play where he left off. AND to you guys who said last year that Martin was going to come in a be an upgrade over Kilgore - please get it - the guy is VERY good and getting better. Martin sucked last year at Center.

I'm looking for MMartin to be the swing Guard and Boone to start at Guard and be the swing Tackle.

I'm thinking Trent will look for a quality OLine player that slips into the 3rd or 4th.

I completely disagree that Martin sucked at guard last year. He lost some matchups, for sure. He was very consistent with technique and footwork for a rookie, and all of the coaches said he was sharp with line calls and stunt recognition. When I saw him lose at the point of attack, it was usually him getting beaten by strength. It is not rare for rookies to need significant strength gain at the NFL level, and I'm sure he's been working on that quite a bit. A complete offseason program would be a big help there as well. He's a big, smart guy with remarkable agility for his size. The most significant weak spot in his game is the easiest aspect of a OL to improve. If he has improved that, he can be a hell of a football player, and he could win a starting role, at either G or C.

Martin played guard last year?? I think the injury hurt his development in training camp and practices for sure. I've seen some video clips of his off-season work-outs and he his looking light on his feet and is ready for a starting spot on the line

Thomas and Martin both played LG at some point in college and I think either one could be a starter for us.

They're also versatile as well (Martin LG/C, Thomas OT/LG) I just don't see the need to draft OT in the 1st two rounds, the new draft pick won't be starting in my IMO.

But yeah I agree with just about everything you said.

Not going to lie, I'd be upset on draft day if we went OL at 15. I'd get over it pretty quick since I recognize how poor we played at that position overall last year, but I'd rather see us add to the secondary, DL, or WR spots on day one.

Originally posted by Overkill:
Not going to lie, I'd be upset on draft day if we went OL at 15. I'd get over it pretty quick since I recognize how poor we played at that position overall last year, but I'd rather see us add to the secondary, DL, or WR spots on day one.

Since this is clearly a rebuilding year (and so is next year, IMO) I'll be happy with whatever direction they go in so long as they don't reach. This team is in no position to compete for a playoff spot, much less make a Super Bowl run and the sooner we fans get used to that idea, the easier it will be to accept the draft strategy they're going to employ.

They could go CB, WR, DL, OL, whatever, they just can't reach for a guy thinking he's going to change the fortunes of the 2015 season. By the same token, we fans have to accept that whomever they draft, it has to be viewed through the lens of 2-3 years out, not just what the team needs most today.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Since this is clearly a rebuilding year (and so is next year, IMO) I'll be happy with whatever direction they go in so long as they don't reach. This team is in no position to compete for a playoff spot, much less make a Super Bowl run and the sooner we fans get used to that idea, the easier it will be to accept the draft strategy they're going to employ.

They could go CB, WR, DL, OL, whatever, they just can't reach for a guy thinking he's going to change the fortunes of the 2015 season. By the same token, we fans have to accept that whomever they draft, it has to be viewed through the lens of 2-3 years out, not just what the team needs most today.

Agreed, it's not about next year or today. That's not really any different than I looked at the draft the past few years (for slightly different reasons - deeper roster, less chance for a rookie to crack it, etc). I simply think our needs at spots like DL & DB are bigger than OL, even projecting out 2-3 years. I don't think we're in complete rebuild mode in the sense we need help everywhere and equally (though I do agree it's "equal" in the sense any single player taken at 15 is unlikely to be the reason we make or miss the playoffs next year).

You can't compete, let alone win a SB if the oline can just "hold their own".


Our oline needs to dominate..and to do that we need to draft the best one available. If not, our QB and WR's won't be able to play.

Right after oline, however, we desperately need a CB. 2 OL and one CB in the first three rounds please.

Originally posted by Overkill:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Since this is clearly a rebuilding year (and so is next year, IMO) I'll be happy with whatever direction they go in so long as they don't reach. This team is in no position to compete for a playoff spot, much less make a Super Bowl run and the sooner we fans get used to that idea, the easier it will be to accept the draft strategy they're going to employ.

They could go CB, WR, DL, OL, whatever, they just can't reach for a guy thinking he's going to change the fortunes of the 2015 season. By the same token, we fans have to accept that whomever they draft, it has to be viewed through the lens of 2-3 years out, not just what the team needs most today.

Agreed, it's not about next year or today. That's not really any different than I looked at the draft the past few years (for slightly different reasons - deeper roster, less chance for a rookie to crack it, etc). I simply think our needs at spots like DL & DB are bigger than OL, even projecting out 2-3 years. I don't think we're in complete rebuild mode in the sense we need help everywhere and equally (though I do agree it's "equal" in the sense any single player taken at 15 is unlikely to be the reason we make or miss the playoffs next year).

I tend to think we have the same issues at OL, CB, DL, WR, TE and ILB. We have young, talented, unproven and injury-prone players in line to make contributions along with veterans at various stages of their careers:

OL: Staley, Davis and Boone are proven but have dealt with injuries or (in Boone's case) their contract is up next year. Kilgore, Martin and Looney are talented but not proven over a full season and Thomas is an unknown in the regular season vying to take over for an all-pro guard.

CB: Brock is a playmaker when healthy, but he wasn't last year. Wright and Cook are veterans but haven't distinguished themselves. Johnson and Ward had moments last year but aren't fully proven over an entire season. Acker and Reaser are talented, but unknowns in the regular season.

DL: Dorsey, Dockett and Williams are vets dealing with injury issues, Dial, Tank and TJE have all shown flashes but haven't put it together completely and Smith may not return. Who knows what Ramsey or Okoye can be.

WR: Smith should be a huge add, but Boldin is nearing the end, Simpson didn't play last year and who knows what Ellington/Patton can really do.

TE: Davis is coming off a terrible year, but McDonald's was even worse. Celek, Carrier, Cleveland...???

ILB: Bowman is a question mark, Wilhoite is ok, Bishop is old, not sure what Bellore can do and Moody/Skov are huge unknowns.

So I see the same issues in all areas with one NOT being more of a trouble spot than any other. IMO, It's all pretty shaky, meaning they could go in so many directions with that first pick and it would be justified.

Originally posted by tondiman:
You can't compete, let alone win a SB if the oline can just "hold their own".


Our oline needs to dominate..and to do that we need to draft the best one available. If not, our QB and WR's won't be able to play.

So true.

Ghost, I see Kilgore, Staley and Davis as securing 3 of 5 OL spots. The potential needs being at guard. I won't waste time arguing the merits of guys like Looney, Martin, Thomas vs Acker, Wright, Reaser, etc. Suffice it to say all the ground has some give & take, but some still looks shakier to me. I can certainly understand your perspective, though. It's not like we're comparing certified probowlers to late round flyers.

Setting that aside, I'd rather see the priority placed on DE or DB than OG. Just as I'd put OT over NT, if those were the needs. Just a matter of opinion. And I don't see the draft unfolding in a way that forces us to go in any single direction - OL or otherwise.

Originally posted by Overkill:
Ghost, I see Kilgore, Staley and Davis as securing 3 of 5 OL spots. The potential needs being at guard. I won't waste time arguing the merits of guys like Looney, Martin, Thomas vs Acker, Wright, Reaser, etc. Suffice it to say all the ground has some give & take, but some still looks shakier to me. I can certainly understand your perspective, though. It's not like we're comparing certified probowlers to late round flyers.

Setting that aside, I'd rather see the priority placed on DE or DB than OG. Just as I'd put OT over NT, if those were the needs. Just a matter of opinion. And I don't see the draft unfolding in a way that forces us to go in any single direction - OL or otherwise.

Overall, I'd agree with everything you said. I'd have no problem drafting Eddie Goldman at #15, or possibly moving back a bit to get a young-but-promising DE like Arik Armstead. Danny Shelton would be a great pick to solidify the d-line if he was available at #15, but I'm not sure he will be. I think Malcolm Brown is more of a 3-technique, but I could be wrong. Jordan Phillips would be a reach at #15 IMO, but he'd be ideal for Mangini if he's looking for a true 3-4 NT.

If we went with Waynes or Peters at CB, I'd be happy as well. Both could plug in immediately and help with depth there. So many directions to go in, and not one would be bad IMO.