Eastcoast's Mock Draft 1.0

Eastcoast49erfan Mock Draft 1.0:

Overview:
In my opinion, this team is still at least a couple years away from being a competitive team in the playoffs, so the focus was on bringing in young talent in free agency and drafting future contributors, not necessarily instant impact players for 2016. We have a lot of cap room and I expect we'll have to offer market rate or better to attract players to a rebuilding team. To avoid tying up valuable cap space 3-4 years down the road, the free agent deals are slightly front-loaded.

2016 Salary Cap:
Overthecap.com was used to come up with the cap room projections for free agency. Cap space is based upon the 51 largest contracts (by cap hit), so whenever a player is being cut, that means a cheaper player is now counting towards the cap ($525,000). When a player is signed, they are replacing the lowest cap hit.

The initial 2016 cap room based on a projected $162.6 million cap: $53.5 million

Cuts/trades:
Cut Pears ($2.1 million), Brooks ($6.4 million), Bethea ($3.5 million), Dorsey ($2.1 million)

Trade Kaepernick for a conditional pick in 2017 (3rd round if he puts up 4000 combined yards or 30 combined TD's, otherwise 5th round) – someone else may be willing to take a chance on him if we eat the remaining guaranteed money. I like the idea of trading for a conditional pick based on his performance next year so we have a chance of getting something back for hm. Trading Kaepernick gives us a ton of flexibility in 2017 and beyond and $8.5 million additional cap room in 2016.

New 2016 cap room after replacing them in the top 51: $74.1 million

Money set aside for draft picks:
Our top 5 draft picks are the only picks that count against the cap because they exceed $525,000. These contracts add up to $6.1 million in cap hits in 2016, so the cap room setting aside money needed to sign our draft picks is $68 million.

Free Agency signings (2016 cap hit in parenthesis – intentionally front-loaded deals)
Re-sign/Player returns from retirement:
Ian Williams ($5 million) - Has been one of our best players on defense and is only 26. Overthecap.com projects he'll get 3 years $9-12 million, but I think he'll get closer to 4 years $20 million.

Tony Jerod-Eddie ($1 million) - He's only 25, provides valuable depth, and shouldn't be expensive to retain. We'll need to rotate players on defense to keep them fresh now that Chip Kelly is at the helm. Extend him for 2 years $2 million.

Phil Dawson ($1.4 million) - Turned 41 today. He's still playing at a high level, but we need to start looking for a replacement. Luckily, kickers are easy to find in free agency or in the last rounds of the draft. Extend him for 1 year $1.4 million.

Anthony Davis comes back ($5.6 million) - Given the state of our offensive line, we should welcome Davis back with open arms. Trent Brown has been a pleasant surprise, but he's no Anthony Davis and it will be nice to have depth on the offensive line again. Davis may need some time to get back in game shape.

Let walk:
Anquan Boldin, Reggie Bush, Alex Boone, Garrett Celek, Shaun Draughns, Michael Wilhoite, Ray-Ray Armstrong, Jordan Devey

Cap room left to sign free agents: $57 million

New acquisitions:
Kelechi Osemele ($9 million) – OG – Osemele is only 26 and it's extremely unlikely that he'll be tagged because the franchise tag doesn't differentiate between offensive line positions. He's one of the best guards in the NFL and we have the cap room to offer him top dollar at the position. He gets 5 years $40 million (same as Iupati's deal last year).

Travis Benjamin ($8 million) – WR – Benjamin only turned 26 in December and had a coming out party in 2015. He would be deadly in Kelly's fast-paced offense. Alshon Jeffery would be incredible, but the Bears have about as much cap space as we do and can easily afford to tag him or sign him to a long term deal. Benjamin gets 5 years $38 million which is almost as much as Torrey Smith got to come here last year and also in line with Golden Tate and Pierre Garcon's contracts.

Coby Fleener ($7 million) – TE – Fleener is brought in to be our #1 TE after we let Celek leave in free agency. He's a better version of Zach Ertz who has had some success in Philadelphia. The Colts have Dwayne Allen and a number of good WR's so they don't need to re-sign Fleener. He signs a 4 year $25 million deal after a down season in 2014.

Malik Jackson ($11 million) – DE – One of the inevitable cap casualties for Denver, Jackson has developed into one of the better 3-4 DE's in the league. He's no Wilkerson, but he should come at a significantly cheaper cost and was one of the highest rated 3-4 DE's by PFF. He signs a 4 year $40 million deal in line with the 4 year $36.7 million deal his teammate Wolfe just signed with the Broncos.

Olivier Vernon ($12 million) – OLB – This is a bit of a stretch, because I think the Dolphins will do whatever it takes to re-sign him, but as of right now, the Dolphins have no cap room and Vernon will be expensive. He's only 25 and is one of the best pass rushers in the league. He shifts to OLB and becomes our best player on defense and revitalizes our pass rush behind an upgraded defensive line. Miami chooses not to franchise tag him which could cost $15 million this year and he signs with the 49ers for 5 years $55 million.

The new acquisitions replace the cheapest cap hits in the top 51, so the remaining cap room after the draft and free agency is ~$12 million.

All the cap hits for the free agents we signed in 2016 would go down in 2017 and the $8.5 million in savings for trading Kaepernick turns into $19.4 million in 2017 giving us room to extend/re-sign guys like Lynch, Reid, and Hyde. Gabbert, Miller, and Reid are the only noteworthy 49ers players hitting free agency in 2017, so there would be plenty of cap room to add some more pieces a year from now.

The Draft:
Draft position based on CBS's prospect rankings (shown in parenthesis). Goff is a little unrealistic, but there is a long time until the draft and I'm holding onto the dream. Myles Jack, Carson Wentz, or Paxton Lynch could also work with the rest of this mock.

Trade both early 5th round picks and a 6th round pick to move up to the early 4th round to select KeiVarae Russell (we have 12 picks including three 5th round picks and four 6th round picks, so we use 3 of them to move back into the 4th round and select a player who has fallen).

1. Jared Goff (4) - QB – I know this is a stretch, but I'm hoping that Wentz balls out at the Senior Bowl, the Titans take Tunsil at 1, the Browns take Bosa at 2, and the Cowboys take Wentz at 4. Goff's size may scare off some teams, but I think that would be a mistake. He's the most accurate QB in the class, has great feet, makes quick decisions, and has enough arm strength to make NFL throws. Wentz or Lynch could also be really good in Chip Kelly's offense if Goff is gone.



2. Germain Ifedi (39) – OG/OT – Ifedi played RG in 2013 and RT in 2014 and received a 2nd round grade from the draft committee. He stayed and started at LT to begin the season, but struggled there and the coaches moved him back to RT. Ifedi has very long arms and could be a mauler in the run game. He has good athleticism, but needs to work on his technique and hand placement. This guy has first round upside and could shift to LT eventually, but is better off at RG or RT for now which is what we need.



3. Kenny Lawler (72) – WR – Lawler is still pretty raw and didn't put up huge numbers in college, but he was Goff's #1 receiver, especially in the red zone, so they already have some chemistry. Lawler needs to gain some weight, but has good speed for his size and has long arms and massive hands (allegedly 11").



4. CJ Prosise (120) – RB – Prosise was converted from WR to RB and was impressive his first year at the new position at Notre Dame (he benefited from playing behind a very good offensive line though). He needs more time to develop as a runner and work on pass protection, but could be a great weapon for Chip Kelly's offense given his ability to run WR routes and catch the ball out of the backfield. He's a project, but he has good size and athleticism and looks like a natural at RB.



4. KeiVarae Russell (122) – CB – The 49ers trade their 5th round pick, the Chargers 5th round pick, and a 6th round pick to move up and grab Russell early in the 4th round. Russell falls due to character concerns and a broken leg late in 2015, but he is a terrific athlete with long arms who could develop into a very good cornerback in the NFL. He was viewed as one of the best corners in his class prior to missing 2014 due to academic issues. Could develop into a #1 corner, but it will take some time for him to recover after missing all of 2014 and part of 2015.



4 (comp). Matt Judon (146) – DE/OLB – Judon was one of the top players in Division II this year and finished the season with 20 sacks, which is ½ sack away from the Division II record. He has good size and athleticism for a 3-4 OLB and it looks like he has pretty good length, but it will take time to adjust to the jump in competition in the NFL. He would provide depth and competition as a pass rush specialist. He injured his ACL two years ago, but it doesn't seem to be affecting him anymore.



5 (comp). Willie Henry (195) – DT – Henry is a redshirt junior and it is a little puzzling why he decided to declare in a very strong DT class. He moves well for his size and was an important piece of Michigan's elite defense this year. Mel Kiper apparently loves this guy and thinks he could be a first round pick if he does well in workouts, but I included him because I was basing this mock on CBS draft rankings. There are so many good DT's in this draft that we can expect to find a solid rotational player as late as the 5th round even if Henry is taken earlier. D.J. Reader is another player CBS has projected to fall to the 6th round who could potentially be a good NT for us – he's even bigger at 325 and played baseball and fullback at Clemson, but could fall due to character concerns and poor technique.



6. Montese Overton (208) – ILB – Overton is undersized (6'2 221) and raw (one year starter), but was one of 15 for '15's top athletes in the country having been clocked in the low 4.3's in the 40 with a 36.5" vertical and 345 bench press. He only started for one season at East Carolina, but would be brought on as a developmental prospect and special teams player with the length and athleticism to become a solid coverage linebacker eventually.



6 (comp). Jalin Marshall (317) – WR/PR – Marshall is an explosive athlete who was overshadowed by some bigger names at Ohio State. He needs a lot of work on his route running, but could be used as a punt returner early on and Kelly may find creative ways to use him on offense.



6 (comp). Marshall Morgan (300) – K – Morgan has solid leg strength – he hit field goals of 55 and 56 yards in college and had 31 touchbacks in 2014. He set the SEC record with 20 consecutive made field goals between 2013 and 2014, but his accuracy dipped a bit in 2015 going 18/25. He is brought in to challenge Dawson for the starting job and eventually replace him. He's arguably the 2nd best kicker in the class behind Aguayo who could go in the 2nd or 3rd rounds.

2016 depth chart (new acquisitions in bold):
The team rebuilds its offensive line and now has a little more depth. We add some more speed at WR and add depth at the skill positions which will be needed in Chip Kelly's offense. Goff starts the season behind Gabbert on the depth chart, but may see the field towards the end of the season.

The focus on defense is upgrading the front 7, particularly the pass rush which is accomplished by adding Malik Jackson and Olivier Vernon. The weakness on defense is in coverage, but the improved pass rush should help out there and Ward is given a chance to start at SS and hopefully live up to his 1st round draft position. Russell is brought in to compete for the starting cornerback spot opposite Brock.

Offense:
QB: Gabbert, Goff, Thompson
RB: Hyde, Prosise, Harris, Hayne, Davis
FB: Miller
WR: Smith, Benjamin, Lawler, Patton, Simpson, Smelter, Marshall
TE: Fleener, McDonald, Bell
LT: Staley
LG: Osemele, Thomas
C: Kilgore, Martin
RG: Ifedi, Tiller
RT: Davis, Brown

Defense:
LDT: Armstead, TJE
NT: Williams, Henry, Purcell
RDT: Jackson, Dial
LOLB: Vernon, Judon, Lemonier
ILB: Hodges, Overton
ILB: Bowman, Skov
ROLB: Lynch, Harold
LCB: Brock, Johnson
RCB: Acker, Russell, Reaser
SS: Ward, Tartt
FS: Reid, McCray

Special Teams:
K: Dawson, Morgan
P: Pinion
KR: Ellington
PR: Marshall

Very thorough! I like it, but I think it's more likely Kaep stays and competes with Gabbert. Plus, isn't his contract guaranteed for injury? Who would be willing to take the risk?

Originally posted by birdie2bogey:
Very thorough! I like it, but I think it's more likely Kaep stays and competes with Gabbert. Plus, isn't his contract guaranteed for injury? Who would be willing to take the risk?

Only the 2016 salary becomes guaranteed. I've bounced back and forth on this, but I think we could get a team to take on the deal. His new team will owe him $13.4 million in 2016, but can cut him with no penalty after that, because the 49ers would owe him the remaining signing bonus. He could prove to be worth his remaining contract or his new team may be able to renegotiate his deal. It's not much of a risk if they owe a future 5th round pick and no money beyond 2016 if he doesn't work out.

It all depends on how Chip Kelly and Baalke view the QB situation. If Kaepernick is most likely going to be a backup, they'll do everything in their power to trade him if they can't cut him before April 1st.

I like this mock but I wouldn't draft Ifedi because we could use Tiller as the RG and I don't think that he'll ever be able to play LT so I would rather have a ILB or WR.

If the offseason went down like this, they should build Baalke a statue.

Better chance at hitting the powerball

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Better chance at hitting the powerball

This ^

it would take a miracle for things to go this way...love the write up and I be happy as hell but I don't see Osemele getting paid LT money to play OG and weren't you one telling me in Veron's thread that no way would he make it to FA?

Plus I just don't see Goff making it to 7.

Very good mock, would love for the to go down like this. But IMO I just think that the WR position is overloaded right now..still have Dres Anderson and Deandrew white waiting and both with speed and on top of that the team signed that WR from CFL. Simpson should be cut as well

Like the Benjamin signing
Overall pretty solid east... I wish posters would put as much effort as you did into there mocks because it clearly shows.
Nice job

Very well done. Minor disagreement with a few small things like re-signing TJE or being able to get all those free agents (4 of the 5 will do), but an awesome plan of attack.

Great presentation!

If the off-season went like this I'd be in heaven!

Any mock starting with a qb... don't like......

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

If the offseason went down like this, they should build Baalke a statue.

This