Comparing 49ers draft classes to other NFL draft classes 2005-2008

So there are a lot of people who refer to our GM as Scot McClueless or Scot McClown. They are unhappy with our draft classes and seem to think he is or has been an utter failure and should be fired. So I though I'd compare recent classes where he has been GM or Vice President of Player Personnel and compare it to those some other respected GM's like Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, Packers GM Ted Thompson and Eagles VP of Player Personnel (and then GM) Tom Heckert.

Please share your opinions and analysis on these comparisons on how well we have fared vs how well these teams classes have fared in that same time frame. Is Scot really doing poorly when stacked up vs these GM's, is he on par or has he done a better job ? (FWIW I know Nolan had a say in some of our earlier classes however some here attribute them to Scot).


49ers

2005 :

1 1 Alex Smith   QB Utah
2 33 David Baas  G Michigan
3 65 Frank Gore  RB Miami (Fla.)
3 94 Adam Snyder  T Oregon
5 137 Ronald Fields  DT Mississippi State
5 174 Rasheed Marshall WR West Virginia
6 205 Derrick Johnson CB Washington
7 215 Daven Holly  DB Cincinnati
7 223 Marcus Maxwell  WR Oregon
7 248 Patrick Estes  T Virginia
7 249 Billy Bajema  TE Oklahoma State

2006 :

1 6 Vernon Davis   TE Maryland
1 22 Manny Lawson  OLB North Carolina State
3 84 Brandon Williams WR Wisconsin
4 100 Michael Robinson RB Penn State
5 140 Parys Haralson  DE Tennessee
6 175 Delanie Walker  TE Central Missouri State
6 192 Marcus Hudson  DB North Carolina State
6 197 Melvin Oliver  DE Louisiana State
7 254 Vickiel Vaughn  DB Arkansas

2007 :

1 11 Patrick Willis  ILB Mississippi
1 28 Joe Staley  OT Central Michigan
3 76 Jason Hill  WR Washington State
3 97 Ray McDonald  DE Florida
4 104 Jay Moore  LB Nebraska
4 126 Dashon Goldson  S Washington
4 135 Joe Cohen  DT Florida
5 147 Tarell Brown  CB Texas
6 186 Thomas Clayton RB Kansas State

2008 :

1 29 Kentwan Balmer  DE North Carolina
2 39 Chilo Rachal  G USC
3 75 Reggie Smith  DB Oklahoma
4 107 Cody Wallace  C Texas A&M
6 174 Josh Morgan  WR Virginia Tech
7 214 Larry Grant  OLB Ohio State

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore Ravens 2005 :

1 22 Mark Clayton   WR Oklahoma
2 53 Dan Cody   LB     Oklahoma
2 64 Adam Terry  T Syracuse
4 124 Jason Brown  C North Carolina
5 158 Justin Green  RB Montana
6 213 Derek Anderson QB Oregon State
7 234 Mike Smith  LB Texas Tech

2006 :

1 12 Haloti Ngata   DT Oregon
2 56 Chris Chester  C Oklahoma
3 87 David Pittman  DB Northwestern State-Louisiana
4 111 Demetrius Williams WR   Oregon
4 132 P.J. Daniels  RB Georgia Tech
5 146 Dawan Landry  SS Georgia Tech
5 166 Quinn Sypniewski TE Colorado
6 203 Sam Koch  P Nebraska
6 208 Derrick Martin  CB Wyoming
7 219 Ryan LaCasse  LB Syracuse

2007 :

1 29 Ben Grubbs   G Auburn
3 74 Yamon Figurs  WR Kansas State
3 86 Marshal Yanda  T Iowa
4 134 Antwan Barnes  LB Florida International
4 137 Le'Ron McClain  FB Alabama
5 174 Troy Smith  QB Ohio State
6 207 Prescott Burgess LB Michigan

2008 :

1 18 Joe Flacco   QB Delaware
2 55 Ray Rice  RB Rutgers
3 71 Tavares Gooden  OLB Miami (Fla.)
3 86 Tom Zbikowski  FS Notre Dame
3 99 Oniel Cousins  T Texas-El Paso
4 106 Marcus Smith  WR New Mexico
4 133 David Hale  G Weber State
6 206 Haruki Nakamura FS Cincinnati
7 215 Justin Harper  WR Virginia Tech
7 240 Allen Patrick  RB Oklahoma

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Green Bay Packers 2005 :

1 24 Aaron Rodgers   QB California
2 51 Nick Collins  FS Bethune-Cookman
2 58 Terrence Murphy WR Texas A&M
4 115 Marviel Underwood DB San Diego State
4 125 Brady Poppinga  LB Brigham Young
5 143 Junius Coston  C North Carolina A&T
5 167 Mike Hawkins  DB Oklahoma
6 180 Mike Montgomery DT Texas A&M
6 195 Craig Bragg  WR UCLA
7 245 Kurt Campbell  CB Albany State (NY)
7 246 Will Whitticker G Michigan State

2006 :

1 5 A.J. Hawk   OLB Ohio State
2 47 Daryn Colledge  G Boise State
2 52 Greg Jennings  WR Western Michigan
3 67 Abdul Hodge  LB Iowa
3 75 Jason Spitz  G Louisville
4 104 Cory Rodgers  WR Texas Christian
4 115 Will Blackmon  CB Boston College
5 148 Ingle Martin  QB Furman
5 165 Tony Moll  G Nevada-Reno
6 183 Johnny Jolly  DT Texas A&M
6 185 Tyrone Culver  DB Fresno State
7 253 Dave Tollefson  DE Northwest Missouri State

2007 :

1 16 Justin Harrell  DT Tennessee
2 63 Brandon Jackson RB Nebraska
3 78 James Jones  WR San Jose State
3 89 Aaron Rouse  SAF Virginia Tech
4 119 Allen Barbre  G Missouri Southern State
5 157 David Clowney  WR Virginia Tech
6 191 Korey Hall  FB Boise State
6 192 Desmond Bishop  LB California
6 193 Mason Crosby  K Colorado
7 228 DeShawn Wynn  RB Florida
7 243 Clark Harris  TE Rutgers

2008 :

2 36 Jordy Nelson   WR Kansas State
2 56 Brian Brohm  QB Louisville
2 60 Pat Lee  CB Auburn
3 91 Jermichael Finley TE Texas
4 102 Jeremy Thompson DE Wake Forest
4 135 Josh Sitton  G Central Florida
5 150 Breno Giacomini T Louisville
7 209 Matt Flynn  QB Louisiana State
7 217 Brett Swain  WR San Diego State

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philadelphia Eagles 2005 :

1 31 Mike Patterson  DT USC
2 35 Reggie Brown  WR Georgia
2 63 Matt McCoy  LB San Diego State
3 77 Ryan Moats  RB Louisiana Tech
4 102 Sean Considine  DB Iowa
4 126 Todd Herremans  T Saginaw Valley State
5 146 Trent Cole  DE Cincinnati
5 172 Scott Young  G Brigham Young
6 211 Calvin Armstrong T Washington State
7 247 Keyonta Marshall DT Grand Valley State
7 252 David Bergeron  LB Stanford

2006 :

1 14 Brodrick Bunkley  DT Florida State
2 39 Winston Justice T USC
3 71 Chris Gocong  LB Cal Poly-S.L.O.
4 99 Max Jean-Gilles G Georgia
4 109 Jason Avant  WR Michigan
5 147 Jeremy Bloom  WR Colorado
5 168 Omar Gaither  LB Tennessee
6 204 LaJuan Ramsey  DT USC

2007 :

2 36 Kevin Kolb   QB Houston
2 57 Victor Abiamiri DE Notre Dame
3 87 Stewart Bradley LB Nebraska
3 90 Tony Hunt  RB Penn State
5 159 C.J. Gaddis  SAF Clemson
5 162 Brent Celek  TE Cincinnati
6 201 Rashad Barksdale CB Albany State (NY)
7 236 Nate Ilaoa  FB Hawaii

2008 :

2 47 Trevor Laws   DT Notre Dame
2 49 DeSean Jackson  WR California
3 80 Bryan Smith  DE McNeese State
4 109 Mike McGlynn  G Pittsburgh
4 117 Quintin Demps  FS Texas-El Paso
4 131 Jack Ikegwuonu  CB Wisconsin
6 184 Mike Gibson  G California
6 200 Joe Mays  LB North Dakota State
6 203 Andy Studebaker LB Wheaton
7 230 King Dunlap  T Auburn

looking back now the 2007 draft was pretty awesome.

What made you pick the teams you did? Ravens and Eagles are usually picking much later than the Niners thus there talent shouldn't be on par with 1st round picks. Biggest thing i notice that 05 they had 11 picks and the only sure fire winner out of the bunch is Gore. 06 got the team some quality starting talent, and talent at depth. It would have been a A+ draft if Brandon Marshall was selected instead of that bum Brandon Williams. Those type of bonehead draft moves can't happen again. 07 was by far his best draft really no complaints. Getting value from Goldson and Brown was a major bonus to that class. 08 so far looks like a complete waste except for Morgan. You just can't miss on a complete draft class. All in all he's average to below average. Looking at all these teams let's you know that you can find good to great talent in later rounds. Many of the best players out of all these teams combined are later than 2nd round picks.

awesome post

Nobody knows the draft better than all of us armchair GMs. I mean only an idiot would pass on DeSean Jackson, even though Philly passed on him twice I believe. Only a complete nimrod would pass on Brandon Marshall 4 times. Every armchair GM knew Brandon Marshall was going to be a stud.

Every team has bad drafts. 2008 doesn't look good but its still early too. Plus we picked towards the end of round one too.

Where's 2009?

Originally posted by 49erWill:

Originally posted by valrod33:
awesome post

this

that

Originally posted by lamontb:
What made you pick the teams you did? Ravens and Eagles are usually picking much later than the Niners thus there talent shouldn't be on par with 1st round picks. Biggest thing i notice that 05 they had 11 picks and the only sure fire winner out of the bunch is Gore. 06 got the team some quality starting talent, and talent at depth. It would have been a A+ draft if Brandon Marshall was selected instead of that bum Brandon Williams. Those type of bonehead draft moves can't happen again. 07 was by far his best draft really no complaints. Getting value from Goldson and Brown was a major bonus to that class. 08 so far looks like a complete waste except for Morgan. You just can't miss on a complete draft class. All in all he's average to below average. Looking at all these teams let's you know that you can find good to great talent in later rounds. Many of the best players out of all these teams combined are later than 2nd round picks.

Respected GM's is the reason for picking these teams. While these teams have all made the playoffs during these years they all also had seasons where they drafted inside the top 15.

Re: Marshall, after Williams was selected 6 WR's went before Marshall (Maurice Stovall, Willie Reid, Brad Smith, Cory Rodgers, Jason Avant and Demetrius Williams). So a lot of teams made that same bonehead move in hindsight, Marshall went 33 picks later.

I think this shows however that Scot has not done as piss poor a job as some make it our to be. I think when it comes down to it, a lot look back at what we could have had after some of these guys make an impact and think of what could have been or become upset because the 49ers selected a player they knew little about coming out as opposed to a player they wanted. Prime example is Desean Jackson, but fact is 32 NFL teams didn't select him in the 1st round and the Eagles did not even make him their 1st selection in that draft. Even professionals make mistakes or undervalue some players coming out of college.

Originally posted by NinerPrideinNJ:
Where's 2009?

Seeing as there is really only 1 season to go on for that it was left out. Hard to truly judge a player based off his rookie year considering that is when the biggest adjustment for a player takes place.

Originally posted by NinerPrideinNJ:
Where's 2009?

A little early to evaluate the 2009 draft?

07 is really a good class. But other than that I don't think Scot M. has much to write home about.

Originally posted by KRS-1:

Originally posted by lamontb:
What made you pick the teams you did? Ravens and Eagles are usually picking much later than the Niners thus there talent shouldn't be on par with 1st round picks. Biggest thing i notice that 05 they had 11 picks and the only sure fire winner out of the bunch is Gore. 06 got the team some quality starting talent, and talent at depth. It would have been a A+ draft if Brandon Marshall was selected instead of that bum Brandon Williams. Those type of bonehead draft moves can't happen again. 07 was by far his best draft really no complaints. Getting value from Goldson and Brown was a major bonus to that class. 08 so far looks like a complete waste except for Morgan. You just can't miss on a complete draft class. All in all he's average to below average. Looking at all these teams let's you know that you can find good to great talent in later rounds. Many of the best players out of all these teams combined are later than 2nd round picks.

Respected GM's is the reason for picking these teams. While these teams have all made the playoffs during these years they all also had seasons where they drafted inside the top 15.

Re: Marshall, after Williams was selected 6 WR's went before Marshall (Maurice Stovall, Willie Reid, Brad Smith, Cory Rodgers, Jason Avant and Demetrius Williams). So a lot of teams made that same bonehead move in hindsight, Marshall went 33 picks later.

I think this shows however that Scot has not done as piss poor a job as some make it our to be. I think when it comes down to it, a lot look back at what we could have had after some of these guys make an impact and think of what could have been or become upset because the 49ers selected a player they knew little about coming out as opposed to a player they wanted. Prime example is Desean Jackson, but fact is 32 NFL teams didn't select him in the 1st round and the Eagles did not even make him their 1st selection in that draft. Even professionals make mistakes or undervalue some players coming out of college.

Cool on why you picked those teams, and I agree he's not piss poor. But I don't think he's that great either. The draft is a gamble. Anyway to slice it Brandon Williams was a horrible pick. It just compounds it that Marshall was on the board chilling. And to me it's more about the players he selected instead of Jackson or Marshall that is the problem. Of course other teams passed him up but some of those teams passed him up for better talent and better players. Niners passed him up twice for players who just aren't that good. I think there is a bigger hate for Scot b/c he passed on Jackson b/c there are a ton of folks from Cali and fans of Cal U who support the Niners. Plus you add in the Jerry Rice working the kid out and telling the team they should draft him is what makes certain fans so irate about that one. Everybody has misses, and nobody should be expected to be perfect. But you just can't have complete failures for an entire draft class. And his stance on guards is really troubling and telling why he seems to keep drafting bad ones. At the end of the day it all comes down to Smith. Not sure if that pick was all Nolan, but if Smith becomes a franchise qb I believe Scott would be looked at differently. If he comes out and just looks blah then the pitchforks will be out to kill him. I can't deny that he has brought in a lot of talent to this team, but he's had some big misses. Which leads me back to believing he's average. I'm probably to harsh on him at times myself, but I can't say he's done a terrible job.

I would like to add that I believe Nolan had a hand in a few of those drafts ( for the good or the bad, you decide.)

Scot (and Nolan) have done a generally pretty good job on the talent side. When they got here in 05 we were basically an expansion team. They drafted fairly well and added some pretty good FAs and we're competitive now. With a good draft this year we should be a good team in the next few years. The big question remains Alex. He played a lot better last year. If he can play well this year and they get another weapon on offense we should be a playoff team. Hey, he isn't Bill Walsh, but then who is? My grade for Scot - B-.

Originally posted by NinerGM:
Interesting. Other teams add to their lines - particularly OL almost every season. There's a reason we don't have depth.

Let's look at that trend and how many each team drafted in that time frame, how many are still on each team and how many were 1st or 2nd round picks.

Ravens - 7 drafted (6 still with team, Jason Brown is now a Ram via FA last year) 3 drafted in 1st/2nd rounds
Packers - 8 drafted (5 still with team) 1 drafted in 1st/2nd rounds
Eagles - 8 drafted (5 still with team) 1 drafted in 1st/2nd rounds
49ers - 6 drafted (5 still with team) 3 drafted in 1st/2nd rounds