Rating the 49ers 2010 draft class

Originally posted by ElDannMann:

Originally posted by SandSlingin49er:
I gave it a B.. I believe it could be an A very easily though.... SOme teams whiff on entire drafts with 8+ picks. Got great talent lets see how it develops.

I feel that we have been having decent drafts. What we fail to do is fully coach/develop our players/talent.

What's developing a player?

Its crazy i know... All this "Talent" just waiting to be coached....

Whyfor the OL is not stinking w/o our Napolean Boneya*****e? Perhaps the anal cyst in Sing was his brains.

Originally posted by jones49:

Originally posted by 49erRider:

Originally posted by jones49:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
These grades are only for this year's contributions.

1.) Davis - (D): Rough start to his career, but he's VERY young
1.) Iupati - (B+): Solid from day one, and future/multiple pro-bowler
2.) Mays - (C-): Needs a LOT of work if he's going to ever contribute
3.) Bowman - (C+): Took awhile to get started, but has a bright future
6.) Dixon - (C+): See Bowman
6.) Nate Byham - (D): Meh
6.) Williams - (Incomplete): Wait until 2011
7.) Adams - (C+): Did ok for such a late round pick; hope he returns healthy

Obviously the key will be how Davis pans out at OT. I think he'll be fine and eventually swap with Staley, giving us solid bookend tackles for years to come. The big steals (IMO) will be Bowman and Dixon, who could both turn into major contributors over the next few years...and if we get any contributions from Williams and Adams, this draft will be considered a huge success, even if Mays busts out.

However, if Mays is able to translate his other-wordly athleticisim into NFL production (combined with progress from the others as mentioned above), this draft could be one of the better classes in 49er history.

Take away the first half of the season, Davis is a B. Shows that he will be solid to say the least. Iupati (B+) and Bowman(C+) were our other good picks. I really hope Mays pans out but so far I give him a D/C-.

Take away the first half of the season and Davis is still only a C at best.

Wrong. The last 6-7 games he's a solid B. Look what did he did to Clay Matthews...or do you not watch the games?

Not only do I watch the games, I actually pay attention, too. Most can't say the same.

He shut down Clay Matthews, so now he's good? What about the horrendous showing against Chris Long the first time around? That more than offsets. Or did you conveniently forget about that?

He's been fairly average the 2nd half. Terrible the first half. Average = C, B is above average. I am not grading on a rookie scale. Mix in the first half and dude has been a D+, MAYBE.

What you fail to include in your assessment is the amount of times he allows pressure. Just because he didn't allow the sack doesn't mean his guy didn't ruin the play.

I didn't expect him to play well his rookie year and he did play a lot better in the 2nd half of the season, but it was no better than average.

Iupati is a stud and Davis played much better as the season went along, especially considering that he was playing next to "Mr. Whiff" Chilo Rachal.

Originally posted by Gore_21:
Anyone know what has been up with Byham? We used him a lot early in the season, haven't really seen him in half the season or so. I was impressed with Williams in the pre season but he didn't have the burst on the KR during the regular season. Hasn't seen much at WR...

I wold say C+ to B- right now, but it has a ton of potential. Adams has potential steal written all over him... Davis might have the most upside. Iupati will be solid for a decade (knock on wood).

byham had a good pre-season.+1st 5 games and filled in for Davis and Walker when they went down with ankle injuries played alot until Rae got fired..missed the last 2 with a heel injury,wold have been ready for play-offs..

[ Edited by franklinfan on Jan 3, 2011 at 08:17:50 ]

I would say this draft class hinges alot on how Taylor Mays will do in the future as our SS

and Bowman,we have McKillup coming back also..

1.) Davis - C- Just a rough year hopefully he'll improve and start to use his arms and engaged defenders.
1.) Iupati - B Good start just a lot of small mental breakdowns. Has to learn to get lower and get low all the time. Can't just truck guys in the NFL.
2.) Mays - D Never liked the pick the guy just isn't good and we all know it.
3.) Bowman - C Looked ok at times looked lost at times. Time will tell. I think he will develop nicely.
6.) Dixon - C Looked great in pre season, but just does way too much slow stepping instead of hitting holes. And why does he keep falling down all the time. 6.) Nate Byham - D He blocked well in a few games.
6.) Williams - I Didn't really due much b/c of injury
7.) Adams - C Did ok a few times I seen him in coverage. Needs more time to develop. could see him bieng a solid 4th corner.

So far this is a D average hopefully it improves a lot over these next 3 years, but that Taylor Mays pick was a complete dud and will tarnish this class overall. Davis and Iupati will make us forget about that pick though. .

I give the usual Niner C-grade for this draft:

1.) Davis - (C): Had his expected ups and downs; one step forward, one step back
2.) Iupati - (B): Solid from day one, and future/multiple pro-bowler
2.) Mays - (N/G): Hard to tell as our defensive scheme sucked and didn't play to his strengths, skill set or how I thought we'd use him (ala Michael Lewis) in-the-box safety who tackles well, hits crossing WR's and can even blitz with his speed
3.) Bowman - (N/G): Same as with Mays; hard to grade in this vanilla defense
6.) Dixon - (C): Showed some flash but again, he was always asked to run between the tackles and down hill agains predictable defensive walls tand that is not his strengths
6.) Nate Byham - (B): Blocked well in this run-oriented offense but him coming onto the field telegraphed it was a run; did his job well but needs to be used to pass catch as well to keep defenses honest
6.) Williams - (Incomplete): Wait until 2011
7.) Adams - (C): Did ok for such a late round pick; hope he returns healthy

With proper schemes and developmental coaching that take advantage of players strengths this could end up being a nice group but for now, only Iupati has a bright future (b/c we played to his strengths)

give Davis some credit thier were games where he was beast maybe like 3 or 4

1st - Davis - was predicted as a major project and "raw" coming out of college. I am not sure why some of you expeccted so much of the guy his rookie year. He was seen as the least NFL ready, but with the most upside.

1st - Iupati - aside from a few breakdowns, he played very good.

2nd - Mays - seen a another "project". Everyone knew coming out of college, he needed to be taught coverage skills and would not likely be NFL ready. He definitely still needs work, but did play well on ST.

3rd - Bowman - looks okay, but may be able to improve on his rookie campaign

4th - traded - I still don't think we needed to trade up to get AD

5th - Ginn - for a 5th round pick, definitely a good pickup, considering he solidified our PR and KR duties, although I like him much better at KR.

6th - Dixon - looks to be pretty good, just has to work on hitting the hole better and letting the blockers do their part. His ypa needs to increase, but may be good to spell Gore in 2011.

6th - Byham - great blocking TE, and shows good hands when he gets the chance at a pass.

6th - Willliams - looks to be too fragile, but only time will tell

So, good picks would be Iupati, Dixon, and Byham. I think the rest can be better judged after their 2011 campaign...

I would give the draft a C overall

Trading away the fourth for no reason. Passing on Dez Bryant and Devin Mccourty. Veteran O-linemen are more suitable when you are trying to win a division.

1.) Davis - D: Poor start, but still has potential
1.) Iupati - A: Top 5 guard after first season? Can't ask for more out of a rookie.
2.) Mays - D: He had some flashes, but needed to have been on the field more to get a higher grade.
3.) Bowman - C: Had some issues, but finished well. About what you expect from a 3rd rounder.
6.) Dixon - B: Played a lot for a 6th rounder. I am not sold on him as the heir for Frank Gore, though.
6.) Nate Byham - C: Didn't really notice him, but he seemed to fill a role.
6.) Williams - D: Gave some special teams contributions, but didn't contribute that much, especially as a WR.
7.) Adams - A: Played a fair bit for a 7th round pick.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
These grades are only for this year's contributions.

1.) Davis - (D): Rough start to his career, but he's VERY young
1.) Iupati - (B+): Solid from day one, and future/multiple pro-bowler
2.) Mays - (C-): Needs a LOT of work if he's going to ever contribute
3.) Bowman - (C+): Took awhile to get started, but has a bright future
6.) Dixon - (C+): See Bowman
6.) Nate Byham - (D): Meh
6.) Williams - (Incomplete): Wait until 2011
7.) Adams - (C+): Did ok for such a late round pick; hope he returns healthy

Obviously the key will be how Davis pans out at OT. I think he'll be fine and eventually swap with Staley, giving us solid bookend tackles for years to come. The big steals (IMO) will be Bowman and Dixon, who could both turn into major contributors over the next few years...and if we get any contributions from Williams and Adams, this draft will be considered a huge success, even if Mays busts out.

However, if Mays is able to translate his other-wordly athleticisim into NFL production (combined with progress from the others as mentioned above), this draft could be one of the better classes in 49er history.

We pretty much agree.

I would give Davis a C rather than your D because he made some nice progress in the final four games. I lay a good bit of his early season nightmares on the overall lack of continuity and poor play of Rachal.

I really liked what Bowman showed on ST and yesterday where he had a very nice game.

I am still open on Mays as I do not believe the secondary has been well coached the past few years. Too many players have come through here that just did not seem to make any progress. I hope the new HC will bring a much better secondary coach who will get Mays up to speed. I think he was a good pick but has not been managed well.

Dixon was a value for where he was picked.

Byham really didn't get much of a chance behind Walker and VD.

Williams and Adams showed enough flashes to be interesting.

As in most drafts, it takes two years minimum to fully evaluate but right now, I would give this one a B.