Baalke clearly does not like BPA... Especially in 1st round

Sounds like we've got a bunch of captain hindsights. Now it's easy to say "Martin over Jenkins" but a year ago nobody knew what would happen during their rookie season. Aldon Smith is a great pass rusher so no need to bash that pick. Watt had a great season but, once again, people are criticizing in hindsight which is fairly pointless when we drafted positions of need and arguably BPA with Aldon.

Originally posted by shaneblonien:
Sounds like we've got a bunch of captain hindsights. Now it's easy to say "Martin over Jenkins" but a year ago nobody knew what would happen during their rookie season. Aldon Smith is a great pass rusher so no need to bash that pick. Watt had a great season but, once again, people are criticizing in hindsight which is fairly pointless when we drafted positions of need and arguably BPA with Aldon.

Good point, the concept of BPA is completely subjective. Perhaps Trent is taking the BPA, the BPA in his opinion! If the 'zoners were better player personnel experts, they wouldn't be posting here, they would be working for an NFL franchise. If you aren't good enough for an NFL franchise, you can join Mel Kiper and the other media honks, of course if you aren't even that good (or bad) you can always join me here in the 'zone!

After this draft, I'm not sure BPA is the standard anymore. Under the old Rookie wage scale, teams couldn't afford to miss on a player and pay them 1st round money. Under the new cap, it looks like teams are trying to get a full roster. Allot of teams steered away from BPA to adress positions of need.

It's simple. If Baalke didn't draft who I wanted him to draft, there's something wrong with him.

/thread

When you draft...you draft for scheme fit...not sizzle or front page material.

Personally, I thought Tank would be gone before 31 and Reid would go before Vaccaro. We ended up with both. That in itself is a huge win.

I have also seen a couple of Iowa State games...Bykowski is a very athletic tackle that plays with good balance and leverage. He is better in the run game than given credit for and I suspect that is where he will make his initial impact. That was the second of 2 key picks to me after day 2. We needed a swing guy that was equally adept in the run game.

The first was Quinton Dial. Versatility is paramount to the staff here...Dial solves 4 needs in one pick...not only can he play all 3 d-line spots...but he is another tall frame to use on FG/EXP defense. He gets very good push and with long arms he has serious stack and shed potential...exactly what Coach Tomsula teaches.

Back to the BPA argument...that is truly in the eye of the beholder and totally up to what the selecting teams values over the next. The actual BPA could have been Kyle Long...but would that have been smart? Absolutely not...not with this offensive line. Teams go into the draft with needs...then they select the best player available based on those needs. Simply drafting BPA regardless of position is reserved for teams that are at the lower end of the roster talent pool...which the 49ers are not. I think Eifert was a draft crush seen to make up for not taking Fleener last year. But it doesn't take into account that using TEs primarily out wide is not what the Niners offense does with regularity, thus making Eifert or Ertz questionable selections at 18.

Originally posted by GNielsen:

It's simple. If Baalke didn't draft who I wanted him to draft, there's something wrong with him.

/thread

This.

Best Player Available at the time fails as much as drafting purely on need.

If every team knew that Aldon Smith and JJ Watt would be this good already they would be the top two picks of the draft.

In 2007, believe it or not, Russell was seen by most as the BPA (neck and neck with CJ). Look how that worked out. It happens every year.

I'm glad Baalke doesn't care about what Kiper, Mayock, and McShay think.

Originally posted by btthepunk:

Best Player Available at the time fails as much as drafting purely on need.

If every team knew that Aldon Smith and JJ Watt would be this good already they would be the top two picks of the draft.

In 2007, believe it or not, Russell was seen by most as the BPA (neck and neck with CJ). Look how that worked out. It happens every year.

I'm glad Baalke doesn't care about what Kiper, Mayock, and McShay think.

Especially McShay

Originally posted by GNielsen:
I agree that with a lot of organizations, the BPA line is a fall-back position they use when they don't get the specific player they had in mind. But, with deep rosters that are already pretty set on playoff teams, BPA makes more sense. This year, when you consider that Harbaugh coveted Reid years before he became available in the draft, it's very possible that to Harbaalke, Reid was BPA and position of need at the same time. Reid is a great athlete with prototype size. He's a student of the game and a hard worker. I liked Goldson a lot, but I actually think Reid will end up better than Goldson.

I won't even say that it's even a fall-back position. Teams have draft boards and the better teams usually stick to them. Smart teams have plans A, B, C, and D for every spot. Smart teams generally have a good fix on weather of or not they'll be able to get "their guy" several picks before hand and know if they will need to trade up to get him. If the "next man up" on their board is too much of a reach at that given stop they'll normally trade out the spot. Seldom are teams forced to pick the BPA simply because their guy wasn't there. I firmly believe that every player we selected this past draft was a guy we had targeted before hand, either buy contingency or directly. (I think that HarBaalk thought Cleveland was gonna take Reid.) So I really think BPA is an idea that fans give way too much play.

Originally posted by reasonable1:

Originally posted by btthepunk:
Best Player Available at the time fails as much as drafting purely on need.

If every team knew that Aldon Smith and JJ Watt would be this good already they would be the top two picks of the draft.

In 2007, believe it or not, Russell was seen by most as the BPA (neck and neck with CJ). Look how that worked out. It happens every year.

I'm glad Baalke doesn't care about what Kiper, Mayock, and McShay think.

Especially McShay

Yeah, I like Mayock but McShay is pretty bad.

Originally posted by reasonable1:
When you draft...you draft for scheme fit...not sizzle or front page material.

Personally, I thought Tank would be gone before 31 and Reid would go before Vaccaro. We ended up with both. That in itself is a huge win.

I have also seen a couple of Iowa State games...Bykowski is a very athletic tackle that plays with good balance and leverage. He is better in the run game than given credit for and I suspect that is where he will make his initial impact. That was the second of 2 key picks to me after day 2. We needed a swing guy that was equally adept in the run game.

The first was Quinton Dial. Versatility is paramount to the staff here...Dial solves 4 needs in one pick...not only can he play all 3 d-line spots...but he is another tall frame to use on FG/EXP defense. He gets very good push and with long arms he has serious stack and shed potential...exactly what Coach Tomsula teaches.

Back to the BPA argument...that is truly in the eye of the beholder and totally up to what the selecting teams values over the next. The actual BPA could have been Kyle Long...but would that have been smart? Absolutely not...not with this offensive line. Teams go into the draft with needs...then they select the best player available based on those needs. Simply drafting BPA regardless of position is reserved for teams that are at the lower end of the roster talent pool...which the 49ers are not. I think Eifert was a draft crush seen to make up for not taking Fleener last year. But it doesn't take into account that using TEs primarily out wide is not what the Niners offense does with regularity, thus making Eifert or Ertz questionable selections at 18.

This

Originally posted by shaneblonien:

LMFAO

Just about every GM in the league says they look for BPA...but the reality is they try to match that with their top needs. In Reid's case, both Harbaugh and Baalke were convinced Reid filled both roles. Only time will tell if they're right. All things considered, I think TB had a heckuva draft...got the FS, beefed up DL, pass rusher, WR, TE, Stud RB of future. No GM is going to hit on every pick...so it makes BPA a target, but because of needs, it can be a hit or miss proposition. The BL is what the player can do to help his new team...