What Is Baalke's Preoccupation With 7th Round Draft Choices?

If you're worried about the value of each round that we are drafting from, just think that we lost Cam for a 7th, but we picked up a 4th (Harper) for free.

Skuta has more value than Johnson, from a pure team perspective. He can play both ILB and OLB, and is a ST star. Given CJ was a 7th rd pick himself, it seems getting a 7th rd pick for him is just. Moreover, it gave Harbaugh the roster spot to get Harper. All in all, the trade and signing make a lot of sense. Harbaugh now has a guy in Harper to mold into a Walker-type and give Kap another big target. I just don't see any negative aspects to what Baalke did.

Guys, I think this was more a reflection of how they feel about Harper than it is about acquiring a 7th rounder for Cam, or even how they feel about Cam as a football player.
They feel Chris Harper will do more on this team than Cam. They had to cut someone to make room for Harper. I Think they see him as a better replacement in the D. Walker role than Vance McDonald. I think they are salivating at the possibility of having Chris Harper coming into motion out of the backfield with Vernon and Vance already on the line.

Expect to see Harper, Vernon, and Vance in a lot of three tight end formations in the future. Cam was nice depth but something they could do without.

Besides, 7th rounders can turn into something. If not currency to move up in the draft, they can become project players like BJ Daniels.

Originally posted by redrathman:

Originally posted by 49erfanatic:
No. He wasn't cut. He was named to our original 53 man roster this year.

Wow man. Re-read what I typed.

Baalke and Harbaugh weren't going to keep six outside linebackers on the roster, despite Harbaugh's assertion.

Haralson and Johnson lost out. Had they not been traded, they'd be waived (and in Haralson's case, cut).

Goes to the old saying that "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Yes, Haralson and Johnson have value but they were going to be leaving the team one way or another. Baalke just got something for what to him is nothing. And those 7th round picks allow a team to move up a few spots in a draft which can make a difference. When it some to acquiring picks I like what he is doing. New England has done it for over a decade and has done fairly well I think. Making the picks count is another matter but just look at next years haul and you will see a lot of room to add quality if not quantity.

1-1
2-2*
3-3
4-1
5-1
6-1
7-4

*I think the Alex Smith trade pick will end up being a 2nd rounder.

6 picks in the first three rounds!

i thought cam had talent to be a mid rounder but had injuries which is why he fell to the 7th.

Seeing as how he is healthy and coached up, i would think we could have gotten something more for him

Originally posted by ads_2006:
i thought cam had talent to be a mid rounder but had injuries which is why he fell to the 7th.

Seeing as how he is healthy and coached up, i would think we could have gotten something more for him

he was drafted 7th, his claim to fame is a good effort against scrubs in the last pre season game of the year, no one will look at potential and give us more than a 7th round pick,, if they did, those people would be out of a job the next day. just because some fans over value and over estimate some players does not mean general managers do

Here's a good take on it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/108129/thoughts-on-the-49er-way

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Here's a good take on it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/108129/thoughts-on-the-49er-way

Baalke has shown the willingness and the ability to move around the draft to get the players the 49ers feel are the best for them. Any amount of extra picks is good for the Niners. Cam Johnson got traded to open the door for a player that the Niners wanted more than they wanted Cam Johnson. Now we will see if that pick turns out well or if it is a bust. In any case Baalke is still aware of all of the players in the league and how he can get them if it will help the team out.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Here's a good take on it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/108129/thoughts-on-the-49er-way

Meh, we tried to move up last year and it didn't work. And who wants a late 7th? Next year going into the draft we may have even less real holes to fill. But the bottom line is, we traded a developed 7th round pass rushing OLB for a late 7th rounder next year. Period. The Harper deal had nothing to do with it. If we wanted a 4th TE, we would have kept Gray and "continued" to develop him but we risked him to the PS and lost him. The loss of Gray is what is correlated to Harper; not Cam. The FO could have cut a number of other players if they needed a spot for Gray/Harper. If "next year" we can get even half the production out of that late 7th based on what Cam did ALL pre season (not one game, people), we still don't break even b/c we lost his potential production this year on ST and security if there is an injury to ANY OLB. And rule #1 on a 3-4 defense, you never get rid of your pass rushing OLB's. Ask the Saints/Colts how hard they are to come by! Typically, I love almost all of our moves. This is just one I certainly disagree with no matter how people try to justify it. But like I said, we can revisit it next year. We can watch Cam this year and see how he does (BTW: I was totally cool with the Haralson move). Then we can compare production/value once we see how that late 7th was used.

Quality of competition. It is a must know when evaluating a player's performance in any single game.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Meh, we tried to move up last year and it didn't work. And who wants a late 7th? Next year going into the draft we may have even less real holes to fill. But the bottom line is, we traded a developed 7th round pass rushing OLB for a late 7th rounder next year. Period. The Harper deal had nothing to do with it. If we wanted a 4th TE, we would have kept Gray and "continued" to develop him but we risked him to the PS and lost him. The loss of Gray is what is correlated to Harper; not Cam. The FO could have cut a number of other players if they needed a spot for Gray/Harper. If "next year" we can get even half the production out of that late 7th based on what Cam did ALL pre season (not one game, people), we still don't break even b/c we lost his potential production this year on ST and security if there is an injury to ANY OLB. And rule #1 on a 3-4 defense, you never get rid of your pass rushing OLB's. Ask the Saints/Colts how hard they are to come by! Typically, I love almost all of our moves. This is just one I certainly disagree with no matter how people try to justify it. But like I said, we can revisit it next year. We can watch Cam this year and see how he does (BTW: I was totally cool with the Haralson move). Then we can compare production/value once we see how that late 7th was used.

I'd say that rule #1 on a 3-4 defense is that you only carry 4 OLB's on your roster. Was Johnson better than Skuta? Many here think so. Our coaching staff did not.

As you say, we can watch how this plays out and revisit the debate next year.

Originally posted by Lifer:
I'd say that rule #1 on a 3-4 defense is that you only carry 4 OLB's on your roster. Was Johnson better than Skuta? Many here think so. Our coaching staff did not.

As you say, we can watch how this plays out and revisit the debate next year.

Not when one can also play ILB as well. So in this case, it would be smart to keep 5 pass rushing OLB's and either 3 or 4 ILB's (not 5). And who's to say you could'n't train Cam this year to also play ILB as well while continuing to develop him at OLB? But no worries...we see how it all pans out.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Here's a good take on it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/108129/thoughts-on-the-49er-way

Non-insightful article aside, Baalke does a great job of accumulating assets which in turn creates competition for every single roster spot, even the guys who seem secure in their roles. That's how you get better each and every year.

And even those 7th round picks that seem like throwaways, can make a difference (see Daniels and even Cooper though he got snatched up) and you were able to draft those guys (as opposed to having them sign as UDFAs on another team) in exchange for people who you didn't want on your team/were going to cut anyway. It's just smart business.

Trades then in for boats and hoes.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Here's a good take on it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/108129/thoughts-on-the-49er-way

Non-insightful article aside, Baalke does a great job of accumulating assets which in turn creates competition for every single roster spot, even the guys who seem secure in their roles. That's how you get better each and every year.

And even those 7th round picks that seem like throwaways, can make a difference (see Daniels and even Cooper though he got snatched up) and you were able to draft those guys (as opposed to having them sign as UDFAs on another team) in exchange for people who you didn't want on your team/were going to cut anyway. It's just smart business.

One thing I do want to point out is that Baalke does have an eye for excellent pass rushing OLB's. I remember when he first promoted and was talking about the qualities he wanted in an OLB. I was sold! Then he cuts Lawson and Brooks was promoted and he drafts Aldon. Now we have Skuta who came out of no where as well as Lemonier who looks like a stud. And props to the coaches in the trenches for really working hard to develop them!