2015 - The season to see if our team's been built properly

One of the recurring points that I have seen by both posters on this board and by analysts in the media is that the drafts that Baalke has been in charge of have produced very few starters for our team. 2010 and 2011 were very good drafts and produced several players that became core members of our team (A. Davis, Iupati, Bowman, Kap, A. Smith, Hunter, Miller). On the flip side, we all know now what a disaster the 2012 draft was. During the same general time period, Baalke also brought in some FAs that were instrumental to the team for a period (Rogers, Boldin, Whitner). These players were all brought in and teamed with the core members who were already in place from the McCloughan era via both the draft and FA (Willis, V. Davis, Crabtree, Staley, Boone, Gore, J. Smith, McDonald, Brooks). Looking at these names, you really can split it down the middle as to how much each GM had brought to the team that saw so much success over the past few seasons (last season not included).

Going into 2013 and 2014, the main consensus, again among many posters on this board and analysts in the media, was that there were very few "openings" for starters to come to the team via the draft. Many thought that instead of using all of our picks (13 last year if you remember), was to package, move up and try to draft a few impact players. Baalke has chosen to not go that route and has drafted players that were at least a year away from starting. He drafted players that were going to take some time in back-up roles to eventually become starters. This is where I think it is unfair that so much has been made of Baalke "missing" on players in the past couple of drafts.

Hyde, Borland, Ward, V. McDonald, Carradine, Dial, Martin, Thomas, D. Johnson and Ellington were all drafted and not expected to become real contributors right away. That said, this is the year that we will really see if Baalke's team-building strategy is going to pay off. With the either expected or surprising departures of veterans from the team in this past off season, it is time that the players from the 2013 and 2014 drafts step into the roles of core members of the team. I also think that the majority of this years 2015 draft picks will not see a large amount of playing time this year, because I think his strategy is still in effect for next season and the seasons that follow.

I am not buying the criticism of Baalke "missing" on finding quality starters in the past few drafts, because I don't think he was looking for them. He was looking for, and drafted, players with long-term potential that are replacements for players he sees departing within the next two years. I believe in the strategy, but the 2015 season will show us if the strategy is working or not and whether this team is being built properly. If not, he might not be around for too many more drafts to keep his strategy going.

Baalke stated that he has a 3 year plan in mind so certainly some players he's drafting may not be needs now but likely in 2 or 3 years from now, while they can further develop.

Good post! Agreed

Originally posted by Mertonschickendance:

Baalke stated that he has a 3 year plan in mind so certainly some players he's drafting may not be needs now but likely in 2 or 3 years from now, while they can further develop.

But by now his long term plans should be in action. We will be seeing if the system he has built is going to work....

It looks like he's trying to get our defense back to it's dominant self, it might take another year.

We're gonna learn a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff this year. But I agree with the OP that this year is key for evaluating drafts. Its apparent that Baalke believes certain positions (cb, ilb, oline) are in better shape than many of us feel. Guess we'll find out...

Thanks VANier, this post is what the future of the franchise is all about.

I stated in another thread that the 2015 season could be Baalke's masterpiece. It could also be his undoing. I am voting for the former. I see a great deal of playing time in store for 2013 to 2015 draft picks. Even if the 2015 rookies don't get onto the field much, this team has Baalke's fingerprints all over it and there is no way to avoid playing these guys now, injuries or no injuries.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
I stated in another thread that the 2015 season could be Baalke's masterpiece. It could also be his undoing. I am voting for the former. I see a great deal of playing time in store for 2013 to 2015 draft picks. Even if the 2015 rookies don't get onto the field much, this team has Baalke's fingerprints all over it and there is no way to avoid playing these guys now, injuries or no injuries.

This

Well said. Our roster has been tough to crack for rookies the past few years, and we finally started to see returns on some of the 2013 class (besides Reid) late last year with Tank, Dial and Patton finally seeing the field. I thought all three looked good and showed promise. With so much of the core group gone, pretty much the entire 2014 class is going to play alot this year.

The long term future depends on whether the guys from the past two years can actually play when given the chance. Unfortunately we can probably already tell that Vance is a bust, although he did turn out to be a pretty good run blocker. Maybe having a legit TE coach in Sparano instead of Mangini will help. Lemonier also looks like a bust, and Moody hasn't really done anything of note and may get pushed off the roster this year with all the bodies at ILB.