Trent Baalke and his drafts

Whether you are a fan or not of him, I wanted to take a look at Baalke's drafts and do my best to objectively compare them to the rest of our drafts this millennium. Does he rank similarly to our dark era GM's, or does it look like he is successfully feeding our team with young talent.

We'll separate the grades by three draft tiers (1st round, mid-rounds, and late rounds). I will try to make it as objective as possible, but I am a younger fan who may be way off with a couple of my picks, so feel free to point out where i'm wrong. Obviously, mid and later round picks will be graded 'easier' as just finding solid starters would be considered 'great' or 'good' with those picks. So with that said, note that a 'Great' grade is not me considering the player a 'great' player, it is me considering that the value of the pick ended up being great


PRE-BAALKE Drafts

1st Rounds - Total 13 players

Great (4): Julian Peterson, Vernon Davis, Patrick Willis, Joe Staley [31%]

Good(5): Ahmed Plummer, Andre Carter, Alex Smith, Manny Lawson, Michael Crabtree [38%]

Unsuccessful(4): Mike Rumph, Kwame Harris, Rashaun Woods, Kentwan Balmer [31%]

Mid Rounds (2-4) - Total 31 players

Great (4): Brandon Lloyd, Frank Gore, Ray McDonald, Dashon Goldson [13%]

Good (10): John Engelberger, Jason Webster, Jeff Ulbrich, Jamie Winborn, Justin Smiley, Shawntae Spencer, Isaac Sopoaga, David Baas, Adam Snyder, Michael Robinson [32%]

Unsuccessful (17): Giovanni Carmazzi, Kevan Barlow, Saleem Rasheed, Jeff Chandler, Kevin Curtis, Anthony Adams, Andrew Williams, Derrick Hamilton, Richard Seigler, Brandon Williams, Jason Hill, Jay Moore, Joe Cohen, Chilo Rachal, Reggie Smith, Cody Wallace, Glenn Coffee [55%]

Late Rounders (5-7)

Great (5): Brian Jennings, Eric Johnson, Eric Heitmann, Andy Lee, Delanie Walker [12%]

Good (9): Tim Rattay, Arnaz Battle, Keith Lewis, Ronald Fields, Parys Haralson, Tarrel Brown, Josh Morgan, Larry Grant, Ricky Jean-Francois [22%]

Unsuccessful (27): Paul Smith, John Milem, Cedrick Wilson, Rashad Holman, Menson Holloway, Alex Lincoln, Brandon Doman, Josh Shaw, Mark Anelli, Kyle Kosier, Teddy Gaines, Aaron Walker, Ken Dorsey, Cody Pickett, Christian Ferrera, Rasheed Marshall, Derrick Johnson, Daven Holly, Marcus Maxwell, Patrick Estes, Billy Bajema, Marcus Hudson, Melvin Oliver, Vickiel Vaughn, Thomas Clayton, Nate Davis, Bear Pascoe, Curtis Taylor [66%]


BAALKE Drafts (not counting 2014 or 2015 - too early)

Note that some of these are extremely opinion based, especially with the 2013 draft

1st Round - Total 5 players

Great (4): Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Aldon Smith, Eric Reid [80%]
Good (0):
Unsuccessful (1): AJ Jenkins [20%]

Mid Round - Total 11 Players
Great (3): Navorro Bowman, Colin Kaepernick, Chris Culliver [27%]

Good (3): Quinton Patton, Tank Carradine, Kendall Hunter [27%]

Unsuccessful (5): LaMichael James, Joe Looney, Vance McDonald, Marcus Lattimore, Corey Lemonier [45%]

Late Round - Total 18 Players
Great (1): Bruce Miller [5%]

Good(6): Anthony Dixon, Kyle Williams, Daniel Kilgore, Colin Jones, Quinton Dial, Marcus Cooper [33%]

Unsuccessful (11): Nate Byham, Phillip Adams, Ronald Johnson, Mike Person, Curtis Holcomb, Darius Fleming, Trenton Robinson, Jason Slowey, Cam Johnson, BJ Daniels, Carter Bykowski [61%]



While Baalke's drafts are a much smaller sample size and a lot of it is me predicting how it is going to play out, hes hit better on 1st rounders, mid-rounders and late rounders compared to Donahue and McCloughan, but not by as much as i would have liked. I truly believe this upcoming year will be crucial in seeing whether the 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts were successful, as the younger players will finally get their shot to prove their worth.

I always wanted to be te 1st to post this!!!



Only because we have a thread that is already talking about this topic. I still think it's too early for the 2013 players as well. Players like Lemonier, Patton, Dial, Tank, and Mcdonald can still improve and shine now that they will have different coaches and more game reps. We will see.

Just as a suggestion, but if you want this to be a serious thread rather that just something I merge into the main Baalke thread, you need to reflect in your comments at least for the first couple of rounds, the position of the pick and also perhaps reflect the general strength overall of the draft. For example how many of that year's first round busted, how many are just hanging on by their fingernails and how many are Pro Bowl standard.

Because some of the players are still developing, I would add a category for "unknown." Unsuccessful = cut. For example, mcdonald and lemonier are unknowns at this point, not unsuccessful.

Originally posted by English:

Just as a suggestion, but if you want this to be a serious thread rather that just something I merge into the main Baalke thread, you need to reflect in your comments at least for the first couple of rounds, the position of the pick and also perhaps reflect the general strength overall of the draft. For example how many of that year's first round busted, how many are just hanging on by their fingernails and how many are Pro Bowl standard.

You can merge it.

Originally posted by phatbutskinny:

Originally posted by English:
Just as a suggestion, but if you want this to be a serious thread rather that just something I merge into the main Baalke thread, you need to reflect in your comments at least for the first couple of rounds, the position of the pick and also perhaps reflect the general strength overall of the draft. For example how many of that year's first round busted, how many are just hanging on by their fingernails and how many are Pro Bowl standard.

You can merge it.

Appreciate the effort PBS.

Irregardless of the draft this yr, when you look at the # of returning injuries, "red shirts(whether for injury or otherwise), and then you add in the draft of this yr....it will look like an early Christmas when all these guys hit the field. Yes we lost 3 all pros to retirement, Justin, Borland, and Willis, and that is pretty hard to replace...if it is even possible. However, Justin was going to retire sometime, Patrick gave his all since being here and Borland was a surprise out of the blue. Still, when you look at the gaggle of guys coming back PLUS the newly drafted, it should make for one heckuva lot of talent once they all hit the field. Outlook from where I stand? Pretty darn good, and some if not all in need of coaching up. Turns out we have a pretty good guy for that. Let the season begin.

Originally posted by English:
Just as a suggestion, but if you want this to be a serious thread rather that just something I merge into the main Baalke thread, you need to reflect in your comments at least for the first couple of rounds, the position of the pick and also perhaps reflect the general strength overall of the draft. For example how many of that year's first round busted, how many are just hanging on by their fingernails and how many are Pro Bowl standard.

Actually no reason to merge it. The other Baalke thread is a fanboy appreciation thread by rule. This is just a straight-up comment on his drafts, good or bad.

Originally posted by REB4:

Originally posted by English:
Just as a suggestion, but if you want this to be a serious thread rather that just something I merge into the main Baalke thread, you need to reflect in your comments at least for the first couple of rounds, the position of the pick and also perhaps reflect the general strength overall of the draft. For example how many of that year's first round busted, how many are just hanging on by their fingernails and how many are Pro Bowl standard.

Actually no reason to merge it. The other Baalke thread is a fanboy appreciation thread by rule. This is just a straight-up comment on his drafts, good or bad.

But you're in there.

No idea why Kyle Williams is listed as a good pick...the worthless piece of s**t is just about out of the league

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:
No idea why Kyle Williams is listed as a good pick...the worthless piece of s**t is just about out of the league

Well I backed him but at the end of the day blame is shared throughout the team but we can pretty much say he fumbled away 2011

Originally posted by phatbutskinny:
Whether you are a fan or not of him, I wanted to take a look at Baalke's drafts and do my best to objectively compare them to the rest of our drafts this millennium. Does he rank similarly to our dark era GM's, or does it look like he is successfully feeding our team with young talent.

We'll separate the grades by three draft tiers (1st round, mid-rounds, and late rounds). I will try to make it as objective as possible, but I am a younger fan who may be way off with a couple of my picks, so feel free to point out where i'm wrong. Obviously, mid and later round picks will be graded 'easier' as just finding solid starters would be considered 'great' or 'good' with those picks. So with that said, note that a 'Great' grade is not me considering the player a 'great' player, it is me considering that the value of the pick ended up being great


PRE-BAALKE Drafts

1st Rounds - Total 13 players

Great (4): Julian Peterson, Vernon Davis, Patrick Willis, Joe Staley [31%]

Good(5): Ahmed Plummer, Andre Carter, Alex Smith, Manny Lawson, Michael Crabtree [38%]

Unsuccessful(4): Mike Rumph, Kwame Harris, Rashaun Woods, Kentwan Balmer [31%]

Mid Rounds (2-4) - Total 31 players

Great (4): Brandon Lloyd, Frank Gore, Ray McDonald, Dashon Goldson [13%]

Good (10): John Engelberger, Jason Webster, Jeff Ulbrich, Jamie Winborn, Justin Smiley, Shawntae Spencer, Isaac Sopoaga, David Baas, Adam Snyder, Michael Robinson [32%]

Unsuccessful (17): Giovanni Carmazzi, Kevan Barlow, Saleem Rasheed, Jeff Chandler, Kevin Curtis, Anthony Adams, Andrew Williams, Derrick Hamilton, Richard Seigler, Brandon Williams, Jason Hill, Jay Moore, Joe Cohen, Chilo Rachal, Reggie Smith, Cody Wallace, Glenn Coffee [55%]

Late Rounders (5-7)

Great (5): Brian Jennings, Eric Johnson, Eric Heitmann, Andy Lee, Delanie Walker [12%]

Good (9): Tim Rattay, Arnaz Battle, Keith Lewis, Ronald Fields, Parys Haralson, Tarrel Brown, Josh Morgan, Larry Grant, Ricky Jean-Francois [22%]

Unsuccessful (27): Paul Smith, John Milem, Cedrick Wilson, Rashad Holman, Menson Holloway, Alex Lincoln, Brandon Doman, Josh Shaw, Mark Anelli, Kyle Kosier, Teddy Gaines, Aaron Walker, Ken Dorsey, Cody Pickett, Christian Ferrera, Rasheed Marshall, Derrick Johnson, Daven Holly, Marcus Maxwell, Patrick Estes, Billy Bajema, Marcus Hudson, Melvin Oliver, Vickiel Vaughn, Thomas Clayton, Nate Davis, Bear Pascoe, Curtis Taylor [66%]


BAALKE Drafts (not counting 2014 or 2015 - too early)

Note that some of these are extremely opinion based, especially with the 2013 draft

1st Round - Total 5 players

Great (4): Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Aldon Smith, Eric Reid [80%]
Good (0):
Unsuccessful (1): AJ Jenkins [20%]

Mid Round - Total 11 Players
Great (3): Navorro Bowman, Colin Kaepernick, Chris Culliver [27%]

Good (3): Quinton Patton, Tank Carradine, Kendall Hunter [27%]

Unsuccessful (5): LaMichael James, Joe Looney, Vance McDonald, Marcus Lattimore, Corey Lemonier [45%]

Late Round - Total 18 Players
Great (1): Bruce Miller [5%]

Good(6): Anthony Dixon, Kyle Williams, Daniel Kilgore, Colin Jones, Quinton Dial, Marcus Cooper [33%]

Unsuccessful (11): Nate Byham, Phillip Adams, Ronald Johnson, Mike Person, Curtis Holcomb, Darius Fleming, Trenton Robinson, Jason Slowey, Cam Johnson, BJ Daniels, Carter Bykowski [61%]



While Baalke's drafts are a much smaller sample size and a lot of it is me predicting how it is going to play out, hes hit better on 1st rounders, mid-rounders and late rounders compared to Donahue and McCloughan, but not by as much as i would have liked. I truly believe this upcoming year will be crucial in seeing whether the 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts were successful, as the younger players will finally get their shot to prove their worth.

A few gripes.

Kyle Williams was a fail of a pick.

Tank is so far a fail of a pick.

I'd put Cooper as a fail since he didn't even make the roster, and didn't do much in KC.

And if you're gonna put Vance and Lemonier as fails, then I think Patton should be in the middle, he hasn't done anything yet.

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Originally posted by phatbutskinny:
Whether you are a fan or not of him, I wanted to take a look at Baalke's drafts and do my best to objectively compare them to the rest of our drafts this millennium. Does he rank similarly to our dark era GM's, or does it look like he is successfully feeding our team with young talent.

We'll separate the grades by three draft tiers (1st round, mid-rounds, and late rounds). I will try to make it as objective as possible, but I am a younger fan who may be way off with a couple of my picks, so feel free to point out where i'm wrong. Obviously, mid and later round picks will be graded 'easier' as just finding solid starters would be considered 'great' or 'good' with those picks. So with that said, note that a 'Great' grade is not me considering the player a 'great' player, it is me considering that the value of the pick ended up being great


PRE-BAALKE Drafts

1st Rounds - Total 13 players

Great (4): Julian Peterson, Vernon Davis, Patrick Willis, Joe Staley [31%]

Good(5): Ahmed Plummer, Andre Carter, Alex Smith, Manny Lawson, Michael Crabtree [38%]

Unsuccessful(4): Mike Rumph, Kwame Harris, Rashaun Woods, Kentwan Balmer [31%]

Mid Rounds (2-4) - Total 31 players

Great (4): Brandon Lloyd, Frank Gore, Ray McDonald, Dashon Goldson [13%]

Good (10): John Engelberger, Jason Webster, Jeff Ulbrich, Jamie Winborn, Justin Smiley, Shawntae Spencer, Isaac Sopoaga, David Baas, Adam Snyder, Michael Robinson [32%]

Unsuccessful (17): Giovanni Carmazzi, Kevan Barlow, Saleem Rasheed, Jeff Chandler, Kevin Curtis, Anthony Adams, Andrew Williams, Derrick Hamilton, Richard Seigler, Brandon Williams, Jason Hill, Jay Moore, Joe Cohen, Chilo Rachal, Reggie Smith, Cody Wallace, Glenn Coffee [55%]

Late Rounders (5-7)

Great (5): Brian Jennings, Eric Johnson, Eric Heitmann, Andy Lee, Delanie Walker [12%]

Good (9): Tim Rattay, Arnaz Battle, Keith Lewis, Ronald Fields, Parys Haralson, Tarrel Brown, Josh Morgan, Larry Grant, Ricky Jean-Francois [22%]

Unsuccessful (27): Paul Smith, John Milem, Cedrick Wilson, Rashad Holman, Menson Holloway, Alex Lincoln, Brandon Doman, Josh Shaw, Mark Anelli, Kyle Kosier, Teddy Gaines, Aaron Walker, Ken Dorsey, Cody Pickett, Christian Ferrera, Rasheed Marshall, Derrick Johnson, Daven Holly, Marcus Maxwell, Patrick Estes, Billy Bajema, Marcus Hudson, Melvin Oliver, Vickiel Vaughn, Thomas Clayton, Nate Davis, Bear Pascoe, Curtis Taylor [66%]


BAALKE Drafts (not counting 2014 or 2015 - too early)

Note that some of these are extremely opinion based, especially with the 2013 draft

1st Round - Total 5 players

Great (4): Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Aldon Smith, Eric Reid [80%]
Good (0):
Unsuccessful (1): AJ Jenkins [20%]

Mid Round - Total 11 Players
Great (3): Navorro Bowman, Colin Kaepernick, Chris Culliver [27%]

Good (3): Quinton Patton, Tank Carradine, Kendall Hunter [27%]

Unsuccessful (5): LaMichael James, Joe Looney, Vance McDonald, Marcus Lattimore, Corey Lemonier [45%]

Late Round - Total 18 Players
Great (1): Bruce Miller [5%]

Good(6): Anthony Dixon, Kyle Williams, Daniel Kilgore, Colin Jones, Quinton Dial, Marcus Cooper [33%]

Unsuccessful (11): Nate Byham, Phillip Adams, Ronald Johnson, Mike Person, Curtis Holcomb, Darius Fleming, Trenton Robinson, Jason Slowey, Cam Johnson, BJ Daniels, Carter Bykowski [61%]



While Baalke's drafts are a much smaller sample size and a lot of it is me predicting how it is going to play out, hes hit better on 1st rounders, mid-rounders and late rounders compared to Donahue and McCloughan, but not by as much as i would have liked. I truly believe this upcoming year will be crucial in seeing whether the 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts were successful, as the younger players will finally get their shot to prove their worth.

A few gripes.

Kyle Williams was a fail of a pick.

Tank is so far a fail of a pick.

I'd put Cooper as a fail since he didn't even make the roster, and didn't do much in KC.

And if you're gonna put Vance and Lemonier as fails, then I think Patton should be in the middle, he hasn't done anything yet.

Im not sure Tank can be judged as a pick yet. He played pretty darn well in the last part of the season, Fangio is notorious for letting good young players sit and only using them when there is no other option. Now if he didnt show what he was capable of at the end of last year, then I would most definitely agree. But the jury is still out until either its clear he cant win a job, plays poorly, or is cut from the team, or cant stay healthy. To me to say a pick is a failure is to imply that it has no chance if succeeding. He was picked to replace Justin, that time has just now come so lets see if he can do it. The end of last year could very well be a fluke though, or foreshadowing his future. Not gonna say its a good or bad pick yet.

Originally posted by philosoraptor:
Im not sure Tank can be judged as a pick yet. He played pretty darn well in the last part of the season, Fangio is notorious for letting good young players sit and only using them when there is no other option. Now if he didnt show what he was capable of at the end of last year, then I would most definitely agree. But the jury is still out until either its clear he cant win a job, plays poorly, or is cut from the team, or cant stay healthy. To me to say a pick is a failure is to imply that it has no chance if succeeding. He was picked to replace Justin, that time has just now come so lets see if he can do it. The end of last year could very well be a fluke though, or foreshadowing his future. Not gonna say its a good or bad pick yet.

Perfectly stated. We'll need to revisit much of this at the end of the year...THIS is really the first year many in-training players will finally get their shots and grow and develop on the field in a bigger role.