The no OL in the 1st round mock! Lets change things up...

I realize that we are in dire need of OL talent to help our team. However, I don't think we necessarily HAVE to fix our O-line problems in the 1st round, IF and only IF 2 particular players are available, of which one should definitely be. We have a new O-line coaching staff, which hopefully are better than our previous O-line coaches, and I'd like to see if they can coach up the players we already have, especially Rachal. In addition, our GM i don't think will draft a G in the 1st. The key for me is whether we can pick up a solid LG in FA, and hopefully there are a couple available. If we can, then we can pass on Iupati, even though he is an incredible prospect. But we need more playmakers on this team, on offense and on defense. I just don't want to draft a RT in the first round because we NEED a right tackle, when there are some other playmakers available at valuable position such as OLB. So here is my draft....(and this is IF we get a G in FA)

Free Agency

Hixon PR/KR
Best FA guard available (Neal, etc..)

Resign:

Brooks
Franklin
Sims
Bly
Pashos

Draft:

1. CJ Spiller RB/KR - This is BPA at pick #13. He is not just a luxury pick, but a NEED. Gore gets injured and is out a few games a year, and is a between the tackles runner. Spiller is the PERFECT compliment to Gore, as he has track speed to threaten the edge of the defense and is a threat to take it all the way on any play he is in the game. He is also big enough to be our feature back when Gore is done, and is needed insurance if Gore goes down to injury. He will extend Gore's career as well, and he can pass protect too! Perfect for our spread offense. He solves our KR problem as well, and turns this area into a strength right away. He will have more of an impact on the game in terms of explosive plays then Iupati (and Iupati is outstanding). If he is not there, then take Iupati or the best RT available, but it is the next guy I really want at our second pick in the first round.

Trade back into the early twenties with a team who wants Iupati or another player. Pick up an extra 3rd. Because we got a quality G in FA, we don't have to take Iupati here and miss the one player I really think we need on this team.

1. Brandon Graham OLB - We need this guy. He is the best OLB prospect in the draft IMO, and will be huge for our pass rush. We don't have a lot of depth on the edge, and I believe he will be starting within a very short time upon his arrival on the niners. Like MadDog and OTC have said, Graham has been a man amongst boys during his college career, and will dominate in the NFL, at an extremely valuable and highly coveted position. With Brooks on the other side, and Lawson and Haralson to rotate in as depth, our pass rush is now a huge strength of our defense. I was hoping Austen Lane and other later round OLB's would impress, but Lane has struggled and not one looks NFL-ready like Graham.

2. Jon Asamoah G - Here is where we get our guard to compete with Rachal on the right side of the line. Remember we got our LG in FA. He is the second best G in the draft....is that really so bad? Iupati is amazing, but he just doesn't play a position important enough to pass on an elite edge rusher and the best playmaking RB in the draft with top end speed. So we get the next best thing with Asamoah.

3. Jason Fox / Kyle Calloway RT - Taking a RT here in the third round gives us great value for this position. Fox was once a second round prospect but had some issue (I forgot what it was), and could be there in the third i think (OTC correct me if I am wrong about this). Calloway had a great bowl game at RT for Iowa, and I believe our new O-line coaches can coach him up to become a starter for us relatively soon. Saffold would be another option here as well. Basically, we can get a decent RT here to start for us. Maybe not the best in the draft, but good enough to not pass on Spiller and Graham in the first round. Competes with Pashos.

3. Nate Allen FS / Robert Johnson FS / Reshad Jones SS - Basically, with our extra third we take the best safety prospect available, whether it be SS or free safety, as Goldson has the ability to move to SS IMO. I would LOVE to get Nate Allen here, as I believe he could be the ballhawking FS we have been wanting for a long time.

4. Chris Cook CB - Depth here at corner, and looked really good during Senior Bowl practices this week. He is a tall corner as well, at almost 6'2 and 212 lbs. The 49ers were said to have shown an interest in him as well during Senior Bowl week.

5. Marcus Easly WR - OTC really likes this guy, and is close to 6'4 215 lbs and runs 4.4 forty. Could develop into the speed guy we need.

6. Jeff Byars OG - The niners have shown some interest this week at the Senior Bowl in this G from USC. Smaller G good within the zone blocking scheme, good depth on the line. Has looked pretty good this week.

7. Chris Martinelli RT - Depth at RT behind our 3rd round pick and competes with Snyder and Boone for backup at RT.

If there is an emergency at RT during the season, we can always move Staley over to RT if needed, as Sims played outstanding at LT last year in relief of Staley.

Depth chart:

QB: Smith, Davis, Hill
RB: Gore, Spiller, Coffee, Robinson, Norris
WR: Crabtree, Morgan, Jones, Hill, Easley
TE: Davis, Walker
OL: Staley, FA Guard, Heitmann, Asomoah, Fox/Calloway
Sims, Bass, Wallace, Rachal, Martinelli/Boone/Pashos, Wragge, Byars
DL: Soap, Franklin, Smith, Balmer, McDonald, Jean-Francois
LB: Graham, Willis, Spikes, Brooks
Haralson, McKillop, Lawson, Briggs
DB: Clements, Spencer, Brown, Bly, Cook, Allen/Jones, Goldson, Lewis, Smith, Taylor

KR/PR: Spiller, Hixon
LS: Jennings
P: Lee
K: Nedney

Thoughts?

I see that you are throwing it out there and there are some interesting picks, but guaranteed the Niners are going to take a tackle.

The reason why our offense struggled was the line play last year. It came on at the end but they need to at least groom a top level talent.

The game is won with the Offensive line. A solid line would help our team so much with better Pass Protection, better clock management and our defense would be fresh.

No. I want to see some O next year. I know loads of people round here want the sexy picks and think we can push the line down the priorities, but I am just completely in opposition. This is not a "we need to pick up an extra O lineman" need. This is a "we have one or two reasonable players, poor depth and that's about it" need. Rachal has not proved he can be anything more that depth yet. I hope he does but we can't rely on it. I take my hat off to Sims, but can he do it again next year?

This is not a tweak, it is a virtual rebuild. Let's do it. Long term solution. Not Elastoplast. 2 O linemen in the first three picks and a further later, around the fifth

I like the approach, nice to read something different. I also like the players, especially Graham.

Originally posted by ezekiel40:
I realize that we are in dire need of OL talent to help our team. However, I don't think we necessarily HAVE to fix our O-line problems in the 1st round. We have a new O-line coaching staff, which hopefully are better than our previous O-line coaches, and I'd like to see if they can coach up the players we already have, especially Rachal.

Rachal has already turned the corner and is only going to get better. There are some guards available in FA, even in an uncapped year. Here's how I would do it if we were going your way. Trading back our first should net us an extra 2nd, not an extra third.

FA Signings
Eugene Amano OG, TEN. He's in his sixth year right now so he's UFA no matter what happens. He'll be an immediate upgrade over Baas.

Karlos Dansby LB, AZ. He's not a top-tier LB anymore, but he's still very good and should provide an upgrade for us there.


Draft
1a CJ Spiller (Home run threat/return man/receiving threat)
1b Earl Thomas (best safety left on the board)
2a Brandon Spikes (We don't need an OLB but we need to start thinking about an ILB to replace Takeo)
2b Kyle Calloway (RT for Iowa who dominated just as much as Bulaga)
3 Brandon Ghee, CB (provides some depth at safety and can work his way into the starting line up whenever Clements and/or Bly leave)
4 Freddie Barnes, WR (In 2009 caught 138 passes for 1551 yards. He also averaged 7.3 yards per punt return)
5. Max Hall, QB (I'm not a huge fan of Shaun Hill as a backup and Nate Davis is far too raw. Hall was a very successful college QB and can push both of them for the backup.)
6. Jeron Mastrud, TE (At 6'5 and 246 lbs has the size to be a good blocking TE. Does a good job of doing that but still can go out and catch the ball)
7. John Fletcher, DT (Wyoming DT who is a very solid player. Notched 49 tackles, 7 sacks this year, and 6 tackles in their bowl game).

This brings up an interestiing point. For the record I dont think we should or will exit the first round without our future right tackle. But I have seen the occasional mock where two very talented potential top 5-10 picks make it back to us due to needs of certain teams above for specific positions. For example I saw a draft that said we could grab Hayden and Spiller in the first...with Hayden taking a free fall and Spiller really on being taken 1 or 2 later than most think. So my question is this. To add another layer to the original post. What 2 guys would have to be there for you to say, hell with it, I will get a RT in the second round?

Originally posted by English:
No. I want to see some O next year. I know loads of people round here want the sexy picks and think we can push the line down the priorities, but I am just completely in opposition. This is not a "we need to pick up an extra O lineman" need. This is a "we have one or two reasonable players, poor depth and that's about it" need. Rachal has not proved he can be anything more that depth yet. I hope he does but we can't rely on it. I take my hat off to Sims, but can he do it again next year?

This is not a tweak, it is a virtual rebuild. Let's do it. Long term solution. Not Elastoplast. 2 O linemen in the first three picks and a further later, around the fifth

Drafting lineman isn't going to lead to O. Sure it might make us a successful ball control club, but ultimately O comes from the QB. Until that's fixed being above average offense that pounds you is the best we can ask.

Those who don't want to fix the OL properly.

For the love of god, fix the OL. That is all.

Two thumbs up!!

Originally posted by tjd808185:

Originally posted by English:
No. I want to see some O next year. I know loads of people round here want the sexy picks and think we can push the line down the priorities, but I am just completely in opposition. This is not a "we need to pick up an extra O lineman" need. This is a "we have one or two reasonable players, poor depth and that's about it" need. Rachal has not proved he can be anything more that depth yet. I hope he does but we can't rely on it. I take my hat off to Sims, but can he do it again next year?

This is not a tweak, it is a virtual rebuild. Let's do it. Long term solution. Not Elastoplast. 2 O linemen in the first three picks and a further later, around the fifth

Drafting lineman isn't going to lead to O. Sure it might make us a successful ball control club, but ultimately O comes from the QB. Until that's fixed being above average offense that pounds you is the best we can ask.

I just do not understand your point. So fixing the O line won't help the running backs produce more yards? Won't release the tight ends from blocking duties and allow them more passing plays? Won't allow the qb more time to select his target and make an accurate throw?

Everything on offense starts with the line. You talk about fixing the qb. Steve Young in his prime might have been able to operate behind this sh1t line but no qb we have or ate likely to get will.

Fix the line first.

The line.

Fix it.

Or our O next year will continue to struggle.

Originally posted by English:

Originally posted by tjd808185:

Originally posted by English:
No. I want to see some O next year. I know loads of people round here want the sexy picks and think we can push the line down the priorities, but I am just completely in opposition. This is not a "we need to pick up an extra O lineman" need. This is a "we have one or two reasonable players, poor depth and that's about it" need. Rachal has not proved he can be anything more that depth yet. I hope he does but we can't rely on it. I take my hat off to Sims, but can he do it again next year?

This is not a tweak, it is a virtual rebuild. Let's do it. Long term solution. Not Elastoplast. 2 O linemen in the first three picks and a further later, around the fifth

Drafting lineman isn't going to lead to O. Sure it might make us a successful ball control club, but ultimately O comes from the QB. Until that's fixed being above average offense that pounds you is the best we can ask.

I just do not understand your point. So fixing the O line won't help the running backs produce more yards? Won't release the tight ends from blocking duties and allow them more passing plays? Won't allow the qb more time to select his target and make an accurate throw?

Everything on offense starts with the line. You talk about fixing the qb. Steve Young in his prime might have been able to operate behind this sh1t line but no qb we have or ate likely to get will.

Fix the line first.

The line.

Fix it.

Or our O next year will continue to struggle.

Bottom line is you can have the best line in the league and you're still looking at an average offense without a QB.

That's all I'm saying. I'm not arguing against taking lineman this year I'm just stating the fact that even after we fix the line we're still a middle of the pack offense next year.

Don't throw all your priorities towards the line because without a dominant defense we aint the Jets or the Ravens or the Steelers.

Originally posted by ezekiel40:
I realize that we are in dire need of OL talent to help our team. However, I don't think we necessarily HAVE to fix our O-line problems in the 1st round. We have a new O-line coaching staff, which hopefully are better than our previous O-line coaches, and I'd like to see if they can coach up the players we already have, especially Rachal.

what do you dream about??? do you really think that the new coaching staff will improve the line SO much in such a little time?
like about thousand of other members have already said: no o-line, no offense...understand that???

sorry for the harsh and subjective comment but i'm tired of hearing that we can fix our line in later rounds...imo this assumption could hold for the guard-class (wouldnt draft iupati at all costs, e.g. pouncey is more than enough) but not for this year's OT-class...it's too top-heavy to pass up on one of them in the 1st.
I dont want to see the niners drafting for the o-line with both 1st rounders. I want a playmaker, too, so I hope that anyone will fall. and i wouldnt draft any pass rusher so far in the first unless we wont find any other player, who is worth drafting there (I'd rather bpa-olb than to reach for anyone).

Originally posted by tjd808185:

Originally posted by English:

Originally posted by tjd808185:

Originally posted by English:
No. I want to see some O next year. I know loads of people round here want the sexy picks and think we can push the line down the priorities, but I am just completely in opposition. This is not a "we need to pick up an extra O lineman" need. This is a "we have one or two reasonable players, poor depth and that's about it" need. Rachal has not proved he can be anything more that depth yet. I hope he does but we can't rely on it. I take my hat off to Sims, but can he do it again next year?

This is not a tweak, it is a virtual rebuild. Let's do it. Long term solution. Not Elastoplast. 2 O linemen in the first three picks and a further later, around the fifth

Drafting lineman isn't going to lead to O. Sure it might make us a successful ball control club, but ultimately O comes from the QB. Until that's fixed being above average offense that pounds you is the best we can ask.

I just do not understand your point. So fixing the O line won't help the running backs produce more yards? Won't release the tight ends from blocking duties and allow them more passing plays? Won't allow the qb more time to select his target and make an accurate throw?

Everything on offense starts with the line. You talk about fixing the qb. Steve Young in his prime might have been able to operate behind this sh1t line but no qb we have or ate likely to get will.

Fix the line first.

The line.

Fix it.

Or our O next year will continue to struggle.

Bottom line is you can have the best line in the league and you're still looking at an average offense without a QB.

That's all I'm saying. I'm not arguing against taking lineman this year I'm just stating the fact that even after we fix the line we're still a middle of the pack offense next year.

Don't throw all your priorities towards the line because without a dominant defense we aint the Jets or the Ravens or the Steelers.

We clearly disagree not only about Smith but also about our D, which I think is developing very nicely.

It's a good draft to have 2 first rounders in!

You know what? I'd be okay with this. Do I see it happening, though? Not really. I think we'll take an OL in round one almost guaranteed.

I'd only be okay with this if we landed those exact players (or better) in the 2nd/3rd. Except for Wang. Stay away from him. He has fast feet because he's a converter tight end, but don't be fooled. When he gets in game in the NFL, I can see him struggling to get proper leverage and lose ground on the bull-rush.

But an Asamoah/Fox combo (arguably two first round talents -- I grade Jon as a 2nd, and Jason as a 1st) would be an exceptional value. Fox only drops because of the shoulder injury.

Rounds 3 through 6 are excellent. Great work, in my opinion. Especially for a newer poster.