Bill Walsh’s Draft Coup: Day One

Apr 24, 2004 at 12:00 AM


In his last days as the 49er's consultant, Bill Walsh looked to clean out his locker and move on from the organization he helped build with his football genius and draft savvy. Historically, Walsh's importance to the 49ers' organization ballooned on Draft Weekend, two days where Walsh put on a draft clinic for all those willing to pay attention. This draft, however, was supposed to be Terry Donahue's draft; a chance for the protégé to prove he could do it. Like the greats before him, Walsh was supposed to leave the organization quietly and unceremoniously May 1st when his contract expired.

Walsh became famous by trading down draft picks for more draft picks; scouring the scouting reports and picking quality players in later rounds that would contribute to four Super Bowls. Although this was Donahue's draft, he asked Walsh to work the phones during the draft, knowing that this would be a frenetic weekend replete with trades and proposed player swaps. Donahue also asked Walsh to survey the talent of the players on the board. At least Donahue is smart enough to know where to go for help. In his last draft with the organization, Walsh helped the 49ers orchestrate a successful first day of the 2004 NFL Draft.

It was common knowledge going into the draft that Donahue wanted to deal the 16th pick. Among NFL circles, he was said to be desperate. The Eagles and 49ers deal was "dead" as of yesterday, according to ESPN. With Walsh's help, the 49ers were able to secure the Eagles second round draft pick and trade down from 16 to 28. This was risky, considering that defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, a force in the middle, was still available. But the 49ers pulled the trigger on the move anyway, when the clock began ticking for the 28th pick Wilfork was not available, but wide receivers Mike Jenkins and Rashaun Woods were available. Once again, the 49ers' brass gambled and traded their pick with the Carolina Panthers, moving down to the 31st selection, and acquiring Carolina's 4th round pick.

The gamble paid off, and with the 31st pick the San Francisco 49ers picked wide receiver Rashaun Woods. They came away with much more though, gaining a fourth pick on the first day and sixth pick on the second day. Walsh's strategy of stockpiling picks and rebuilding through the draft got off to a good start.

The second round saw the 49ers pick Justin Smiley, an offensive guard from Alabama that some had projected as the best guard in the draft. An excellent pick for a position of need, the 49ers added much needed depth to a line that looked thin. With recent free agent additions like Scott Rheberg, the line appears able to handle an injury to a starter with relative ease.

With their second pick in the second round the 49ers looked to have gotten the nickel corner they have been missing when they selected Shawntae Spencer, a cornerback from Pittsburgh. Adding Spencer (a 6'1" corner with 4.4 speed) to a defensive backfield with Plummer and Rumph as starters and all of a sudden the 49ers look to have, at least on paper, a formidable defensive backfield.

With the final pick on day one, Erickson tried to get his speed receiver in Derrick Hamilton, a wide receiver from Clemson. Described as a player with second level speed to separate from defenders, Hamilton may be utilized as a deep threat to stretch defenses in Erickson's spread offense. At the very least he adds depth to a wide receiver corps decimated by free agency.  

All of these picks have tremendous upsides with very little downsides. The 49ers are now in a position on day two, with six picks, to start filling the bottom of their roster with quality back ups, the kind of back ups that create a championship caliber team. The 49ers need to fill holes at defensive tackle and tight end in the fourth round but after that, they can draft the best player available.

Clearly this draft had the big "BW" stamp all over it as it seemed that the 49ers made all the right moves. Walsh's eye for talent and ability to see the whole picture paid off one more time for San Fran; a fitting way for an NFL genius to bid adieu. Although Donahue does not have a horrible track record, drafting players like Julian Peterson and Eric Heitmann, his choices are definitely hit or miss (see Josh Shaw, Jeff Chandler, and Teddy "Who?" Gaines). It was Walsh, however, that dealed his way to 11 draft picks in the 2000 Draft after an abysmal 1999 season that accelerated the end of an era. It looks like Donahue still has much to learn from savvy Walsh. Hopefully he, like many of the rest of us, learned to cram in college.
The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.


0 Comments

  • No Comments

Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News



49ers elevate one player from practice squad for Week 2 vs. Rams

By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 16

Announcing roster moves on Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers shared that they will be elevating one player from the practice squad to the active roster for Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams: cornerback Tre Swilling, who will serve as a potential special-teams replacement for Samuel Womack, who hit Injured Reserve due to an MCL sprain that will likely sideline him for six-to-eight weeks, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Should he suit up and play, Swilling, who went undrafted last season, will be making his professional debut on Sunday against the



49ers' Brock Purdy reveals one thing Jimmy Garoppolo didn't teach him

By David Bonilla
Sep 17

The first half of Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams ended with Brock Purdy keeping the football for a quarterback sneak into the end zone, tying the game 17-17. It was a play that gave the Niners a lot of momentum against their division rivals. Brock Purdy with the QB sneak!!📺 #SFvsLAR on FOX📱NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4nCVJ pic.twitter.com/3EsoEzhkYZ— San



One reason why Deebo Samuel and the 49ers love Brock Purdy

By David Bonilla
Sep 19

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy wasn't perfect on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, yet the team was talented and disciplined enough to beat its division rivals 30-23. Purdy had arguably his worst game as a starter. The second-year quarterback earned an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 65.1, his lowest regular-season mark since Week 13 of 2022. He finished the game 17-of-25 for 206 yards and a passer rating of 93.1, a new regular-season career-low as a starter. The stat line might have been better had Purdy connected on a few passes to open receivers that were overthrown. After the game, when asked about the offense's shortcomings against the Rams, Purdy



What Kyle Shanahan said the day after 49ers' Week 2 win vs. Rams

By Site Staff
Sep 18

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters via a conference call on Monday, the day after the team's 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Here is everything he had to say. Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff. Opening comments: "It's too early to have all the answers for the injuries yet. So it's the same as last night with [CB] Ambry Thomas with a knee, [WR Brandon Aiyuk] B.A. with his shoulder and [DB Deommodore Lenoir] Demo cleared his evaluation yesterday for a concussion. He still has to be evaluated today. Go ahead guys." What do you think about the offensive line and the strides that that unit made coming off of Week 1? "I


Featured

More by Oscar Aparicio

More Articles

Share 49ersWebzone