No OL in Rd1

Consider this.

What if Solari/Brown used the recent 2-day OTA to confirm their belief that Chilo Rachal is best-suited as the RT?

And that Rachal at RT would be better than any RT currently on the team (Staley, Snyder, Sims, Patrick, Boone), AND be better than any Round 1 draft prospects (Okung, Davis, Williams, Bulaga, Brown, Saffold), AND be better than any potential RFA available via trade (Gaither, Adams)?

Remember that Nolan looked at Rachal's bodybtype and thought that he was a RT. Remember that Rachal was targeted to move to RT in his next year at USC for Pete Carroll.

If this were true, it would have a huge affect on the draft and FA signings.

For example, Chester Pitts (if healthy) could immediately move-in at RG next to Rachal and provide a veteran inside presence to book-end Rachal between Pitts and TE Davis.

AND/OR Iupati suddenly makes a lot more sense as a Round 1 OG pick.

AND the debilitating pressure to draft an OT in Round 1 goes away, replaced by more BPA freedom.

Just sayin.........This one little conclusion makes things a lot more clear.

Originally posted by jimbagg:
Consider this.

What if Solari/Brown used the recent 2-day OTA to confirm their belief that Chilo Rachal is best-suited as the RT?

And that Rachal at RT would be better than any RT currently on the team (Staley, Snyder, Sims, Patrick, Boone), AND be better than any Round 1 draft prospects (Okung, Davis, Williams, Bulaga, Brown, Saffold), AND be better than any potential RFA available via trade (Gaither, Adams)?

Remember that Nolan looked at Rachal's bodybtype and thought that he was a RT. Remember that Rachal was targeted to move to RG in his next year at USC for Pete Carroll.

If this were true, it would have a huge affect on the draft and FA signings.

For example, Chester Pitts (if healthy) could immediately move-in at RG next to Rachal and provide a veteran inside presence to book-end Rachal between Pitts and TE Davis.

AND/OR Iupati suddenly makes a lot more sense as a Round 1 OG pick.

AND the debilitating pressure to draft an OT in Round 1 goes away, replaced by more BPA freedom.

Just sayin.........This one little conclusion makes things a lot more clear.

Agreed, but I would prefer it if Chilo showed himself to to be a "good" starter at RG first. That is before we project him to a starting RT...after all it does come down to projection at all the positions involved...

Yes, and what makes you think that Solari/Brown would conclude that Rachel would make a good RT? Man, isn't he the guy who stood flat-footed time and time again at RG, while DTs flew by him on their way to the QB? You think he will miraculously become quick and reliable enough to prevent hard-rushing DEs from getting by him? Interesting.

I just want good BPA freedom also, As Jbagg says...After all, [ and a years wait] our move to give up our # 2 & #4 last year will pay off ....The FO must make the right moves and decisions this draft...I for one, think they will...Fingers crossed that is.

Originally posted by excelsior:
Yes, and what makes you think that Solari/Brown would conclude that Rachel would make a good RT? Man, isn't he the guy who stood flat-footed time and time again at RG, while DTs flew by him on their way to the QB? You think he will miraculously become quick and reliable enough to prevent hard-rushing DEs from getting by him? Interesting.

Yes. And I am not sure Solari would have made such a critical decision - and then draft based on it - based on just 2 days OTAs

Originally posted by Yetiman:
For day 1 and day 2 repeat after me: BPA, BPA, BPA,

Generally I agree, but we MUST get a OT in rd 1 or 2.

I would trade down and aim for an OT late rd 1 or early rd 2. Do NOT reach for an OT at 13 or 17. The real strength of this draft is it's depth into early rd 2. I would target:

Rodger Saffold - athletic, sure thing, safe value pick
Jared Veldheer - athletic, safe pick, never gives up sacks, strong,


Anthony Davis - if available late rd 1 is good pick
Charles Brown - more of a left tackle, good pick late rd 1
Bruce Campbell - probably will be over-drafted, but if available late 1 -early rd 2 is OK

Later Possibilities:
Selvish Capers - rd 3 ? (pretty talented)
Ed Wang - rd 4 ?
Sam Young - rd 5 ?
Vladimir Ducasse - sucked bad at the senior bowl

Originally posted by maxsmart:

Originally posted by Yetiman:
For day 1 and day 2 repeat after me: BPA, BPA, BPA,

Generally I agree, but we MUST get a OT in rd 1 or 2.

I would trade down and aim for an OT late rd 1 or early rd 2. Do NOT reach for an OT at 13 or 17. The real strength of this draft is it's depth into early rd 2. I would target:

Rodger Saffold - athletic, sure thing, safe value pick
Jared Veldheer - athletic, safe pick, never gives up sacks, strong,


Anthony Davis - if available late rd 1 is good pick
Charles Brown - more of a left tackle, good pick late rd 1
Bruce Campbell - probably will be over-drafted, but if available late 1 -early rd 2 is OK

Later Possibilities:
Selvish Capers - rd 3 ? (pretty talented)
Ed Wang - rd 4 ?
Sam Young - rd 5 ?
Vladimir Ducasse - sucked bad at the senior bowl

good idea but we might have to trade up i dont think too many teams are gonna be wiilling to trade up that many spots there is just too much depth in the draft in so many positions

Originally posted by excelsior:
Yes, and what makes you think that Solari/Brown would conclude that Rachel would make a good RT? Man, isn't he the guy who stood flat-footed time and time again at RG, while DTs flew by him on their way to the QB? You think he will miraculously become quick and reliable enough to prevent hard-rushing DEs from getting by him? Interesting.

I hear you. My earlier post was more of a "what if" scenario, prompted by the club's surprising (to me) interest in the veteran OG Pitts.

Rachal is too high-waisted IMHO to excel at OG. That body type makes it hard for him to get low on short yardage situations. Conversely, those long legs should make it easier for him to protect the edge at the RT position, with a single step.

My opinion is that Rachal went through a sophomore slump during the first half to 2/3 of the 2009 season, for some reason. Maybe it was a lack of coaching development. Maybe something else. Maybe your observation of flat-footedness is not so much physical, but more simply a function of thinking too much or not knowing his blitz pick-up responsibilities. Either way, he improved in the latter part of the season, and is in under contract for another 2-3 years.

I fully expect the club to select an OT SOMEWHERE in this draft. But the title of this thread is NO OL IN ROUND 1, and that is the reasoning for my speculation on Rachal possibly moving to RT. Certainly, I would feel better about such a move if Rachal had consistently excelled at RG, but then the facts are what they are.

My speculation is admittedly a long shot, but it's just a different angle for discussion purposes.

Kwame Harris 1st round pick at RT, not always a lock!

Originally posted by jimbagg:
Consider this.

What if Solari/Brown used the recent 2-day OTA to confirm their belief that Chilo Rachal is best-suited as the RT?

And that Rachal at RT would be better than any RT currently on the team (Staley, Snyder, Sims, Patrick, Boone), AND be better than any Round 1 draft prospects (Okung, Davis, Williams, Bulaga, Brown, Saffold), AND be better than any potential RFA available via trade (Gaither, Adams)?

Remember that Nolan looked at Rachal's bodybtype and thought that he was a RT. Remember that Rachal was targeted to move to RT in his next year at USC for Pete Carroll.

If this were true, it would have a huge affect on the draft and FA signings.

For example, Chester Pitts (if healthy) could immediately move-in at RG next to Rachal and provide a veteran inside presence to book-end Rachal between Pitts and TE Davis.

AND/OR Iupati suddenly makes a lot more sense as a Round 1 OG pick.

AND the debilitating pressure to draft an OT in Round 1 goes away, replaced by more BPA freedom.

Just sayin.........This one little conclusion makes things a lot more clear.

If Rachal had show himself to even be a solid RG I would say maybe. But considering he was probably our worst O-linemen last year I would rather spend the 1st two picks on Brown and Lupati.

Just shore up the right side of the line for the next 5-10 years and be done with it. Im not a Davis or Campbell fan. But if they want to go Spiller and Lupati and try Lupati out at RT thats good too. Even if he shows he isn't ready to start at RT, you just play him at RG and makd our worst linement, Rachal, our swing guard.

Originally posted by English:

Originally posted by excelsior:
Yes, and what makes you think that Solari/Brown would conclude that Rachel would make a good RT? Man, isn't he the guy who stood flat-footed time and time again at RG, while DTs flew by him on their way to the QB? You think he will miraculously become quick and reliable enough to prevent hard-rushing DEs from getting by him? Interesting.

Yes. And I am not sure Solari would have made such a critical decision - and then draft based on it - based on just 2 days OTAs

But keep in mind, Solari also ran the OL drills at the Combine, so he got an up close look at every OL prospect, center, guard and tackle, that was there.

Then a few short weeks later he runs the OTAs for the Niners OL. Should be easy for him to compare the draft prospects with what's already available.

Plus he'll have weeks, by the time the draft arrives, to study film of last years OL, and he'll undoubtedly have input from Raye and other coaches about the strengths and weaknesses of last year's OL.

On top of that, wasn't he OL coach for Seattle most recently? My guess is that the Niner's OL problems have been well known by our NFC West opponents for some time. Seattle's pressure up the middle, specifically by R. Bernard a couple years ago, has been repeated by Arizona as well. The only reason St. Louis couldn't copy the plan has been their lack of DL.

The idea of using Rachal at RT this next season is one that had not occurred to me. If its considered by the Niners, that would give them, prior to the draft, a total of six (6) prospects at RT: Staley, Snyder, Sims, Patrick, Boone and Rachal. Assuming that they want to keep Staley at LT, and Sims at swing tackle, there are still four (4) prospects at RT before the draft even starts.

If A. Boone were to have come out for the draft this year, would he be a first round prospect if he showed up in his present shape and w/o the character concerns of last season?

This is the same question JimBagg is asking--if there are already valid, serious, bona fide RT prospect(s) on the team, would drafting an OT in the first be worth it, or should the Niners focus on other needs in the first and look for an OT prospect later in the draft?

Originally posted by jimbagg:
Consider this.

What if Solari/Brown used the recent 2-day OTA to confirm their belief that Chilo Rachal is best-suited as the RT?

And that Rachal at RT would be better than any RT currently on the team (Staley, Snyder, Sims, Patrick, Boone), AND be better than any Round 1 draft prospects (Okung, Davis, Williams, Bulaga, Brown, Saffold), AND be better than any potential RFA available via trade (Gaither, Adams)?

Remember that Nolan looked at Rachal's bodybtype and thought that he was a RT. Remember that Rachal was targeted to move to RT in his next year at USC for Pete Carroll.

If this were true, it would have a huge affect on the draft and FA signings.

For example, Chester Pitts (if healthy) could immediately move-in at RG next to Rachal and provide a veteran inside presence to book-end Rachal between Pitts and TE Davis.

AND/OR Iupati suddenly makes a lot more sense as a Round 1 OG pick.

AND the debilitating pressure to draft an OT in Round 1 goes away, replaced by more BPA freedom.

Just sayin.........This one little conclusion makes things a lot more clear.

Great post Jim!!

I agree whole heartily with the original poser... If trent williams is there we have to take him at #13...but theres a very strong chance he'll be gone by the time we are on the clock.

At #13, we take Spiller or Haden if they are available...they each fix an equally important role as RT. Smith gets another dynamic playmaker...or our secondary get a top talent CB to groom for next season when we dont have a walt harris or dre bly starting.

At #17, we have Iupati, E. Thomas, B. Graham... each will start in their first season and be an upgrade at an important position.

At #49, there will be several OT's that we can target for RT

Saffold...he should be gone.

Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale
Height: 6-8. Weight: 312.
Projected 40 Time: 5.25.
Combine 40 Time: 5.09.
Benchx225: 32. Arm: 33.
Projected Round (2010): 2-3.

Tony Washington, Abilene Christian
Height: 6-6. Weight: 311.
Projected 40 Time: 5.10.
Combine 40 Time: 5.19.
Benchx225: 33. Arm: 35 1/2.
Projected Round (2010): 3-4.

Vladimir Ducasse, UMass
Height: 6-4. Weight: 332.
Projected 40 Time: 5.40.
Combine 40 Time: 5.21.
Benchx225: 29. Arm: 34 3/4.
Projected Round (2010): 2-3.

I like Veldheer and Washington...some say they could slide to 3rd, but at #49 or trading back into the late 2nd, would be good value. Both have talent, but Veldheer is from a small school and Washington like to give it to his sister , however that was 7 years ago and what happens in texas stays in texas...I hope