very disappointing draft...

Three rounds, 5 picks (two traded away) and no players, only projects.
A young DE end to convert to OLB, no starter there.
A QB from a gimmick collage offense with bad mechanics, (Alex Smith?) nope he is not a starter either.
A DB with problems in coverage at the collage level, so he was moved to safety...

One or two projects on a team is okay, if it is a winning team, three projects for 5 draft picks is not what I call a great draft.

Maybe in three years these guys have all panned out and are pro-bowlers. That will be great for our next head coach, Baalke seems to be setting Harhbaugh up to fail!

I prefer it when project players are taken in the last rounds not the first.

Don't mind me, I hated last years draft as well! (I thought Iupati and Mays were the only decent picks) I even said two offensive linemen in the first round will get QBs killed and head coaches fired!

For some of you, it's pretty obvious that no matter who Baalke/Harbaugh draft, you'll have issues with it. Pretty sad. Baalke's busting his butt trying to get Harbaugh the players HE wants. Just about everyone in this forum was balyhooing the hiring of Harbaugh...but now that he's in his first draft, some of you criticize every pick. I guess it just goes back to the old saying...you can please some of the people some of the time, but you'll never please all the people all the time. For me, he's hit on his three top priorities with the first three picks. Now, he has eight more to go...and I just don't see anything wrong with what he and Baalke are doing. They've done their homework...and are doing what they feel is necessary to upgrade their roster. 'Til any of the players they draft show they can't cut it on the field, then's the time to criticize, not now.

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:

A DB with problems in coverage at the collage level, so he was moved to safety...

really? you should check your infos again...like i know, he was a WR in his first days and was moved to FS. in 2010 he played about 7 games at CB.
wow...i'm shocked. there are guys out there who want starters out of the draft...that's a dream.
going into the draft for getting starters is simply not realistic.

[ Edited by communist on Apr 30, 2011 at 08:14:43 ]

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
Three rounds, 5 picks (two traded away) and no players, only projects.
A young DE end to convert to OLB, no starter there.
A QB from a gimmick collage offense with bad mechanics, (Alex Smith?) nope he is not a starter either.
A DB with problems in coverage at the collage level, so he was moved to safety...

One or two projects on a team is okay, if it is a winning team, three projects for 5 draft picks is not what I call a great draft.

Maybe in three years these guys have all panned out and are pro-bowlers. That will be great for our next head coach, Baalke seems to be setting Harhbaugh up to fail!

I prefer it when project players are taken in the last rounds not the first.

Don't mind me, I hated last years draft as well! (I thought Iupati and Mays were the only decent picks) I even said two offensive linemen in the first round will get QBs killed and head coaches fired!

Im with you on this ...THis draft as of now is a F in my book...REach at 7!!! Ck isnt going to be a probowler or a starter ..he is a pat white I dont see any one of these picks being starters on our team ! and 1-3 you should get a starter or two... I think balke is tring to pull diamonds out the rough and marching to the beat of his own power trip....I was so excited for draftmas now I feel like we have wasted our best picks I DONT LIKE A SINGLE PICK! a 3rd round pick that started like 8 games WTF? he should have been a 4th or 5th pick !!! HORRIBLE

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
Three rounds, 5 picks (two traded away) and no players, only projects.
A young DE end to convert to OLB, no starter there.
A QB from a gimmick collage offense with bad mechanics, (Alex Smith?) nope he is not a starter either.
A DB with problems in coverage at the collage level, so he was moved to safety...

One or two projects on a team is okay, if it is a winning team, three projects for 5 draft picks is not what I call a great draft.

Maybe in three years these guys have all panned out and are pro-bowlers. That will be great for our next head coach, Baalke seems to be setting Harhbaugh up to fail!

I prefer it when project players are taken in the last rounds not the first.

Don't mind me, I hated last years draft as well! (I thought Iupati and Mays were the only decent picks) I even said two offensive linemen in the first round will get QBs killed and head coaches fired!

Considering Sing was that HC I've got no problem . . .

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
Three rounds, 5 picks (two traded away) and no players, only projects.
A young DE end to convert to OLB, no starter there.
A QB from a gimmick collage offense with bad mechanics, (Alex Smith?) nope he is not a starter either.
A DB with problems in coverage at the collage level, so he was moved to safety...

One or two projects on a team is okay, if it is a winning team, three projects for 5 draft picks is not what I call a great draft.

Maybe in three years these guys have all panned out and are pro-bowlers. That will be great for our next head coach, Baalke seems to be setting Harhbaugh up to fail!

I prefer it when project players are taken in the last rounds not the first.

Don't mind me, I hated last years draft as well! (I thought Iupati and Mays were the only decent picks) I even said two offensive linemen in the first round will get QBs killed and head coaches fired!

You're absolutely right! Bad teams never pick developmental players, only sure fire starters, it's totally worked out for the Lions, Browns, and Bengals over the past decade. That pesky developmental QB in Green Bay really blew it for them this year. Or that Kolb project in Philly... what team would want to trade for that mess! Didn't the Texans pick someone that needed time to transition to the pro-game like Demario Williams over surefire NFL touchdown machines like Reggie Bush & Vince young... what a sorry pick.

And the first pick in this year's draft is a starter from day 1 no doubt about it! Von Miller won't need any development to grow into a 4-3 outside linebacker, he's just a natural, not really sure why they even give him a position coach.

In the immortal words of Stewie Griffin "Do you even hear yourself speak?"
All players out of college are projects, it's up to the coaching staff to develop the team and get players to execute in their systems. If you only want to add starters every off season you may want to start rooting for the redskins.

[ Edited by 5280High on Apr 30, 2011 at 08:41:15 ]

Originally posted by niner4life21:
LMAO.

I swear, I wonder why some of the guys on this board aren't NFL GMs or scouts or coaches. Obviously, they know more than the f**king professionals.

Ok, let me start of with Aldon Smith- The only worthy players at 7 IMO were Quinn, Prince, Gabbert, and then Smith, for some. Most of us didn't want Gabbert, and most of us figured Harbaugh didn't either. Cross him off. I'll admit, I thought Prince was the pick too, but certainly, it wasn't just us, since he fell A LOT down all the way to the Giants.. Cross him off, for now. So Quinn and Smith are left, and both play the same position. I woulda thought Quinn was the pick, but if the Niners wanted Smith, then why should we argue? Just because some so called analyst who has never drafted a player in his lifetime thought otherwise? Bill Parcells was high on Smith.

Now for the 'why didn't we trade back' argument... IT TAKES TWO f**kING TEAMS TO MAKE A TRADE. Baalke even admitted that he tried trading back to the 11-13 range, where there were certain teams ( Houston ), who wanted Smith. The other teams didn't want to, so thats that. As much as some posters on here would like to believe so, you can't exactly force a team to make a trade with you..

Thanks. I can stop wasting time reading now and don't need to post because you said it very well.

Originally posted by niner4life21:
LMAO.

I swear, I wonder why some of the guys on this board aren't NFL GMs or scouts or coaches. Obviously, they know more than the f**king professionals.

Ok, let me start of with Aldon Smith- The only worthy players at 7 IMO were Quinn, Prince, Gabbert, and then Smith, for some. Most of us didn't want Gabbert, and most of us figured Harbaugh didn't either. Cross him off. I'll admit, I thought Prince was the pick too, but certainly, it wasn't just us, since he fell A LOT down all the way to the Giants.. Cross him off, for now. So Quinn and Smith are left, and both play the same position. I woulda thought Quinn was the pick, but if the Niners wanted Smith, then why should we argue? Just because some so called analyst who has never drafted a player in his lifetime thought otherwise? Bill Parcells was high on Smith.

Now for the 'why didn't we trade back' argument... IT TAKES TWO f**kING TEAMS TO MAKE A TRADE. Baalke even admitted that he tried trading back to the 11-13 range, where there were certain teams ( Houston ), who wanted Smith. The other teams didn't want to, so thats that. As much as some posters on here would like to believe so, you can't exactly force a team to make a trade with you..

This...over and over and over again!!!

Originally posted by GolittaCamper:
Three rounds, 5 picks (two traded away) and no players, only projects.
A young DE end to convert to OLB, no starter there.
A QB from a gimmick collage offense with bad mechanics, (Alex Smith?) nope he is not a starter either.
A DB with problems in coverage at the collage level, so he was moved to safety...

One or two projects on a team is okay, if it is a winning team, three projects for 5 draft picks is not what I call a great draft.

Maybe in three years these guys have all panned out and are pro-bowlers. That will be great for our next head coach, Baalke seems to be setting Harhbaugh up to fail!

I prefer it when project players are taken in the last rounds not the first.

Don't mind me, I hated last years draft as well! (I thought Iupati and Mays were the only decent picks) I even said two offensive linemen in the first round will get QBs killed and head coaches fired!

If I may:
Few college teams run a true 3-4, so no matter what, most players drafted for that spot would need a transitional period. If I can get a guy with the arm length of Jevon Kearse, a vertical like AJ Green, and the on-field production of 17.5 sacks in a season and a half, I have to take that guy. I'd expect to see him as part of the 3rd down package immediately, and move up to started by mid-season.

Between the spread and the pistol, most college offenses are gimmicky compared to the pro-style. Some analysts have mentioned concerns about Kaepernick's mechanics, but others have said there's nothing wrong with it. Harbaugh has said that the mechanics on this kid are fine. No, he won't see the field this year(at least I hope not), but his upside cannot be ignored by a team with a massive hole at QB, and who just hired a coach who's strength is supposed to be QB development.

Culliver was a bit of a reach. How much depends on which boards you check. However, he played safety most of his career, and then moved to corner his senior year, not the other way around. Still, kind of a "meh" pick.

I like the first two picks, kind of ??? on the third, but I'd be interested in hearing who you would have taken instead.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
For some of you, it's pretty obvious that no matter who Baalke/Harbaugh draft, you'll have issues with it. Pretty sad. Baalke's busting his butt trying to get Harbaugh the players HE wants. Just about everyone in this forum was balyhooing the hiring of Harbaugh...but now that he's in his first draft, some of you criticize every pick. I guess it just goes back to the old saying...you can please some of the people some of the time, but you'll never please all the people all the time. For me, he's hit on his three top priorities with the first three picks. Now, he has eight more to go...and I just don't see anything wrong with what he and Baalke are doing. They've done their homework...and are doing what they feel is necessary to upgrade their roster. 'Til any of the players they draft show they can't cut it on the field, then's the time to criticize, not now.

Pretty much this.

These comments are a reflection on the posters than what's actually occurring out there. I read the first couple of pages of this thread and then just skipped to the end.

Here's how I see the draft. It would have been great if we could have drafted down, stockpiled some picks and still got our picks(this is key). We tried. We couldn't.

As far as the players The Niners got . . . IMO this is a GREAT draft. What's not to like? Which players at the positions selected by other teams are sure fire starters over the player the Niners, picked? I'll tell you . . . NONE. With rookies there are no guarantees.

The Niners picked great athletes. Players who would excel in multiple sports. AND they picked them at positions OF NEED.

1. Aldon could be a basketball player (Harbaugh referred to him as Dwayne Wade because of his wingspan) This is huge in a pass rusher . . . the ability to keep a offensive linemans hands off him. I'll admit . . . I was on the Quinn wagon (also because of his athleticism). They probably deemed him a health risk. No problem . . . Aldon's just as good ( and longer arms!). He's just a kid. Coach him and let the kid's instincts take over. He's got all the tools. And he's growing.

2. Kaepernick was drafted by a pro baseball team out of high school! Another instinctive athletic type. This guy has better athleticism and game instincts than any other QB selected. Better speed. Better arm. Higher, or as high, intelligence. Which rookie QB out there is more game ready? Mallet, yes. But that's it. And Kap is waaay more athletic. Kap's a gamer. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was learning on the job. There's no better learning experience than actually playing if you have the mental toughness to be able to handle it. And this kid IMO has it. Harbaugh IMO recognizes this also.

3. Culliver has speed to burn. He's athletic enough to play multiple positions. Another guy with "gamer" instincts. Flew under the radar because he was injured last year for the most part. Harbaugh liked what he saw. He knows that he's a FOOTBALL player.

All these guys are "players". Harbaugh understands that these guys are eminently coachable because they have the INSTINCTS for the game. And that their probablitity of success is higher than those with lesser instincts. And because of their coachablity they'll be starting sooner rather than later.

I expect Aldon to be starting at some point this year, for sure. And he'll make a difference. I expect Kap to have significant playing time. And they'll throw Culliver out there to to see what he's got. I see Harbaugh as this kind of coach. A motivator with the ability to TEACH. Not a man of hollow words.

Originally posted by CRABTREE:
roger that and on the Kaep pick. This guy seems very fired up to get started. I never have seen a pick get to the facility within a couple of hours after being drafted and he's staying the night ...PER HARBAUGH! Let the staff make the picks and enjoy!

On Kaep, his home is in Modesto or somewhere around there. His college is about a 4.5 hour drive to San Jose.

As for all the naysayers on Kaep, I'm one of the few on here who has seen every game he has played for 4 years. I don't have to rely on talking heads like Darth Helmet and his protege. I've seen a young QB who was asked to change from a passing QB, to a running QB while absorbing a complex offense. This kid is humble and coachable. Chris Ault (his HC at UNR) has been a very demanding master throughout 20+ years at UNR. Ask the HC that got fired when Ault moved up to AD,
then fired the coach, resigned at AD and moved back to HC of the Wolfpack.

Oh, by the way for you people who talk about not facing any real competition. Wasn't that your Cal Bears that UNR took apart last year. You know the one with Cameron Jordan and the rest of the NFL caliber players.

On Aldon Smith, it's easy to see why they picked him over Robert Quinn. Smith was never sanctioned by the NCAA because he did something wrong. For all of you powder blue lovers, remember the last can't miss prospect we got from Butch Davis. He's playing for Seattle now. Smith plays with a motor, and doesn't take plays off. I will take a guy who plays all the time, produces results, is right for our 3-4 defense and doesn't have character issues over someone who the "draft experts" slobber over, comes from Butch Davis team, and has character issues any day.

As for the 3rd round choice, he's a press corner who is taller than most corners. If you remember we play in a division with Mike Williams, Larry Fitzgerald and a few other taller receivers. We'll see how this works out when and if the NFL plays.

Now on day 3, we have alot of picks to fill holes. I do hope we do something about NT, more CB, maybe a WR and with one of those final picks a Kicker.

I'll say this again. MOST ALL OLBs IN THE NFL HAD TO TRANSITION FROM A DE IN COLLEGE!!!!!!!!

How is that so hard to comprehend?!?!?!?!?!

Am I the only one who thinks that Fangio simply didn't see Quinn as a 3-4 OLB?
Quinn was drafted to play 4-3 end for the Rams so the niners still drafted who was clearly the second best 3-4 OLB prospect between Von Miller and Kerrigan.
Lets get real people. Harbaugh is clearly drafting and planning like he will be around for a while and is trying to set this team up for much future success. 3 picks down covering the 3 biggest needs. You gotta trust the staff to know what they want and I'm sure they have watched more film than any of us.
I actually like the Culliver pick a lot. You get a speedy CB that can return kicks and has a lot of upside. If I'm not mistaken I think he moved from safety to corner and doesn't have a lot of games at CB but the dude is a deffinate athlete.

I am not happy about this draft at all. We could have gotten prince, fairley, dalton, etc. I am not getting good vibes about this draft at all. I hope I am wrong. We draft a corner who doesn't have a position, a de/lb who appears a bit slow, and traded up and basically settled for the QB that was available.

Lets not forget too that some thought the cowboys reached for Ware at #11 back in 05.