Draft Need by Position

#1 WR is greatest need.

Originally posted by fryet:
Looking at our roster, I don't see any glaring need at any position. Most likely defections will determine where we have a draft need. But here is my personal analysis of where we have our needs based on position. I can also see us trading our first round pick away to get more draft picks in the middle rounds.

Offense:
QB - We have a solid starter and a young rookie that we are grooming. If we draft at all, it would be a late draft choice.
WR - Crabtree, Morgan, and Williams is a good, but not great three-some in the NFL. So far, we don't have any elite talent, but I would be reluctant to draft a WR in the first. We will need to draft more depth at this position, so I could see us targeting anywhere from 2nd to 7th for this position.
TE - We have solid starters in Davis and Walker, but we desperately need more depth here. Mid round pick(s) here would be well spent.
RB - Gore is great but seems to be on the decline. I am not sure that we have his replacement on the roster. I could see us spending a first round pick here, definitely a mid round.
OL - I like our starting tackles, but I would spend a mid round pick on the interior.

Defense:
DL - Justin Smith is great, and the other 2 are decent. You can't argue with the production of this group, however I would spend a mid round pick for more depth. Justin Smith won't be playing that much longer.
LB - Great group, but I could see us trying to get Aldon Smith 2 to replace Ahmad Brooks. 2 10 sack players are better than 1.
CB - Solid group but not elite. Hard to get elite at the bottom of the first, so maybe a trade up to mid first. If not, a mid round pick.
Safety - Safeties are adequate, but watching the PIT safeties, I see there is a lot of room for improvement. This would be the number one area that I would think of trading up in the first, since safeties tend to be picked later in the NFL.

Disclaimer: The * denotes underclassmen. I'm just throwing our prospects that I've seen play or read a little on but I know there could be others out there.

QB - wrote it in another thread that Tolzien could be back next year because he could've signed a multi-year deal as we still don't know his contract details. Developmental projects like Ryan Tannehill, Austin Davis, Domique Davis and Dan Persa make sense but Tannehill is this years Jake Locker, first round talent but probably at least a year away from being effective in the NFL. Cutting Tolzien or letting him leave in FA and signing Josh Johnson seems more likely then drafting someone at this point.

WR - Based on our offense without Braylon we do not need an early WR unless Floyd just plummets to us then we'd really have to think about it. However I've seen Criner or Fuller being on the board in the 3 - 4 round range and would love to get either of them. Keshawn Martin is my trendy late round pick but Danny Coale from Virginia Tech and Jermaine Kearse are my dark horse late round wideouts. Don't forget about Dontavia Bogan, I know he was a a undrafted free agent but there is chance he could stick especially since we aren't aware of his contract length(he could at the very least take Swain's spot, we let Braylon walk and re-sign Morgan leaving us with Crabtree, Morgan, Williams, Ginn, Bogan/other rookie).

FB - No Need.

RB - I kind of can't believe you'd seriously suggest we'd take a RB in the first but hey it could happen if we absolutely follow BPA and get rid of Dixon. Richard will be gone in the top 10 and after that we'd be looking at David Wilson*, Lamar Miller*, Montee Ball*, LaMichael James* and Chris Polk* and that's if all of them even declare. Favorite of the 5 is David Wilson but Chris Polk would be great. Mid rounders are Isiah Pead, Cyrus Gray, Doug Martin, Vick Ballard, Tauren Poole, Dan Herron. Of these I'd like either Pead or Herron but I seriously doubt we take a RB at any point in the draft. Gore is doing fine and will be around for another 2 years, I doubt JH would call Hunter a "future every down" back if he didn't think so and Anthony Dixon is doing really well on ST and mop up duty.

TE - I think we've got a top 5 tandem at TE for sure and don't see any reason to use anything earlier then a 4th on TE. Especially with Byham coming back from IR, Peele will probably be axed and we've also got Reuland on PS. LaDarius Green somewhere on day 2 is the only TE I would be happy with us drafting, if we took a TE on day 1 it better be because we traded Delanie for some reason.

OL - You completely forgot about the fact that both of our RG's are free agents and Baalke would be mad to retain either of them for anything more then minimum salary. RG is probably our biggest target in the draft or free agency. We'd be mad not take DeCastro in the first if we had the opportunity to do so. Kelechi Osemele from Iowa State, Senio Kelemete from Washington or Jaymes Brooks from Virginia Tech are other great options as well. Also a developmental center behind Goodwin would make a lot of sense Moe Petrus from UCONN and David Molk from Michigan would make great choices.

DL - I really like DeMarcus Dobbs' potential but we could very easily upgrade from Tukuafu. Marcus Fortson* from Miami could be a great developmental project for Tomsula. With us playing a base 4-3 we could look to guys like Jared Crick from Nebraska, Cam Johnson from Virginia, and Trevor Guyton from Cal. All 3 of them are right around 6-3 280 so they could probably stand to bulk up a bit are very similarly sized to Dobbs. A few larger 3-4 DEs to look at would be Derek Wolfe from Cincinnati and Kheeston Randall from Texas would be solid picks as well.

Also we could stand to upgrade at our NT for our main 3-4 scheme. Dontari Poe* from Memphis and Alameda Ta'amu from Washington will be day 1 picks but would well be worth it if we picked either one.

ILB - Re-signing Grant should be a priority but Gooden and Constanzo will probably be here for the long haul. We tried to trade for Gooden before he was released so I don't see us giving him up and with his injury history he'll probably generate zero interest on the market. Constanzo is here to stay as well, he is Seely's main guy. no need to mess with a good group.

OLB - I'm operating under the pretense that Brooks sticks around and we only need depth behind him. We made a play for Aaron Maybin so we must not have problem with smaller framed LBs and Lavonte David from Nebraska would make sense as both a backup for Brooks and a replacement should he bail in FA. Switching back to bigger prospects, Courtney Upshaw in the first would be a dream come true if we could get him but Jacquies Smith is another great late round prospect.

CB - Assuming we resign Rogers we could approach this position in 2 ways. Be happy with Cully in development to take over for Brown and draft depth to replacement Spencer and possibly Brock as well or we could draft a cover corner and kick Brown down the depth chart once the kid progresses. We also can't forget about Curtis Holcomb the CB we drafted in the 7th last year and signed him to a 4 year deal, JH sounds like he wants this guy around for a long time.

However I think that if we don't have a RG near us in round 1 we'll take a CB as a BPA approach but a day 1 cb is almost a given IMO. There is a ton of talent in the day 1 range for a cb. Dennard, Jenkins, Minnifield, Gilmore*, Hosley*, Hayward, Trufant*, Rhodes*, Hyde*, Harris*, Johnson could all be there in the top 20 - round 3 range, giving us plenty of options at varying points in the draft.

FS - I bet we franchise Goldson or show him a slightly upgraded offer then the 5 year 25 Mill offer he got from us originally so maybe we draft more depth and cut Madieu. Trenton Robinson, Eddie Whitley, Aaron Henry, Lance Mitchell are great late rounders at FS. If we lost Goldson in FA I would hope we could land Markelle Martin in round 2.

SS - Whitner is locked in a 3 year deal playing great so at best a developmental backup is what we'll need. Delano Howell, Tavon Wilson, or Tony Dye would be my best choices for a backup SS.

P/K - no need.

Hope I didn't go too overboard lol.

QB - wrote it in another thread that Tolzien could be back next year because he could've signed a multi-year deal as we still don't know his contract details. Developmental projects like Ryan Tannehill, Austin Davis, Domique Davis and Dan Persa make sense but Tannehill is this years Jake Locker, first round talent but probably at least a year away from being effective in the NFL. Cutting Tolzien or letting him leave in FA and signing Josh Johnson seems more likely then drafting someone at this point.

Why would Josh Johnson wanna take the back seat and be behind another young QB?? And to tell you the truth, we'd be better off keeping Tolzien and letting him sit and develop.

Originally posted by Kolohe:

QB - wrote it in another thread that Tolzien could be back next year because he could've signed a multi-year deal as we still don't know his contract details. Developmental projects like Ryan Tannehill, Austin Davis, Domique Davis and Dan Persa make sense but Tannehill is this years Jake Locker, first round talent but probably at least a year away from being effective in the NFL. Cutting Tolzien or letting him leave in FA and signing Josh Johnson seems more likely then drafting someone at this point.

Why would Josh Johnson wanna take the back seat and be behind another young QB?? And to tell you the truth, we'd be better off keeping Tolzien and letting him sit and develop.

I'm not saying I want JJ - I'm just saying that if we did in anyway bring in another QB it would probably be this way. I'd rather have Tolzien as well :D

I don't want or see us taking a QB this year at all. we are obviously capable of winning with Alex and like I said Tolz could've have easy signed a multi year deal because we thought heavily of drafting him.

I'd like a receiver, draft marvin jones in the fourth!. I think dline depth is important.

If we don't resign brooks we're going to need an olb.

Originally posted by toeknee:
I'd like a receiver, draft marvin jones in the fourth!. I think dline depth is important.

If we don't resign brooks we're going to need an olb.

think we hit WR early, cant see us waiting till the 4th unless people keep getting pick right before us

We have holes on the oline, WR, secondary, and OLB (depth)

Originally posted by dj43:
#1 WR is greatest need.

I am happy with Morgan, Crabtree, and Williams. Sure, it would be nice to have a top flight WR like a Calvin Johnson, but remember that we found TO in the third. WR have a high bust potential, so I would prefer to grab 2 in later rounds than spend a first on one. I personally rank CB/safety as a higher need than WR.

Originally posted by fryet:

Originally posted by dj43:
#1 WR is greatest need.

I am happy with Morgan, Crabtree, and Williams. Sure, it would be nice to have a top flight WR like a Calvin Johnson, but remember that we found TO in the third. WR have a high bust potential, so I would prefer to grab 2 in later rounds than spend a first on one. I personally rank CB/safety as a higher need than WR.

They also have a potential to be very good. Recent = AJ Green, Julio Jones. In 49er lore = Jerry Rice. Traded up to get him, and we know how that worked out.

A DB would be nice and perhaps BPA between those two positions but I don't see the need as much in the secondary as a top-line pass catcher. Morgan, MC and Williams are nice but none of them will keep a DC up nights figuring out how to stop them. THAT is the guy I want.

do we get any compensation picks for the 2012 draft?

Originally posted by sfout:

Originally posted by Kolohe:

QB - wrote it in another thread that Tolzien could be back next year because he could've signed a multi-year deal as we still don't know his contract details. Developmental projects like Ryan Tannehill, Austin Davis, Domique Davis and Dan Persa make sense but Tannehill is this years Jake Locker, first round talent but probably at least a year away from being effective in the NFL. Cutting Tolzien or letting him leave in FA and signing Josh Johnson seems more likely then drafting someone at this point.

Why would Josh Johnson wanna take the back seat and be behind another young QB?? And to tell you the truth, we'd be better off keeping Tolzien and letting him sit and develop.

I'm not saying I want JJ - I'm just saying that if we did in anyway bring in another QB it would probably be this way. I'd rather have Tolzien as well :D

I don't want or see us taking a QB this year at all. we are obviously capable of winning with Alex and like I said Tolz could've have easy signed a multi year deal because we thought heavily of drafting him.

Then again, JJ probably won't mind taking a back seat to be united with Harbaugh again, no doubt he would win the #2 position over Kaepernick and I bet even Harbaugh knows that. That would also be a likely scenario, not saying I would like it, but I also could see that happening. Besides, I like the potential I see in Tolzien and hope Harbaugh lets him stick around awhile and grow with this offense.

Back to receivers: We have several guys now that are playing like the typical 3rd/4th round picks (Williams, Ginn, Morgan) who have stepped up to make the team and contribute. We also have Crabtree who is playing like a 2nd round pick. What this team needs is not MORE DEPTH but a very high quality #1 receiver. Though there are always exceptions, getting that stud WR is going to take a relatively high first round pick. Consequently, if the right guy is there, I would give up a future #1 to get the next Jerry Rice, or AJ Green or Julio Jones.

In this pass heavy league, you cannot win consistently with a bunch of #2/3 receivers. You must have that top stud guy. Who that guy is I will leave up to Harbaugh/Baalke.

QB
WR
CB

Originally posted by dj43:
Back to receivers: We have several guys now that are playing like the typical 3rd/4th round picks (Williams, Ginn, Morgan) who have stepped up to make the team and contribute. We also have Crabtree who is playing like a 2nd round pick. What this team needs is not MORE DEPTH but a very high quality #1 receiver. Though there are always exceptions, getting that stud WR is going to take a relatively high first round pick. Consequently, if the right guy is there, I would give up a future #1 to get the next Jerry Rice, or AJ Green or Julio Jones.

In this pass heavy league, you cannot win consistently with a bunch of #2/3 receivers. You must have that top stud guy. Who that guy is I will leave up to Harbaugh/Baalke.

LOL