MadDog's Niners Draft Grade and Analysis for 2012 NFL Draft

2013 49ers Drafted Players Table
Rnd Player Pick Pos College/Univ
1 Eric Reid 18 DB LSU
2 Tank Carradine 40 DE Florida St.
2 Vance McDonald 55 TE Rice
3 Corey Lemonier 88 DE Auburn
4 Quinton Patton 128 WR Louisiana Tech
4 Marcus Lattimore 131 RB South Carolina
5 Quinton Dial 157 DE Alabama
6 Nick Moody 180 LB Florida St.
7 B.J. Daniels 237 QB South Florida
7 Carter Bykowski 246 OL Iowa St.
7 Marcus Cooper 252 DB Rutgers
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/9/2017.

I'll give Baalke, Quinton Dial and Eric Reid to complete my 4 and still with 11 draft picks in 2013, he went full retard almost as worse as 2012 draft. Remember Marcus Lattimore said he was surprised he got picked. That puts me exactly at 4 out of 51, being generous with that 4.

What coach in their right mind could replicate 3 straight title games under these exact circumstances..I would like to meet the coach that can switch "schemes" with 4 out of 51 players? This aint a ping pong match..

All ACL Crew, bad Harbaugh for not turning Marcus Lattimore and the aac into winners. Only one guy was actually working at the time. Fortunately Wu's bias doesn't say so.. The facts of life do.. When some create that list of magical coaches with their magical pixie dust that could have worked with 0 or the number 4, let me know because I would love to see this long list of "Steve Kerr's" that could have done so much better at "scheming" under these exact circumstances..

There was no All Acl Crew "scheme" created as a plan B, as there shouldn't have been, like some would have wanted.

I blame Baalke more for the offense. In 2012 it was 2nd per play before Baalke's personnel blunders started the downfall.

Not valuing Delanie was his biggest mistake. Delanie was on the field for 55% of plays. Even though his stats weren't there he was mismatch nightmare. We could kill you run or pass with him and Vernon. You add a deep threat to him, Vernon and Crabs and we're golden. They tried but Jenkins flopped.

After that like a doufus Baalke chased after receivers thru trades and ones who mirrored Crab's abilities too. Thus forcing him to run a bunch of deep routes which just isn't his game.

Alex factors in too but that's on JH.

"When Harbaugh joined the 49ers in 2011, the team had Alex Smith under contract, and a whole lot of questions. There was an expectation that Smith would depart in free agency once the lockout finished. 2010 had been a miserable year for the 49ers and Smith, and it seemed like the best thing was for the sides to go their separate ways.

Harbaugh arrived in January of 2011, and had plenty of film to watch. He talked to Kawakami about some of the things he saw that they could do more of with Smith. He talked about fitting him into the scheme and visualizing what would make him successful."

"Alex Smith did not emerge as a franchise cornerstone, but he had more success under Harbaugh than he had any time prior. Amidst expectations Smith would depart, the lockout put both Smith and the 49ers in a position where it made sense for him to stick around."

"It was a long process, many hours. This is the job I knew that nobody would be spending more time on it, or thinking about it more than I would. And also getting the input from the coaches, and people within the organization, and the staff. At the end of the time, you know that it's your decision to make because you're spending the most time on it, you're thinking about it the most.

"And did just that. Spent a lot of time watching Alex, and came to the understanding and realization that he was really good. And he needed to be put in a better position. There was play action passing that was missing, and that he would be really good at, and getting out the pocket more than had been being done. Just fitting our scheme. I can just visualize where he would be very successful. But it was a long process to look at all options an do the diligence for what was best for the team."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ninersnation.com/platform/amp/2017/2/24/14721880/jim-harbaugh-alex-smith-evaluation-2011-kyle-shanahan-colin-kaepernick

Jim Harbaugh could have easily said we are moving on from Alex, Everyone was expecting to move on from Alex.

Jim Harbaugh was one of the few that stuck with Alex because I for damn sure didn't see that coming at that point in time, nor many can say that for that matter. I would only expect a die hard. He resurrected Alex career. Alex Smith should be thanking Harbaugh every day he didn't give up on him.

The dumb move was not replacing Alex Smith after he was traded. Like the Article said, we had Dak but went with Redmond.. smfh acl lol.. Go figure..

His Acl fixation blinders wouldn't allow him to get Dak, Will Redmond was too enticing. Lol

Originally posted by Wu-5Rings:
"When Harbaugh joined the 49ers in 2011, the team had Alex Smith under contract, and a whole lot of questions. There was an expectation that Smith would depart in free agency once the lockout finished. 2010 had been a miserable year for the 49ers and Smith, and it seemed like the best thing was for the sides to go their separate ways.

Harbaugh arrived in January of 2011, and had plenty of film to watch. He talked to Kawakami about some of the things he saw that they could do more of with Smith. He talked about fitting him into the scheme and visualizing what would make him successful."

"Alex Smith did not emerge as a franchise cornerstone, but he had more success under Harbaugh than he had any time prior. Amidst expectations Smith would depart, the lockout put both Smith and the 49ers in a position where it made sense for him to stick around."

"It was a long process, many hours. This is the job I knew that nobody would be spending more time on it, or thinking about it more than I would. And also getting the input from the coaches, and people within the organization, and the staff. At the end of the time, you know that it's your decision to make because you're spending the most time on it, you're thinking about it the most.

"And did just that. Spent a lot of time watching Alex, and came to the understanding and realization that he was really good. And he needed to be put in a better position. There was play action passing that was missing, and that he would be really good at, and getting out the pocket more than had been being done. Just fitting our scheme. I can just visualize where he would be very successful. But it was a long process to look at all options an do the diligence for what was best for the team."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ninersnation.com/platform/amp/2017/2/24/14721880/jim-harbaugh-alex-smith-evaluation-2011-kyle-shanahan-colin-kaepernick

Jim Harbaugh could have easily said we are moving on from Alex, Everyone was expecting to move on from Alex.

Jim Harbaugh was one of the few that stuck with Alex because I for damn sure didn't see that coming at that point in time, nor many can say that for that matter. I would only expect a die hard. He resurrected Alex career. Alex Smith should be thanking Harbaugh every day he didn't give up on him.

The dumb move was not replacing Alex Smith after he was traded. Like the Article said, we had Dak but went with Redmond.. smfh acl lol.. Go figure..

His Acl fixation blinders wouldn't allow him to get Dak, Will Redmond was too enticing. Lol

Interesting article on Harbaugh and Garoppolo. If Harbaugh would have had total control, I think he was seriously thinking of getting Garoppolo if he had the chance. Sheer speculation on my part, I agree, but Harbaugh can see QB talent. He' s not a doofus like Baalke was.

According to Eric Edholm of Yahoo.com, the private workout came about when Harbaugh introduced himself to Garoppolo and asked, "Wanna throw a little?" Garoppolo went on to throw for Harbaugh in an "off-limits-to-others part of the field," and the two spent about 45 minutes together.
Harbaugh later gave some of his thoughts on Garoppolo's workout to Yahoo.com: "Quick release, yes, but sometimes too quick. You want to see him go through whole motion."
Also on hand for the event was Houston Texans coach Bill O'Brien, and Houston also reportedly put the quarterback through a private workout.
[…]
San Francisco has only two quarterbacks on its roster, starter Colin Kaepernick and backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the 49ers selected one in the draft. The 49ers used a second-round pick on Kaepernick in 2011 after Harbaugh put him through a private workout that included a throwing competition between the two.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000330645/article/jimmy-garoppolo-has-private-workout-with-49ers-jim-harbaugh

Funny reading people who bashed Mad Dog

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by Wu-5Rings:

"When Harbaugh joined the 49ers in 2011, the team had Alex Smith under contract, and a whole lot of questions. There was an expectation that Smith would depart in free agency once the lockout finished. 2010 had been a miserable year for the 49ers and Smith, and it seemed like the best thing was for the sides to go their separate ways.

Harbaugh arrived in January of 2011, and had plenty of film to watch. He talked to Kawakami about some of the things he saw that they could do more of with Smith. He talked about fitting him into the scheme and visualizing what would make him successful."

"Alex Smith did not emerge as a franchise cornerstone, but he had more success under Harbaugh than he had any time prior. Amidst expectations Smith would depart, the lockout put both Smith and the 49ers in a position where it made sense for him to stick around."

"It was a long process, many hours. This is the job I knew that nobody would be spending more time on it, or thinking about it more than I would. And also getting the input from the coaches, and people within the organization, and the staff. At the end of the time, you know that it's your decision to make because you're spending the most time on it, you're thinking about it the most.

"And did just that. Spent a lot of time watching Alex, and came to the understanding and realization that he was really good. And he needed to be put in a better position. There was play action passing that was missing, and that he would be really good at, and getting out the pocket more than had been being done. Just fitting our scheme. I can just visualize where he would be very successful. But it was a long process to look at all options an do the diligence for what was best for the team."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ninersnation.com/platform/amp/2017/2/24/14721880/jim-harbaugh-alex-smith-evaluation-2011-kyle-shanahan-colin-kaepernick

Jim Harbaugh could have easily said we are moving on from Alex, Everyone was expecting to move on from Alex.

Jim Harbaugh was one of the few that stuck with Alex because I for damn sure didn't see that coming at that point in time, nor many can say that for that matter. I would only expect a die hard. He resurrected Alex career. Alex Smith should be thanking Harbaugh every day he didn't give up on him.

The dumb move was not replacing Alex Smith after he was traded. Like the Article said, we had Dak but went with Redmond.. smfh acl lol.. Go figure..

His Acl fixation blinders wouldn't allow him to get Dak, Will Redmond was too enticing. Lol

Interesting article on Harbaugh and Garoppolo. If Harbaugh would have had total control, I think he was seriously thinking of getting Garoppolo if he had the chance. Sheer speculation on my part, I agree, but Harbaugh can see QB talent. He' s not a doofus like Baalke was.

According to Eric Edholm of Yahoo.com, the private workout came about when Harbaugh introduced himself to Garoppolo and asked, "Wanna throw a little?" Garoppolo went on to throw for Harbaugh in an "off-limits-to-others part of the field," and the two spent about 45 minutes together.
Harbaugh later gave some of his thoughts on Garoppolo's workout to Yahoo.com: "Quick release, yes, but sometimes too quick. You want to see him go through whole motion."
Also on hand for the event was Houston Texans coach Bill O'Brien, and Houston also reportedly put the quarterback through a private workout.
[…]
San Francisco has only two quarterbacks on its roster, starter Colin Kaepernick and backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the 49ers selected one in the draft. The 49ers used a second-round pick on Kaepernick in 2011 after Harbaugh put him through a private workout that included a throwing competition between the two.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000330645/article/jimmy-garoppolo-has-private-workout-with-49ers-jim-harbaugh

Very interesting Giedi.... Nice find... I did not know he had Jimmy on his radar. 😮

In this country we alienate the workers that bust their ass and hold the ones who kiss ass the most to a high standard and create excuses for them..

Sadly.

I think JH only wanted Alex as a bridge for his 1st season similar to Shanny and Hoyer. Alex won which led us bringing him back and JH looking to move to his guy.

Originally posted by tjd808185:

I think JH only wanted Alex as a bridge for his 1st season similar to Shanny and Hoyer. Alex won which led us bringing him back and JH looking to move to his guy.

He still took a gamble that no one but only die hard Alex fans could predict. I don't know if you were around that time but Alex Smith wasn't too popular around here. We wanted to move on desperately including me but to a nice surprise, Alex performed the best under Harbaugh, which included the lockout.

And for the front office to tell Jim Harbaugh it's you're decision should say it all and that's from Jim Harbaugh's words, the link i posted.

He has a long list of Qb's he has helped out.. It's the gm's job to replace him if he is traded away.

If he was just a bridge? That's a helluva gamble to take for you're first job, again especially after the front office says it's you're decision... That really should say it all, how many people and our fo gave up on him.


2005 SF 84 165 875 1
2006 SF 257 442 2890 16
2007 SF 94 193 914 2
2009 SF 225 372 2350 18
2010 SF 204 342 2370 14
2011 SF 273 445 3144 17
2012 SF 153 218 1737 13
2013 KC 308 508 3313 23
2014 KC 303 464 3265 18
2015 KC 307 470 3486 20
2016 KC 328 489 3502 15
2017 KC 341 505 4042 26
PASSING TEAM COMP ATT YDS TD
Career 2877 4613 31888 183

In 2011 Alex Smith's attempts, completions, yards and td's went up under Harbaugh. My point is there was no way to predict that when Mike Nolan nor Mike Singletary could not do anything with him.

If he was a bridge, it was a huge gamble on his part.

Originally posted by Giedi:
Agree with both of you, and I'll just add that the miscommunication/non-communication between HC, GM, and Owner was fatal to this team. If nobody trusts anybody and nobody is communicating, bad stuff happens. I think one of the big factors of the bad drafts is because of a lack of trust and communication at all levels of the organization.

Mike Ditka has a similar personality to Harbaugh, and Mike did fine with Chicago. Mike didn't get along with Buddy, but they made it work somehow, and I think the Bear's owner had a good relationship with Mike, and that was Mike's saving grace in Chicago. All Harbaugh needed was one guy in his corner, and I think he'd still be coaching the 49ers today. We just wouldn't be implementing the WCO, which is what most 49er fans want implemented though. Mike also drafted fine when he was at Chicago, and I think Harbaugh would have a bit of a learning curve on the drafting side (afterall Ditka was with Tom for almost a decade before his Chicago HC gig) but if ownership was patient with Harbaugh, I think he'd have adjusted and learned to draft better as time goes on. Of course, that's sheer speculation on my part, and also college recruiting is also about finding the right talent for your team as well as getting as many 5 stars as you can get. I think those skill sets would have been a good foundation for drafting with regards to Harbaugh's potential at spotting draft talent in the NFL.

Yeah you need to be on the same page to make s**t work...the difference with Ditka was he was basically the GM and only reported to the owner. Jim didn't have that and I can't say he should have. It's not like he didn't have top end talent for most of the yrs he was in SF. Sure players got hurt and the youth on the team wasn't great, but he wasn't working with dog s**t, especially during that SB. He also hand picked his QB and other players as well.

College recruiting is so much different than drafting players, yes you need guys to run your system BUT these kids are literally just learning football. Being bigger/faster and more athletic than the other team wins you games in college. EVERYONE is bigger/stronger more athletic in the NFL. You get 4 and 5 star recruits to fill out your college roster and you WILL win.

Overall Harbs/Baalke was never gonna workout long-term. Jim in the NFL IMO wouldn't work out long-term, unless he's in complete control and I don't see him as a Bill Belichick HC/GM type.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Giedi:
Agree with both of you, and I'll just add that the miscommunication/non-communication between HC, GM, and Owner was fatal to this team. If nobody trusts anybody and nobody is communicating, bad stuff happens. I think one of the big factors of the bad drafts is because of a lack of trust and communication at all levels of the organization.

Mike Ditka has a similar personality to Harbaugh, and Mike did fine with Chicago. Mike didn't get along with Buddy, but they made it work somehow, and I think the Bear's owner had a good relationship with Mike, and that was Mike's saving grace in Chicago. All Harbaugh needed was one guy in his corner, and I think he'd still be coaching the 49ers today. We just wouldn't be implementing the WCO, which is what most 49er fans want implemented though. Mike also drafted fine when he was at Chicago, and I think Harbaugh would have a bit of a learning curve on the drafting side (afterall Ditka was with Tom for almost a decade before his Chicago HC gig) but if ownership was patient with Harbaugh, I think he'd have adjusted and learned to draft better as time goes on. Of course, that's sheer speculation on my part, and also college recruiting is also about finding the right talent for your team as well as getting as many 5 stars as you can get. I think those skill sets would have been a good foundation for drafting with regards to Harbaugh's potential at spotting draft talent in the NFL.

Yeah you need to be on the same page to make s**t work...the difference with Ditka was he was basically the GM and only reported to the owner. Jim didn't have that and I can't say he should have. It's not like he didn't have top end talent for most of the yrs he was in SF. Sure players got hurt and the youth on the team wasn't great, but he wasn't working with dog s**t, especially during that SB. He also hand picked his QB and other players as well.

College recruiting is so much different than drafting players, yes you need guys to run your system BUT these kids are literally just learning football. Being bigger/faster and more athletic than the other team wins you games in college. EVERYONE is bigger/stronger more athletic in the NFL. You get 4 and 5 star recruits to fill out your college roster and you WILL win.

Overall Harbs/Baalke was never gonna workout long-term. Jim in the NFL IMO wouldn't work out long-term, unless he's in complete control and I don't see him as a Bill Belichick HC/GM type.

It was a 6-10 team prior to Harbaugh coming in, and it's amazing how a legit edge rusher can turn a defense from 16th in the NFL to 2nd. I think Harbaugh's strength is spotting defensive personnel and I don't give any credit to Baalke on that, and it was a draft where both still had a working relationship with each other(meaning Baalke still respected Haarbaugh's opinions). I think the difference between 6-10 and 13-3 (a difference of +7 wins) is mostly Harbaugh, not prior personnel (again I'm crediting the drafting of Aldon to HaarBaalke during their first year together when they did communicate). Same thing happened in 1981 - dog s**t defense in 1980 turns into the 2nd ranked defense in '81 with the acquisition of Fred Dean. As for offense, it went from 24th to 11th in 2012, that was Harbaugh because I don't think Baalke was ever able to legitimately draft offense. Look at what happened to the 49er offense after Harbaugh, it dropped from 11th to 25th in Harbaugh's last year and dropped to 32nd during FartSula's reign. So I don't really buy that argument that he had inherited playoff caliber personnel, nor do I buy the argument that Harbaugh's offense was Neanderthal and ineffective in the NFL. But I agree with anybody who says Harbaugh's offense was nowhere near the Classic WCO that Bill Walsh ran.

As for Harbaugh as a GM/HC - just look to College Football where he is a defacto GM/HC. He's been very successful wherever he's been. I have confidence that if he had total control of the ballclub like Ditka under Halas, he'd do well. Sure the NFL draft is different from Recruiting in college, and in many respects it's much *easier* because you can find good talent available in the undrafted category if you know your stuff. (Brieda and Kendrick Bourn come to mind, same with Ian Willaims) Ditka and Buddy Ryan didn't get along because Buddy was hired by the previous organization. If Harbaugh had total control, he'd hire *his* guys and I would think he'd be able to communicate with *his guys* vs guys that *aren't* his guys. Key to Harbaugh repeating his success in the NFL in his next possible opportunity is having a good relationship with the owner. I think that's all he needs, he has a good foundation from talent acquisition to X's and O's to build a successful NFL career if he's given total control. Afterall, Mike Ditka had above .500+ won/loss percentage with the Bears and a Rah Rah college guy like Pete Carroll also had a +.500 won loss percentage in the NFL.

Originally posted by Giedi:
It was a 6-10 team prior to Harbaugh coming in, and it's amazing how a legit edge rusher can turn a defense from 16th in the NFL to 2nd. I think Harbaugh's strength is spotting defensive personnel and I don't give any credit to Baalke on that, and it was a draft where both still had a working relationship with each other(meaning Baalke still respected Haarbaugh's opinions). I think the difference between 6-10 and 13-3 (a difference of +7 wins) is mostly Harbaugh, not prior personnel (again I'm crediting the drafting of Aldon to HaarBaalke during their first year together when they did communicate). Same thing happened in 1981 - dog s**t defense in 1980 turns into the 2nd ranked defense in '81 with the acquisition of Fred Dean. As for offense, it went from 24th to 11th in 2012, that was Harbaugh because I don't think Baalke was ever able to legitimately draft offense. Look at what happened to the 49er offense after Harbaugh, it dropped from 11th to 25th in Harbaugh's last year and dropped to 32nd during FartSula's reign. So I don't really buy that argument that he had inherited playoff caliber personnel, nor do I buy the argument that Harbaugh's offense was Neanderthal and ineffective in the NFL. But I agree with anybody who says Harbaugh's offense was nowhere near the Classic WCO that Bill Walsh ran.

As for Harbaugh as a GM/HC - just look to College Football where he is a defacto GM/HC. He's been very successful wherever he's been. I have confidence that if he had total control of the ballclub like Ditka under Halas, he'd do well. Sure the NFL draft is different from Recruiting in college, and in many respects it's much *easier* because you can find good talent available in the undrafted category if you know your stuff. (Brieda and Kendrick Bourn come to mind, same with Ian Willaims) Ditka and Buddy Ryan didn't get along because Buddy was hired by the previous organization. If Harbaugh had total control, he'd hire *his* guys and I would think he'd be able to communicate with *his guys* vs guys that *aren't* his guys. Key to Harbaugh repeating his success in the NFL in his next possible opportunity is having a good relationship with the owner. I think that's all he needs, he has a good foundation from talent acquisition to X's and O's to build a successful NFL career if he's given total control. Afterall, Mike Ditka had above .500+ won/loss percentage with the Bears and a Rah Rah college guy like Pete Carroll also had a +.500 won loss percentage in the NFL.

I'm gonna disagree with you a little. So Harbs was responsible for Aldon, but wasn't for Tank or Jimmie Ward? You can't say he was part of drafting all the great players and none of the s**tty ones If Harbs get's the credit for drafting defense, then I don't think he did an amazing job (We've resigned one defensive player under Harbs tenure in Dial, I believe).

I never said Jim was a bad coach or wasn't responsible for the turnaround. That was never my point. People either thought it was all Baalke or Harbs and I've stated it was both (for the split). Also to say he had a poor player personnel is foolish...there was plenty of NFL analysis stating SF had one of the best rosters in the game for a couple yrs, I brought up the SB as a good example. SF should have b***h slapped the Ravens based on talent alone BUT they got out coached in all 3 phases.

Harbs offense IMO was without question neanderthal...it was ground and pound and let the defense win more often than not. He never made adjustments. For someone that was suppose to be a offensive wizard it didn't show IMO. (they had one season where they were outside of the top 20 in total offense). I think Roman played a part in that and Harbs should have fired him. He didn't.

I don't get the Ditka/Ryan comparison? Ditka had all the power and Buddy was a DC under him end of the day. Harbs wasn't the GM and he most certainly had control of his coaching staff and who was brought in...those were his guys. We're talking about being able to work with a GM and a GM being able to work with a HC. Neither could do it. That's on both of them.

Again college football it's not close to the NFL especially when it comes to bringing in talent. When you work for a power 5 conference and a big school like Stanford/Michigan you've already got a huge advantage with acquiring top talent...there's no real cap space, no real contracts, no egos, etc. I think Harbs is great at recruiting guys and talking those 4-5 star recruits into playing for him. You don't do that in the NFL. Harbs IMHO is a great college coach and can roll where he's at. Could he win some games in the NFL? No doubt, can he have a sustainable coaching career at one place? I don't think so.

as far as Pete Carroll goes, he was getting close to the hot seat before Wilson saved his ass lol. Check out his past couple drafts from them (does Pete or Schneider get credit?) they haven't killed it since that 2012 draft and are looking to take a couple steps back because of the lack of success from their drafts. You think Pete's rah rah is gonna work when they start losing some games? Gonna have to wait and see....sounds like some of the guys who left Seattle were done with it.

In all, would I rather have Harbs or Baalke? Without question Harbs, dude is a good coach end of the day. I'm not gonna say he didn't play a part into him leaving though.

In regards to Tank and Ward NY, After Harbaugh left he still continued to draft injured players. I don't think it was Harbaugh the one fixated with injured players?

Don't you think the power struggle involved players? Imho Harbaugh most likely wanted healthy players? My speculation but Baalke's track record shows it.

The power struggle had to be in regards to players. There's no excuse for blowing 5 drafts.. If not what was the arguing about or the power struggle about??

He said he didn't want to leave and Jed tried trading him, the thanksgiving shot after the game. So he never wanted to leave, he wife said it as well, on record.

What coach in their right wouldn't be pissed off at his drafting.. Dude had an obsession with injured players.

Any coach with a couple of brain cells would question his drafting. I don't think Baalke liked him questioning him or his drafting.. Imho

"San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke has a history of selecting injured players in the NFL Draft. But Baalke's "All-ACL" team approach has done more to hinder the Niners roster rather than help it."

Consider: From 2013-14, Baalke used five of his 23 picks on players coming off significant knee injuries, spending second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round selections on those rehabbing prospects. Last year, two of those players (RB Marcus Lattimore and FB Trey Millard) weren't in the NFL and the remaining three (DL Tank Carradine, G Brandon Thomas and CB Keith Reaser) played an average of 103 snaps for the 49ers.

"This dilemma gave rise to Baalke's draft-and-stash strategy in which he selected players rehabbing from serious knee injuries. Those players would spend a "redshirt" rookie season on injury lists, where they didn't count against the 53-man roster, and would be fully recovered and ready to contribute a year later."

"It was a strategy few teams could afford to adopt because they needed their draft picks to contribute immediately. The 49ers, however, could grab injured prospects at least a round later than they would have been selected if healthy and start reaping the rewards a year later.
It made sense.
And it hasn't worked."

https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/general-manager-trent-baalke-drafting-injured-players-has-hurt-the-49ers-090716

Key word is he has a "history" of this. So why would I believe Tank and Ward was Harbaugh's picks? When even after Harbaugh left he went after Will Redmond.. Acl..

Baalke got cute and I bet Harbaugh was pissed and question wtf are you doing... Imho.. Baalke had a ACL addiction.

That was not helping no one especially Harbaugh.. Jed sided with Baalke probably because of the sticker award he got and Harbaugh was a new coach, Baalke was Jed's friend...


"Here's another problem. Even if a player wind up contributing — like, let's say, Carradine — at some point, the Niners already lost out on a year or two of development and production."

Try like 4-5 years..
He said it better than i could.. By the time Justin Smith retired, Tank Carradine helped no one.. Definitely not JH in the Super Bowl and definitely not after he retired, wasted draft picks..

Originally posted by Giedi:
It was a 6-10 team prior to Harbaugh coming in, and it's amazing how a legit edge rusher can turn a defense from 16th in the NFL to 2nd. I think Harbaugh's strength is spotting defensive personnel and I don't give any credit to Baalke on that, and it was a draft where both still had a working relationship with each other(meaning Baalke still respected Haarbaugh's opinions). I think the difference between 6-10 and 13-3 (a difference of +7 wins) is mostly Harbaugh, not prior personnel (again I'm crediting the drafting of Aldon to HaarBaalke during their first year together when they did communicate). Same thing happened in 1981 - dog s**t defense in 1980 turns into the 2nd ranked defense in '81 with the acquisition of Fred Dean. As for offense, it went from 24th to 11th in 2012, that was Harbaugh because I don't think Baalke was ever able to legitimately draft offense. Look at what happened to the 49er offense after Harbaugh, it dropped from 11th to 25th in Harbaugh's last year and dropped to 32nd during FartSula's reign. So I don't really buy that argument that he had inherited playoff caliber personnel, nor do I buy the argument that Harbaugh's offense was Neanderthal and ineffective in the NFL. But I agree with anybody who says Harbaugh's offense was nowhere near the Classic WCO that Bill Walsh ran.

As for Harbaugh as a GM/HC - just look to College Football where he is a defacto GM/HC. He's been very successful wherever he's been. I have confidence that if he had total control of the ballclub like Ditka under Halas, he'd do well. Sure the NFL draft is different from Recruiting in college, and in many respects it's much *easier* because you can find good talent available in the undrafted category if you know your stuff. (Brieda and Kendrick Bourn come to mind, same with Ian Willaims) Ditka and Buddy Ryan didn't get along because Buddy was hired by the previous organization. If Harbaugh had total control, he'd hire *his* guys and I would think he'd be able to communicate with *his guys* vs guys that *aren't* his guys. Key to Harbaugh repeating his success in the NFL in his next possible opportunity is having a good relationship with the owner. I think that's all he needs, he has a good foundation from talent acquisition to X's and O's to build a successful NFL career if he's given total control. Afterall, Mike Ditka had above .500+ won/loss percentage with the Bears and a Rah Rah college guy like Pete Carroll also had a +.500 won loss percentage in the NFL.

"His Guy" was Mike Lombardi, a guy who completely failed as a GM in Cleveland.

There is no respect in which the NFL draft is easier. You can recruit 25 1st round picks in college a year. Get 1 maybe 2 in the NFL if you are lucky barring some amazing trade. The talent you have to pick from at a big school is absurd in comparison to the same amount every NFL team has access to. Plenty of 2 stars (undrafted player level hs recruit) to be had as well.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

"His Guy" was Mike Lombardi, a guy who completely failed as a GM in Cleveland.

There is no respect in which the NFL draft is easier. You can recruit 25 1st round picks in college a year. Get 1 maybe 2 in the NFL if you are lucky barring some amazing trade. The talent you have to pick from at a big school is absurd in comparison to the same amount every NFL team has access to. Plenty of 2 stars (undrafted player level hs recruit) to be had as well.

Baalke has labeled the 49ers as a "draft and develop" team. The 49ers have made 69 draft picks since Baalke took control of player personnel prior to the 2010 draft. The 49ers' 53-man roster is comprised of 24 draft picks with five other players, including first-round picks Arik Armstead and Eric Reid, currently on injured reserve.

Here is a look at all of the 49ers' draft picks since 2010 and their current status:

First-round picks (9)
T Anthony Davis (2010) – Retired
G Mike Iupati (2010) – Starter, Arizona
OLB Aldon Smith (2011) – Suspended list, Oakland
WR A.J. Jenkins (2012) – Out of NFL
S Eric Reid (2013) – Injured reserve, 49ers
DB Jimmie Ward (2014) – Starter, 49ers
DL Arik Armstead (2015) – Injured reserve, 49ers
DL DeForest Buckner (2016) – Starter, 49ers
G Joshua Garnett (2016) – Starter, 49ers

Second-round picks (7)
S Taylor Mays (2010) – Out of NFL
QB Colin Kaepernick (2011) – Starter, 49ers
RB LaMichael James (2012) – Out of NFL
OLB Tank Carradine (2013) – Backup, 49ers
TE Vance McDonald (2013) – Starter, 49ers
RB Carlos Hyde (2014) – Starter, 49ers
S Jaquiski Tartt (2015) – Starter, 49ers

Third-round picks (8)
LB NaVorro Bowman (2010) – Injured reserve, 49ers
CB Chris Culliver (2011) – Out of NFL
OLB Corey Lemonier (2013) – Backup, Cleveland
C Marcus Martin (2014) – Backup, 49ers
LB Chris Borland (2014) -- Retired
G Brandon Thomas (2014) – Practice squad, Detroit
OLB Eli Harold (2015) – Backup, 49ers
CB Will Redmond (2016) – Injured reserve, 49ers

Fourth-round picks (10)
RB Kendall Hunter (2011) – Out of NFL
G Joe Looney (2012) – Backup, Dallas
WR Quinton Patton (2013) – Starter, 49ers
RB Marcus Lattimore (2013) -- Retired
WR Bruce Ellington (2014) – Injured reserve, 49ers
CB Dontae Johnson (2014) – Backup, 49ers
TE Blake Bell (2015) – Backup, 49ers
RB Mike Davis (2015) – Backup, 49ers
WR DeAndre Smelter (2015) – Practice squad, 49ers
CB Rashard Robinson (2016) – Backup, 49ers

Fifth-round picks (9)
C Daniel Kilgore (2011) – Starter, 49ers
OLB Darius Fleming (2012) – Out of NFL
DL Quinton Dial (2013) – Starter, 49ers
OLB Aaron Lynch (2014) – Starter, 49ers
CB Keith Reaser (2014) – Backup, 49ers
P Bradley Pinion (2015) – Starter, 49ers
DL Ronald Blair (2016) – Backup, 49ers
T John Theus (2016) – Backup, 49ers
G Fahn Cooper (2016) – Injured/practice squad, 49ers

Sixth-round picks (13)
RB Anthony Dixon (2010) – Out of NFL
TE Nate Byham (2010) – Out of NFL
WR Kyle Williams (2010) – Out of NFL
WR Ronald Johnson (2011) – Out of NFL
DB Colin Jones (2011) – Backup, Carolina
S Trent Robinson (2012) – Out of NFL
OL Jason Slowey (2012) – Out of NFL
LB Nick Moody (2013) – Out of NFL
CB Kenneth Acker (2013) – Backup, Kansas City
G Ian Silberman (2015) – Practice squad, Oakland
QB Jeff Driskel (2016) – Backup, Cincinnati
RB Kelvin Taylor (2016) – Released from practice squad, 49ers
WR Aaron Burbridge (2016) – Backup, 49ers

Seventh-round picks (13)
CB Phillip Adams (2010) – Out of NFL
FB Bruce Miller (2011) – Out of NFL
G Michael Person (2011) – Backup, Kansas City
CB Curtis Holcomb (2011) – Out of NFL
OLB Cam Johnson (2012) – Starter, Cleveland
QB B.J. Daniels (2013) – Out of NFL
OL Carter Bykowski (2013) – Practice squad, Atlanta
CB Marcus Cooper (2013) – Starter, Arizona
DL Kaleb Ramsey (2014) – Suspended list/Out of NFL
FB Trey Millard (2014) – Injured reserve, Kansas City
T Trent Brown (2015) – Starter, 49ers
TE Busta Anderson (2015) – Injured, practice squad, Chicago
CB Prince Charles Iworah (2016) – Practice squad, 49ers

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/tracking-49ers-gm-baalkes-draft-record%3famp

Pattern much???