LISTEN: Final 49ers 7-Round Mock Draft With Steph Sanchez →

There are 228 users in the forums

Kelce smokescreen, or flunked interview?

Apr 28, 2013 at 11:13 AM
In my mind Kelce and McDonald are very similar prospects. We paid special attention to Kelce and ignored McDonald completely in pre-draft. Two possibilities right?

1. We liked McDonald all along and were trying to throw people off.
2. We wanted to like Kelce, but the visit didn't go so well, so Harbaalke opted for the similar prospect despite doing less diligence on him.
Apr 28, 2013 at 11:17 AM
The 9ers ignored most of their prospects. Reid only talked with Harbaugh at the combine. Carradine was the only one that they showed a lot of interest in. Patton said they only had phone conversations, but he had those conversations with everyone. Obviously every team was going to check in on Lattimore. Only Carradine and Lattimore receive attention before the draft.
Apr 28, 2013 at 11:18 AM
Originally posted by LottOfDefense:
The 9ers ignored most of their prospects. Reid only talked with Harbaugh at the combine. Carradine was the only one that they showed a lot of interest in. Patton said they only had phone conversations, but he had those conversations with everyone. Obviously every team was going to check in on Lattimore. Only Carradine and Lattimore receive attention before the draft.

I get that, but I think the similarity between Kelce and McDonald makes it interesting. We didn't have a ton of contact with Reid, but it would be like if he had a special visit/workout with Cyprien instead only to trade up for Reid with Cyprien on the board.
Apr 28, 2013 at 11:23 AM
Originally posted by AmpLee:
Originally posted by LieutKaffee:
In my mind Kelce and McDonald are very similar prospects. We paid special attention to Kelce and ignored McDonald completely in pre-draft. Two possibilities right?

1. We liked McDonald all along and were trying to throw people off.
2. We wanted to like Kelce, but the visit didn't go so well, so Harbaalke opted for the similar prospect despite doing less diligence on him.

I just started a thread on how a lot of our mid-round picks had limited contact with our team. Without a doubt, we were throwing people off our scent with mid-round talent we coveted. I think it's also possible we didn't like Kelce's interview, which made trading up for the guy we wanted much more important. Furthermore, it's possible the Seahawks wanted McDonald as well since they traded out of the pick we had leapfrogged them for (TE was a position of need for them).

Mike Sando speculated that the Seahawks traded down as if to say "Screw you, Niners, we didn't want anyone in this area anyway." What Sando failed to consider is that they traded down because they didn't want anyone in that area once we took their target. Hard to say what's true. There is also speculation in a Seahawks forum (linked in Niner Talk) that BJ Daniels was a good fit for them. We took him like 3 slots ahead of their back to back comps.
Apr 28, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Probably a combination of character issues combined with Vance has the higher upside. I really liked listening to Harbaugh's interview on NFLN about Vance and his Ditka comparison. Sounds like Vance is got some toughness that Harbaugh loves.
Apr 28, 2013 at 11:33 AM
They probably liked both but saw an opportunity to get the guy they wanted and took it.

The main difference between the two is versatility. McDonald has allot more experience with the ball in his hands and route running/finding soft spots in zone coverage. Also consider the senior bowl where McDonald displayed great blocking ability and speed for a man his size, while Kelce couldnt participate. It gave McDonald another chance to leave an impression on the 9ers that Kelce didnt have.
Apr 28, 2013 at 11:36 AM
Originally posted by 5280High:
They probably liked both but saw an opportunity to get the guy they wanted and took it.

The main difference between the two is versatility. McDonald has allot more experience with the ball in his hands and route running/finding soft spots in zone coverage. Also consider the senior bowl where McDonald displayed great blocking ability and speed for a man his size, while Kelce couldnt participate. It gave McDonald another chance to leave an impression on the 9ers that Kelce didnt have.

Great point.
Apr 28, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Originally posted by LieutKaffee:
In my mind Kelce and McDonald are very similar prospects. We paid special attention to Kelce and ignored McDonald completely in pre-draft. Two possibilities right?

1. We liked McDonald all along and were trying to throw people off.
2. We wanted to like Kelce, but the visit didn't go so well, so Harbaalke opted for the similar prospect despite doing less diligence on him.

I think McDonald has a higher ceiling overall. Kelce is the more polished prospect but I see McDonald as a guy who can significantly improve and develop further. He really didn't play TE much and is only scratching the surface of his potential overall. McDonald is also more versatile overall.


To me I look at it as a Kaepernick/Dalton situation. Kelce is more game ready now, but if McDonald develops, he has the higher ceiling as a player.
[ Edited by Phoenix49ers on Apr 28, 2013 at 12:02 PM ]
Apr 28, 2013 at 12:03 PM
Originally posted by LottOfDefense:
The 9ers ignored most of their prospects. Reid only talked with Harbaugh at the combine. Carradine was the only one that they showed a lot of interest in. Patton said they only had phone conversations, but he had those conversations with everyone. Obviously every team was going to check in on Lattimore. Only Carradine and Lattimore receive attention before the draft.

Actually, John Morton took Patton out to dinner after his Pro Day.
Apr 28, 2013 at 12:18 PM
  • KID9R
  • Veteran
  • Posts: 3,111
Originally posted by AmpLee:
Originally posted by LieutKaffee:
Mike Sando speculated that the Seahawks traded down as if to say "Screw you, Niners, we didn't want anyone in this area anyway." What Sando failed to consider is that they traded down because they didn't want anyone in that area once we took their target. Hard to say what's true. There is also speculation in a Seahawks forum (linked in Niner Talk) that BJ Daniels was a good fit for them. We took him like 3 slots ahead of their back to back comps.

What a homer!

Yeah, they traded down just to tell us, "screw you." I really hope they are basing their decisions off of what we do.

If anything it says " well played Niners you got our guy no point for us to be here anymore". But who really knows, they're not going to trade down before they're on the clock anyway. No way to know.

Apr 28, 2013 at 12:20 PM
I think if 2 prospects are close the Niners will take the higher character guy everytime.
Apr 28, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
I think if 2 prospects are close the Niners will take the higher character guy everytime.

Yea heard Kelce character was a concern
Apr 28, 2013 at 12:46 PM
Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
Actually, John Morton took Patton out to dinner after his Pro Day.

That's right. I forgot he reported that in the interview.
Apr 28, 2013 at 12:53 PM
I don't think we'll ever know for sure BUT in the end Vance was their guy.
Apr 28, 2013 at 12:53 PM
I think it's a fair assumption that Seattle wanted Vance, they ended up drafting his backup.
Search
YouTube
Flipboard
Threads
×
Share 49ersWebzone