49ers team stronger entering 2014 draft than 2013 draft.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
Sure he was. That the Eagles gave him a relatively large contract as a reward for piss poor play is irrelevant, how did that go for him by the way?

2012 Sopoaga performed. Last year we would have expected the same. Once again hindsight is 20/20. It was a great by 49ers to let him walk

"Before the 2013 season started we weren't sure... 1.) Ian Williams or Glenn Dorsey could play NT at the level of Sopoaga 2.) Had serious doubts about TJE and Dobbs, two UDFA's backing up McDonald and Justin Smith"

Who exactly is we? As fans, what "we" think is highly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

The problem with your entire premise is these situations are things that you were worried about, not necessarily the coaching staff. Just because you didn't have confidence that Williams could replace Soap doesn't mean that the coaching staff felt the same way, just as this offseason people are worried about Kilgore replacing Goodwin yet for all we know the coaching staff who has seen him daily for a few years have perfect confidence in his ability to hold up. You having doubts doesn't mean the coaching staff has doubts.

Don't confuse/assume concern with a lack of confidence. However Uncertainty is what it is: uncertainty. A ? mark if you will and thus no guarantee. There are no guarantees that an unproven player will get it done. They have to prove themselves first BEFORE everyone can say, yeah we're fine at that position. I stand by my premise that an UNPROVEN player, fan, coach players, etc. are not going to be 100% sure that that said person can perform when it counts during the game. Much like combine numbers don't always translate to gametime performance. Prior to 2013, there were far more question marks.

Very hypocritical considering the fact that YOU think that we need to draft a D-lineman in the 1st round. For all we know, the Coaching Staff has complete faith that 2 out of: TJE, Dobbs, Carridine and Okoye can adequately replace McDonald and Justin Smith in the future.



I didn't give out all my observations.
2013 Free Agent interests: Cullen Jenkins, 49ers weren't completely comfortable w/D-lineman and were looking. Signed: Dorsey
2014 Free Agent Interests: 3 WR's. ZERO D-linemen.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
I'm not saying they lucked out on scouting him, I just said that had he been taken earlier for whatever reason, it may have thrown things off, but it worked out perfectly for them.

Give some credit where credit is due. They moved up and got Reid when many thought he would be available at #30, or thought Cyprien was the 2nd best safety in the draft.

2nd Chance Squad. Haven't heard much about the 49ers Reclamation projects. The 49ers have had a ton of success turning around the careers of young talented former 1st round/2nd round picks, who many have labeled as busts.

Some recent successful Reclamation projects:
QB: Alex Smith, former #1 overall
NT: Glenn Dorsey former top 10
OLB: Ahmand Brooks: Waiver Wire/former 3rd rounder via supplemental draft


The 49ers have been traded 3 new ones this year.

QB: Blaine Gabbert former 1st,
OT: Jonathon Martin former 2nd - tough to label a former starter a reclamation project, but definitely on the 2nd chance squad
CB: Chris Cooks former 2nd

WR: Jonathon Baldwin former 1st- gets an Incomplete from last year. They traded for him a few days before the opener, thus a few days to learn the play book. No excuses now. He's had a season to learn the system and get comfortable with Kaepernick.

I would agree with that statement.

Reid will now be the captain of the secondary. Two 1st round talents get the opportunity to contribute. The Okoye project is one year older, although I think it will take him one more year to be a realistic contributor.

I think the main difference between 2013 and 2014 is last year we had a few more "wait and see" guys like Jenkins and Williams where as this year we know what we have and what we dont. Really the only unknowns are Lattimore and Carradine, but we won without them last year so anything they add is could be considered an upgrade.

I think we're in a better position than last year.

JH/Trent let players go for reasons. Manny Lawson, A Franklyn, Cam, Harrleson - all gone and smart to get rid of them.

IMO, Soap was clearly in decline, RJF was nothing special. Goldston was about $, Walker -I don't know, maybe a combination of things.

VERY exciting season coming up. Can't wait for the draft.

Originally posted by theduke85:
I think we're mostly lateral.

If you're going to use the argument that "younger players have an extra year of experience and will be better", then you also have to concede that some of the veterans are now a year older and will have lost a step or two. Boldin is an ageless wonder, but he is going to be 34 in October. He's going to start slowing down. Same thing with Justin Smith. He's going to be 35 in September. He's still a very good player, but I'm not sure that he's truly elite anymore. I think all of those things balance out and it's a wash in the end.

Carradine and Lattimore could be the wildcards though. Both of them have pretty high ceilings. If they pan out, they could legitimately be impact players. If that happens, then yes -- I do think that we're better than last year.

Completely agree with you, elder players are also a year older.

However the 49ers are one of the youngest teams in the league and have far more younger players than elder. The starting elder ones are gone: Whitner, Brown, Rogers and Goodwin, but there are some experienced back-ups in their place.

I was also looking at the backup lineman, specifically TJE and Dobbs and the 3 injured rookies: Dial, Carridine and Okoye. Once again, it is very telling that ZERO defensive lineman made visits to the 49ers during Free Agency.

We need a CB, WR, DE, NT, SS, TE, WR/KR

Originally posted by Garlicboy:

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Sure he was. That the Eagles gave him a relatively large contract as a reward for piss poor play is irrelevant, how did that go for him by the way?

2012 Sopoaga performed. Last year we would have expected the same. Once again hindsight is 20/20. It was a great by 49ers to let him walk

"Before the 2013 season started we weren't sure... 1.) Ian Williams or Glenn Dorsey could play NT at the level of Sopoaga 2.) Had serious doubts about TJE and Dobbs, two UDFA's backing up McDonald and Justin Smith"

Who exactly is we? As fans, what "we" think is highly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

The problem with your entire premise is these situations are things that you were worried about, not necessarily the coaching staff. Just because you didn't have confidence that Williams could replace Soap doesn't mean that the coaching staff felt the same way, just as this offseason people are worried about Kilgore replacing Goodwin yet for all we know the coaching staff who has seen him daily for a few years have perfect confidence in his ability to hold up. You having doubts doesn't mean the coaching staff has doubts.

Don't confuse/assume concern with a lack of confidence. However Uncertainty is what it is: uncertainty. A ? mark if you will and thus no guarantee. There are no guarantees that an unproven player will get it done. They have to prove themselves first BEFORE everyone can say, yeah we're fine at that position. I stand by my premise that an UNPROVEN player, fan, coach players, etc. are not going to be 100% sure that that said person can perform when it counts during the game. Much like combine numbers don't always translate to gametime performance. Prior to 2013, there were far more question marks.

Very hypocritical considering the fact that YOU think that we need to draft a D-lineman in the 1st round. For all we know, the Coaching Staff has complete faith that 2 out of: TJE, Dobbs, Carridine and Okoye can adequately replace McDonald and Justin Smith in the future.



I didn't give out all my observations.
2013 Free Agent interests: Cullen Jenkins, 49ers weren't completely comfortable w/D-lineman and were looking. Signed: Dorsey
2014 Free Agent Interests: 3 WR's. ZERO D-linemen.

It is the very speculation of this thread that makes this fun. The Zone is about opinions. Some will be more right than others. If we know what the coaches really are thinking, we wouldn't need to engage in such a blog. That said, I do think that many times, coaches do not know what they have until the live bullets are fired.

If the OP is saying that we don't need to draft for as many positions as last year, I agree. If Baalke has his eye on someone that can push Boldin to #3 WR in 2014 and replace Crabtree, if need be, in 2015, then I hope they select (or trade for) that someone even if it requires sacrificing other selections or even other players.

Originally posted by Garlicboy:

Last year the 49ers lost 4 solid players before the 2013 draft:
http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/7/23/4550632/49ers-roster-turnover-fans-not-so-surprisingly-positive-about-changes

NT: Sopoaga
S: Dashon Goldson
TE: Delanie Walker
DE: Ricky Jean Francois
*ST: Ted Ginn

Heading into the 2013 draft, NT was a ? mark with an unproven Ian Williams and undersized Glenn Dorsey. There was a gaping hole at Safety and a gaping hole at the 2nd TE spot, that did not get truly filled. We didn't sign any back-up DE's, and we all missed Ted Ginn's punt returning ability.


Prior to the 2014 draft the 49ers have lost 2 solid players and 2 declining players (Goodwin & Rogers), but Whitner was replaced by a quality starter in free agency:

CB: Tarell Brown
CB: Carlos Rogers (but should be upgraded)- Return of Chris Culliver may negate the loss of Carlos Rogers.
C: Jonathon Goodwin- was aging and declining. Kilgore, Looney or Snyder may be upgrades.
S: Lost Whitner, BUT replaced by S Antoine Bethea.

Heading into the 2014 draft 49ers have:

1.) Rookies and young players on the roster that have 1 more year of experience under their belts.
2.) The "Redshirt squad" who had a year to heal and learn: Quinton Dial, Tank Carradine, Lawrence Okoye, Marcus Lattimore, Luke Marquardt
3.) The young "2nd chance squad," who can start the learning process now, 2 months before rookies: Blaine Gabbert, Jonathon Martin, Chris Cook and Baldwin.
4.) A deeper draft and fewer needs and players to replace. 49ers have fewer positions of need. Only need CB and WR.
5.) Once again have a plethora of picks and can go ahead and go BPA, draft injured players or trade for future picks.

What I like about what you are saying is that because of such good depth on both offense and defense (again you are correct that WR and DB are the problem positions) this team can trade up to get a very good WR that has both the speed that scares DB's and the Hands/RAC abilities of bigger more powerful but slower receivers. Same on the DB side. I don't know what our chances are regarding Mike Evans, but somebody *like* him is now draftable given our draft capital and our good depth on most of the positions. This front office and coaching staff has proven time and time again that they can turn someone's trash into our gold.

Originally posted by Giedi:
What I like about what you are saying is that because of such good depth on both offense and defense (again you are correct that WR and DB are the problem positions) this team can trade up to get a very good WR that has both the speed that scares DB's and the Hands/RAC abilities of bigger more powerful but slower receivers. Same on the DB side. I don't know what our chances are regarding Mike Evans, but somebody *like* him is now draftable given our draft capital and our good depth on most of the positions. This front office and coaching staff has proven time and time again that they can turn someone's trash into our gold.

Yup, trade up and get Justin Gilbert or Sammy Watkins.

People compare a trade up to get Sammy Watkins, as sacrificing/mortgaging the future. COMPLETELY FALSE! We have talented young assets:

1.) The "Redshirt squad": NT Quinton Dial, DE Tank Carradine, DE Lawrence Okoye, RB Marcus Lattimore, OT Luke Marquardt
2.) The "2nd chance squad": QB Blaine Gabbert, OT/OG Jonathon Martin, CB Chris Cook and WR Jonathon Baldwin.
3.) Practice squad: QB Mcledo Bethel Thompson, RB Jewel Hampton, TE Derek Carrier, G Al Netter, WR Chuck Jacobs
4.) 11 picks in the 2014 draft

Last year the Raiders traded the #3 overall for the #12 overall and the #42 overall in a weak draft. Great chance they are looking to move down again.

How about #5 overall for a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd It would still leave the 49ers with 8 picks. the #3 overall, a 2nd, 3rd comp pick 4th, 5th and 3- 7th's.

1st: Sammy Watkins
2nd: CB

Injured Players drafted:
3rd: Dominque Easley
4th: Aaron Murray
5th: Aaron Colvin
7a: Spencer Long
7b: Trey Millard
7c: CB
* Injured UDFA signings: DE Chris Whaley, S Nickoe Whitley, S Vinnie Sunseri
**49ers had 2 UDFA's not clear waivers for the practice squad as well as 7th rounders Daniels & Cooper. Not even worth trying to get 7th rounders on P Squad.

Being the strongest draft in some time, I would employ a new strategy and really focus on recruiting the injured players and likely UDFA's, but to create incentive for these guys to sign w/the 49ers, there needs to be available roster spots, meaning the 49ers cannot draft a lot of healthy players. Trade up and get your targeted players, and trade a few for future picks. Let the 49ers take advantage of all the UDFA talent that will be available this year.

Of all the drafts and situations to move up and snag top players, this it it!

Originally posted by Paul_Hofer:
If the OP is saying that we don't need to draft for as many positions as last year, I agree. If Baalke has his eye on someone that can push Boldin to #3 WR in 2014 and replace Crabtree, if need be, in 2015, then I hope they select (or trade for) that someone even if it requires sacrificing other selections or even other players.

The more I analyze the situation, the more and more it make sense to trade up in this years draft, of course trade some picks for future picks (Baalke move) and pick up a bunch of the UDFA talent available.