Grade the 49ers Draft After Round 3

All right...so let's review, shall we?

Among others, the Niners pick up...

1) The consensus best cover S in the draft in Ward. A great developmental and depth player for the future and a starting slot corner now. Baalke had him as a 1st round talent and MD had him ranked 15th overall in the entire draft.
2) The consensus best RB in the draft. Hyde is the future replacement for Gore and an immediate upgrade in the short yardage game. Many ranked him a first round talent.
3) The consensus best C in the draft. This one is a bit more debatable but Martin certainly provides great competition and depth (at the very least) at a position of need and perhaps even a future starter.
4) The consensus best FB in the draft in Millard and a potential replacement for Miller if he walks next season.
5) An extremely talented OG prospect. Thomas could start as early as next year but will red shirt this year.
6) Two very solid depth guys at the ILB position in Borland and Skov (as an UDFA) to account for Bowman's injury.
7) A terrific, speedy, slot receiver prospect in Ellington. I love this pick.
8) Not one, not two, but 3 very athletic CB prospects, one of which will be red-shirted due to injury. The Dontae Johnson pick could be very important with Culliver's immediate future in question.
9) A pass rushing OLB prospect with great athleticism.
10) A very strong DL prospect albeit one that needs guidance and good coaching.

So, by my count, there are between 5 and perhaps as many as 8 future starters that the Niners landed in this draft (and I'm not even counting the addition of Stevie Johnson).... Not a bad haul IMHO....

Cheers!

Originally posted by JiksJuicy:
Didn't want to quote whole message but fantastic points Phx. Got me thinking a bit. As said, just my initial thoughts pondering about the draft during work.


And I guess I did kind of forget how excited I was, thinking about having a Reid/Ward duo. I think the thing that threw me a bit off is that if we didn't add a CB like McGill or Desir(any decent CB to pair with these guys) today. We would have had a monster backfield for years to come. 100% homer but I'm a die hard Utes fan and I really think McGill would have been a fantastic addition and immediately been fighting for playing time. We could have gotten him in the 4th as well, and kept most of the same picks. Then focused less on CB in the later rounds. He's the one player on defense that really stood out all the year. Desir as well, but I only know of him what I watch on highlights.

Background issues might have been a factor. I can see the 49ers overlooking them a bit for a guy with an earlier pick but McGill having been arrested for a DUI in light of the issues with Culliver and Aldon might have played a factor. I think a lot of teams were down on Desir, not sure if it was the level of competition, some injury concerns or what but he dropped like a boulder into the sea.


I do like the Johnson pick. He's 6'2", 200, nice big defensive back, another safety that Baalke brings in to be a CB. If Baalke likes him, then I am down too.




Check out what Mel Kiper had to say about the 49ers draft.

Summary: The most depressing thing about San Francisco's draft is I don't even think Todd McShay and I have a single argument to be found here. The Niners just got so many good players. Jimmie Ward will cover, attack the line of scrimmage, and will play fast and fearless. If you call that a reach, remember that Arizona had taken Deone Bucannon at No. 27, so there were already three safeties off the board (not that Bucannon and Ward are that similar) and the 49ers knew if they didn't Ward there, they had no chance later. They got the No. 1 RB in the draft at No. 57. Frank Gore has a lot of miles on the odometer, LaMichael James may not be there long, and if Marcus Lattimore is your No. 1, you better have a 1-A. Carlos Hyde made sense and, again, he's the top RB in the draft. Marcus Martin is a future starter at center, Chris Borland is immediate depth at linebacker and has the experience to play now. Brandon Thomas is another 49ers redshirt, but could be a star guard when he comes back (he hurt his knee this spring, but would have gone in Round 2 otherwise). Bruce Ellington isn't a far cry from Brandin Cooks, but he went 86 picks later. It goes on and on. Dontae Johnson is solid and Aaron Lynch has developmental promise. I even like the pick at No. 245 -- Trey Millard is the top fullback in the draft and was another guy who dropped on some boards after a knee injury. What I like about this draft is the 49ers are in a championship window, and they still managed to balance both the need for immediate help and also got a lot of talent for the future. The window can remain open.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2014/story/_/id/10901684/2014-nfl-draft-mel-kiper-grades-draft-class-every-nfl-team?src=mobile