Grade the 49ers Draft After Round 3

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
I just don't understand this draft at all. We need a tall, fast WR. We need a CB.

So we pick a Safety in the 1st round. A slow, one dimensional, thumper RB in the 2nd round. The C is good competition. Borland is better than people think and Bowman is out to start the year so he may start for a while. Brandon Thomas an injured, undersized OT? What?

This team needed SPEED at skill positions on offense. We have none minus Vernon Davis. We got absolutely none. We needed speed and cover ability in the secondary and took one guy out of position no less. We could have used a tall redzone target. We still got none. I just don't get this. It makes no sense.

Did not address positions of need. Did not upgrade speed and explosiveness. Picked a bunch of OL. We did the last few years too. So I guess we gave up on those guys already.

We had a lot of picks. No way all our picks make the team. So Baalke trades back for even more picks? Why? Trade up for quality. Not quantity. We had tall fast WR's staring us in the face and the ammo to deal up in the 2nd and we let it slide by. We had Rasheed Hageman if we wanted to deal up. I just don't see how the guys we got make us much better.

I'm very, very disappointed so far......

Totally agreed.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:
How do you think the 49ers have done after Day 2?

1st) Jimmie Ward S/CB
2nd) Carlos Hyde RB
3rd) Marcus Martin C
3rd) Chris Borland MLB
3rd) Brandon Thomas OT

I just don't understand this draft at all. We need a tall, fast WR. We need a CB.

So we pick a Safety in the 1st round. A slow, one dimensional, thumper RB in the 2nd round. The C is good competition. Borland is better than people think and Bowman is out to start the year so he may start for a while. Brandon Thomas an injured, undersized OT? What?

This team needed SPEED at skill positions on offense. We have none minus Vernon Davis. We got absolutely none. We needed speed and cover ability in the secondary and took one guy out of position no less. We could have used a tall redzone target. We still got none. I just don't get this. It makes no sense.

Did not address positions of need. Did not upgrade speed and explosiveness. Picked a bunch of OL. We did the last few years too. So I guess we gave up on those guys already.

We had a lot of picks. No way all our picks make the team. So Baalke trades back for even more picks? Why? Trade up for quality. Not quantity. We had tall fast WR's staring us in the face and the ammo to deal up in the 2nd and we let it slide by. We had Rasheed Hageman if we wanted to deal up. I just don't see how the guys we got make us much better.

I'm very, very disappointed so far......

You, disappointed?? There's a shocker.

First of all, Ward is a NICKEL CORNER. Why is everyone so fixated on his position saying "S"? He played Nickel on 3rd downs, even when he was a S. He played corner his first couple years in college. Hes got 4.4 speed and great coverage skills. He can play CB. Stop whining about not needing a safety. If Culliver craps out, he will take his place. And if not, he will play Nickel CB and then take over at SS once Bethea is done.

We do need a tall, fast WR, but Calvin Johnson isnt looking for a new team. Outside of Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans, there isnt a WR in this draft that is going to take us to the next level in the next couple years. The Evans dream likely died when Oakland saw Mack fall to them at 5.

That "slow, one dimensional thumper" RB was probably the best at his position in this draft. He ran a 4.66 with a bad hammy, so calling him "slow" is dumb. He runs like Marshawn Lynch and Eddie Lacy. That very much fits the Harbaugh scheme which is what sets up our passing game.

Brandon Thomas might have gone in the 1st round had he not sustained the ACL injury in his pro workouts. OL depth is incredibly important, especially when youre about to spend a bunch of money on a franchise QB. If someone goes down, I dont want Adam Snyder trying to protect Kap. Thomas has fantastic upside for being picked 100 overall.

People seem to think that all we had to do was bundle three 3rd rounders and a 2nd rounder, and we couldve moved up to 4 and taken Watkins or something. It doesnt work like that. You have to give up a 1st rounder next year on top of something else to move up that far in the 1st. Its not worth it. 1st round picks are gold now that the new rookie pay scale has made them affordable.

All youre doing is griping about how we didnt get Watkins or Evans, or anyone flashy. LaMichael James has proven that adding "speed" doesnt always help anything. Were going to deal some picks tomorrow for future picks, so they wont be wasted on guys who wont make the team. This draft was about taking advantage of falling value, and staying stocked to replenish free agency losses that we cant afford. Like Iupati.

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:

Overall My Grade is a D+

Ward D+
Hyde A-
M Martin B-
Borland D-
B Thomas D+

Overall I'm NOT Happy. This team is literally 2 playmakers away from doing something special. Instead Baalke puts on His Gordon Gecko Wolf Of Wall Street Pants on. Could have and should have went CB and WR in the 2 out of the 6 picks. Only pick I really like is Hyde. And Martin may or may not be a fit.

This

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

CBS Prospect rankings by position:

Ward--#1 SS
Hyde--#1 RB
Martin--#1 C
Borland--#2 ILB
Thomas--#10 OG (injury reduced status)

Value-wise, this is a damned good draft so far!

This draft was weak at the top for C and ILB (other than Mosley).

CBS ranking overall:
Ward--#33 B+
Hyde--#50 B
Martin--#48 A+
Borland--#84 D
Thomas--#170 B-

They may have docked Thomas and Long too much for their injuries but I agree with these rankings for the most part. CBS was higher on Martin than most sites which had Richburg as the #1 C, but I still think he was the best pick we made since he was a good value at a position of need. Hyde was probably the 2nd best value, but I wouldn't consider RB a position of need even with Gore retiring soon. I was okay with the Ward pick, but would have preferred Roby there. I don't like the Borland pick at all even though it is a need. I gave the draft a B+ rating because I like Stevie Johnson, but without him, it would have been a B-/B.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
CBS Prospect rankings by position:

Ward--#1 SS
Hyde--#1 RB
Martin--#1 C
Borland--#2 ILB
Thomas--#10 OG (injury reduced status)

Value-wise, this is a damned good draft so far!

This is pretty much how i see it. We went for value over overall set need. And that is ok becuase we have so many picks in the last day. Ward can be that stopgap at CB and then our future with Reid at S. Hyde is Gore 2.0 and Martin will probably be Kilgore's successor. Borland is another stop gap and Thomas (if healthy) can be Iupati's successor. If we do get a little help with WR and CB in the later rounds as well as maybe a DE to help Justin Smiths age then we had a pretty successful 3 days all things considered.

I'm kind of split. We went with slow and steady instead of fast and loose. Going into the draft, I was a proponent of using our picks to move up and get a couple game changers because we ARE that close and have specific needs at CB and WR.

We obviously did the opposite, preferring to go with depth and quantity over making a splash with a big name WR.

Given who we've taken thus far, I'd give us a solid B/B+. I think Ward will be a solid CB/S and can come in and contribute right away. Martin is an A+ pick IMO. Arguably the best C in the draft, we had a need there (let Kilgore be a swing interior lineman). Thomas will give us solid depth in a year if he comes back healthy. I'm a little concerned about taking injured guys every year because it's such a gamble and we havent really seen it pay off just yet. It's definitely a savvy move for a deep, veteran, successful team like us but it could result in wasted picks if guys can't return to form.

I think Hyde will be the real deal for us. We tried to get cute with Hunter and LMJ as smaller, shiftier backs. I still really like Hunter but his injuries have derailed his career and we haven't used LMJ to the best of his abilities. Lattimore has the talent, but you just can't rely on a guy with the knee injuries he's had. So Hyde is great insurance as a productive college player and NFL ready back.

Stevie Johnson will give our receiving game a shot in the arm. Good veteran with a proven track record. Still,would love to see us go with a speedster/return guy. Big, small, whatever. We need team speed.

Also, need some SWAK guys at the TE/FB position. 6-2 230 type that can block, catch and play special teams.

Originally posted by MC9BEAT:

Ward B+ Good player but origonally projected around pick 40-45
Hyde A Good player and great value pick
Martin A Good player and great value pick
Borland C- OK player , too many good players we could use still on the board at WR,CB or even G Gabe Jackson
Thomas B Good player but redshirt injury special Probable mid 2nd to mid 3rd rd pick before injury. Average value rd 3 good value rd 4 or great value 5th rd on

I saw him rated the best Ss in draft on cbs. His proday stats had him as the top two safety on a fractured foot. Cb's had him in 1st. I say score... better value than percieved. Some had him there because of size. Wasn't Whitner good? But small

Originally posted by DrGonzo00:
Still,would love to see us go with a speedster/return guy. Big, small, whatever. We need team speed.

I actually think this is one of the few, sorta-glaring needs on the team: a dynamic return guy. Right now, we basically have no one on the team who can turn a kick/punt into a touchdown. Our return game is very bland and doesn't contribute very much. I wish we had held onto Ginn. He was a nice weapon back there.

Every time I watched a Seattle game last year, Golden Tate was picking up 5-10 yards every time he fielded a punt. Coupled with that defense, their offense was always in favorable field position. I was really hoping for Dri Archer (although he only returned four punts in his career during college, I think he was more of a KR guy, which isn't as valuable anymore).

I think this draft is an A and here's why.

I understand all the frustration about not drafting some top tier WR or CB prospect, but the lack of thinking about it is kind of worrying. On the WR front I think we had targeted Odell Beckham but at or around 17-20. The Giants taking him at 12 I think mimpacted us massively, we didn't see him going that early and were not prepared to give up the draft capital to move to 11/12 region and that's good sense. So we stayed pat, we took Ward which I will come to in a second. Why I think this is true is that we drafted Stevie Johnston on day 2 - I think ODB was our preferred pick we would move up to but he was taken too early by the Giants, I think 12 was a real reach for him.

However if we draft another WR now, it will be a deep threat developmental guy. Who would any WR take reps from now? Are we going to not play Boldin, Crabs or Johnston? Unlikely and we still have Patton to develop as well so anyone taken sits behind 4 WR's, potentially Lloyd and Baldwin, and has to also compete for play time with Vernon or McDonald. That's a waste of a 2nd or 3rd rounder because no WR picked now is going to see any significant play time on our team.

Now onto CB and it's a similar situation. We are loaded at CB, we have:

Cully
T Brock
E Wright
Cook
Cox
Morris

We've got 2 young developmental CB's with experience in our team who look like they could play at a good to high level, along with lots of veteran backup. Where we are lacking someone of true quality is slot CB and in S behind Bethea and Reid. The Ward pick is brilliant because it gets us someone who can play two positions as well as assist in disguising our coverage schemes.

Again, similar to WR group, who would we draft that would come in and immediately take reps as a starter? Should Cully miss games then we have two solid pros who can take his place, guys of the same frame that everyone wants us to draft. How can we justify a high draft pick on a rookie that will sit behind veterans?


That's why I really like this draft and give it an A at the moment. Ward looks like a guy who will dominate as slot CB or potentially safety, watch his tape and he lays the wood. When he adds ~10lbs of muscle he'll be a beast and his pace and coverage skills look excellent.

Hyde is a great pick up, we don't know how Lattimore will pan out,but more than that Hyde also means we will not be placing all the load on Lattimore, in the future we have a two headed monster whilst saving wear and tear on both guys. We don't know what Gore has left and I think LMJ is gone, he's talking too much on twitter.

Martin is a great pick, he's the top rated Centre prospect on a lot of boards and his ceiling appears to be very high.

Borland seems to be a born football player. Remember how everyone wanted Tyronn Mathieu last year because he was a born football player - his instincts overcame his smaller physique? This is the ILB equivalent and will provide depth and competition while Bowman is out.

Thomas is obviously an eye to the future for Iupati walking, which now looks likely. Don't forget Iupati has been injured often and he's coming back from a bad one.


In short we've addressed our positions of need in free agency by providing veteran depth, as I say I think the Giants taking Beckham at 12 probably through us into the Stevie Johnston trade and now we're going for BPA with a view to quality depth and competition.

Lastly, for all those screaming for a win now mentality, that's the thinking that puts a franchise into obscurity. Clearly we are building to be a regular contender year in and year out. Blasting a ton of draft picks to move up in a deep draft for skill positions that notoriously take time to learn to play like WR and CB is also not conducive to win now.

What's kind of odd to me is that Baalke and Harbaugh always talk about bringing in multiple guys at a position because it breeds competition. So we have 6 RBs for 1 spot on the field, and like 4 (Boldin, Crabs, Patton, Johnson) receivers for as many as 3 spots on the field. Why not pick up 2-3 WRs with different looks (small and fast/ tall big target/lean and long strider) to breed that competition there. Same with CBs. I know we have a certain style and system and want players to fit a certain mold, but we're not so stacked at WR or CB that we can ignore our needs.

Hopefully i'm proven wrong today and we take a WR/CB or two with our first few picks. I like the idea of a Martavious Bryant or Solomon Patton, Bruce Ellington.

1st) Jimmie Ward S/CB A- I think they got somebody who can cover the slot and is a sure tackler - a must in our division
2nd) Carlos Hyde RB B+ Not a great need in my mind, but a very good player at a position with questions due to injury and age
3rd) Marcus Martin C B+ Good pick to give another option in case Kilgore isn't up to center
3rd) Chris Borland MLB C My biggest question mark so far. Hopefully a great ST player for now
3rd) Brandon Thomas OT B for the long term. As others say, another redshirt who is insurance if the team can't afford to keep Iupati



This is not at all how I saw and/or hoped the draft would unfold, but I see the wisdom behind it to keep the team at a top competitive level for the future.

Solid B+ with potential to go to an A if they can pick up a good CB prospect today

I think Jimmie Ward is going to be a nice addition to our D...similar to New England's Devin McCourty...I give this a B

Carlos Hyde is the best back in the draft and in many years if you ask me...if he came out a decade ago he'd be picked in the 1st Round right after Ladanian Tomlinson, that's how good he is.... A++

The Marcus Martin pick is a no-brainer IMO. Kilgore was the only guy on the roster listed at Center. This is perfect competition and Martin is the best C in college. A

Chris Borland...I call him the white London Fletcher. Like this pick a lot...I don't know if he'll replace Bowman with Wilhoite playing so well, but he gives us good depth and Special Teams ability. A-

Brandon Thomas...not sure about this guy just yet. Some people said he was a 3rd rounder before his injure, some say he was a late-1st...not sure what to believe and his tape doesn't quite pop out at me.... C-

Ellington! Called it. Getting a lot of love now on ESPN.

Get Desir now and my grade is an A. Ellington is my favorite pick so far even though I gave Martin an A+.

The overall draft grade just went to an A! They just picked one of their remaining needs--speedy receiver. Now if their is a good CB left at the end of this round...yowsa!