49ers Draft Grade

I give it a C for now.... mostly because I'm not sold on Baalke's draft strategy yet.

Since the 2012 debacle, Baalke seems to have been drafting less for immediate need and more for the future. That is all well and good on paper, but we have yet to see many of our 2013 and 2014 draft picks contribute much.

If guys like Tank Carradine, Quinton Patton, Jimmy Ward, Vance McDonald and Bruce Ellington start being major contributors soon then I'll have more confidence in Baalke's strategy and 2015 will look like a great draft.

Originally posted by mike86:

First off, I'm not a fan of Armstead. Sure he MIGHT become a good, hell even great, player but he's got an incredibly long way to go and if the 49ers wanted a tall, long, athletic project then they have one on the roster - his name is Lawerence Okoye and he looked pretty damn good last year towards the end of the preseason.

LOL at people trying to compare Armstead and Okoye, I mean, you're comparing a guy who has been playing in the same defensive scheme for years at Oregon versus a guy who first played his snap of football a couple years. One guy has the potential to be an All Pro player, the other guy would do well just to actually make the roster. The odds are good that Okoye never plays a single snap in the NFL. He's about as much of a project as it gets, nothing more.

That comparison pretty much discredits everything else you wrote after that.

I am usually able to rationalize the picks and be optimistic about the draft.

This draft we drafted a player in the first that is the Kwame Brown of the draft. Has great size can't play at all. I have no hope he will ever be anything but big and a bust. Probably the worst draft pick I can remember the 49ers ever making.

A SS in the second that can't cover but hits Even he was surprised he was picked that high. Bethea isn't worried about losing his job to him.

An OLBer when we have 4 of them already. A good player, but was not a need.

A QB turned TE who doesn't know how to run routes or block but is tall. At least he has that going for him

A RB who is a Hearst Clone. Great player, but where does he fit on the team? 4 RBs? Is Hunter gone after this season?

A WR who is injured. Wont play for a year. I hope he heals. Potential to be a starting WR

A punter in the 5th. Almost made me choke in anger. This can only mean Lee is gone. Wait no? Baalke says he isn't. What a waste of a pick.

A T who will be moved to G, but has poor footwork and can't pass block or move the pile.

A G who is just like the DE we drafted in the first. Huge, but no skills

And finally another TE something we didn't need in the first place, but now we have drafted 2. He is always hurt. Now we have like 10 TEs. Maybe we don't need any CBs, WRs, or ILBers cause we didn't add any that will play.

Baalke needs to be fired, beaten, and thrown in jail for what he did to the 49ers faithful with this draft.

B-

Armstead is a bust until otherwise proven, He is a big body but doesn't have the physical makeup to be a 17 overall draft pick, Malcolm Brown should have been the pick

I prefer Eli Harold in the 3rd

Tartt, instead of Jaelen Strong is disgusting

Mike Davis could be good, still high for my liking

Originally posted by Hangman_52:
I am usually able to rationalize the picks and be optimistic about the draft.

This draft we drafted a player in the first that is the Kwame Brown of the draft. Has great size can't play at all. I have no hope he will ever be anything but big and a bust. Probably the worst draft pick I can remember the 49ers ever making.

A SS in the second that can't cover but hits Even he was surprised he was picked that high. Bethea isn't worried about losing his job to him.

An OLBer when we have 4 of them already. A good player, but was not a need.

A QB turned TE who doesn't know how to run routes or block but is tall. At least he has that going for him

A RB who is a Hearst Clone. Great player, but where does he fit on the team? 4 RBs? Is Hunter gone after this season?

A WR who is injured. Wont play for a year. I hope he heals. Potential to be a starting WR

A punter in the 5th. Almost made me choke in anger. This can only mean Lee is gone. Wait no? Baalke says he isn't. What a waste of a pick.

A T who will be moved to G, but has poor footwork and can't pass block or move the pile.

A G who is just like the DE we drafted in the first. Huge, but no skills

And finally another TE something we didn't need in the first place, but now we have drafted 2. He is always hurt. Now we have like 10 TEs. Maybe we don't need any CBs, WRs, or ILBers cause we didn't add any that will play.

Baalke needs to be fired, beaten, and thrown in jail for what he did to the 49ers faithful with this draft.

ITT-People getting irate about players they've never heard, never watched play and only read a brief draft synopsis about, deciding that they suck based off of that.

IMO, after seeing decades of drafts, this one could easily surpass 2012 as the worst for Baalke and easily one of the worst ever.The silver lining is that it could be Baalke's last.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

A solid B. They addressed needs, future and present, a lot of people will criticize them because the needs perceived by fans were different than the needs perceived by the team. This was a draft where they brought in a lot of raw players that they feel can be coached up to their full potential, lots of intriguing talent, from Armstead who has the potential to be a monster, Tartt who could be the starting strong safety in a short time, who has been compared to Landon Collins but having a higher ceiling, you have Eli Harold, a young, super athletic pass rusher, they added some depth on the OL, some guys who will compete for roster spots, a terrific pick of Mike Davis at RB, they added a WR for the future in Smelter, a TE prospect with a whole of upside, a replacement for Andy Lee which will better allow them to re-sign players in the future, all in all, a solid effort, lots of raw talent for the coaches to work with.

This draft is all about potential, which can swing either way. We drafted off of 2 key attributes, players having potential and being raw. A part of me wants to see/hear production and dominance when describing players. If they all reach their full potential this could be a home run, but on the flip side, we could have a lot of underachievers drafted all over the place.

I wavered between B and B-. Not mind-blowing, but a solid job.

I don't mind the Armstead and Tartt picks. They obviously felt that they fit the defensive system really well. I thought the Harold pick was great.
In day 3, they seemed to be adding a lot of depth. I was kind of hoping for a pick or two more on WR/CB to get some speed and athleticism on the outside. But I think the roster is about ready for next season and has some potential for the next couple seasons too.

Originally posted by jreff22:
This draft is all about potential, which can swing either way. We drafted off of 2 key attributes, players having potential and being raw. A part of me wants to see/hear production and dominance when describing players. If they all reach their full potential this could be a home run, but on the flip side, we could have a lot of underachievers drafted all over the place.

That can apply for any pick in the draft, even the most "NFL-ready" players bust. Remember when Aaron Curry was "can't miss" and "NFL-ready."

The 49ers basically bought low on some raw players that they appear to be confident in being able to coach up to their full potential. As with any draft, only time will tell but most people on here are only regurgitating the stuff that they read on NFL.com or CBS Sports pretty much.

B-

Would of been a B but the punter pick adds a -. I can see the reason for all the picks but that one. If the first two picks can get in the rotation this year then A, A-. There's no problem with planning for the future, just can't get all that excited about them right now although I understand the picks.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Hangman_52:

I am usually able to rationalize the picks and be optimistic about the draft.

This draft we drafted a player in the first that is the Kwame Brown of the draft. Has great size can't play at all. I have no hope he will ever be anything but big and a bust. Probably the worst draft pick I can remember the 49ers ever making.

A SS in the second that can't cover but hits Even he was surprised he was picked that high. Bethea isn't worried about losing his job to him.

An OLBer when we have 4 of them already. A good player, but was not a need.

A QB turned TE who doesn't know how to run routes or block but is tall. At least he has that going for him

A RB who is a Hearst Clone. Great player, but where does he fit on the team? 4 RBs? Is Hunter gone after this season?

A WR who is injured. Wont play for a year. I hope he heals. Potential to be a starting WR

A punter in the 5th. Almost made me choke in anger. This can only mean Lee is gone. Wait no? Baalke says he isn't. What a waste of a pick.

A T who will be moved to G, but has poor footwork and can't pass block or move the pile.

A G who is just like the DE we drafted in the first. Huge, but no skills

And finally another TE something we didn't need in the first place, but now we have drafted 2. He is always hurt. Now we have like 10 TEs. Maybe we don't need any CBs, WRs, or ILBers cause we didn't add any that will play.

Baalke needs to be fired, beaten, and thrown in jail for what he did to the 49ers faithful with this draft.

ITT-People getting irate about players they've never heard, never watched play and only read a brief draft synopsis about, deciding that they suck based off of that.

Exactly, just like every year we hear of all these media hyped players for 3 months then Baalke goes and finds good players who fit our scheme and everyone is pissed. The zone.

We could have just got the future best 3-4 DL of the NFL, a Kam like beast to patrol the middle, baby Aldon, potential Jimmy Graham.lite potential, Mike Davis reminds me of a fat Ray Rice lol... And smelter...

It's obvious Baalke has a lot of trust in the coaching staff... Like Baalke's vision...

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by jreff22:
This draft is all about potential, which can swing either way. We drafted off of 2 key attributes, players having potential and being raw. A part of me wants to see/hear production and dominance when describing players. If they all reach their full potential this could be a home run, but on the flip side, we could have a lot of underachievers drafted all over the place.

That can apply for any pick in the draft, even the most "NFL-ready" players bust. Remember when Aaron Curry was "can't miss" and "NFL-ready."

The 49ers basically bought low on some raw players that they appear to be confident in being able to coach up to their full potential. As with any draft, only time will tell but most people on here are only regurgitating the stuff that they read on NFL.com or CBS Sports pretty much.

Phoenix, please stop assuming that people with opinions other than yours don't have knowledge about the draft. Webzoners aren't the only ones to question the Niners selections, where they were selected and not addressing some thin position groups.

I give this draft an A+. It would've been just an 'A', but the anger seems to have hit an all time high so that's worth the extra credit. I love how so many people here get emotional and have these over the top reactions EVERY year after the draft.

As always, what most of the pissing and moaning boils down to is "Baalke didn't draft who I/the media think(s) he should have therefore he sucks and I hate him."

To which I say, "ha."

f+

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by jreff22:

This draft is all about potential, which can swing either way. We drafted off of 2 key attributes, players having potential and being raw. A part of me wants to see/hear production and dominance when describing players. If they all reach their full potential this could be a home run, but on the flip side, we could have a lot of underachievers drafted all over the place.

That can apply for any pick in the draft, even the most "NFL-ready" players bust. Remember when Aaron Curry was "can't miss" and "NFL-ready."

The 49ers basically bought low on some raw players that they appear to be confident in being able to coach up to their full potential. As with any draft, only time will tell but most people on here are only regurgitating the stuff that they read on NFL.com or CBS Sports pretty much.

Round 1 and 2 were potential guys, that's not buying very low. And I'm starting to think Tartt was a mulligan for Ward. I don't hate this draft, I'm just worried about a staff that's not proven (working together) to make this all work. And while Tomsula is a great DL coach, he couldn't make Balmer a worthy starter.