Solomon Thomas--Stanford

Originally posted by tjd808185:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
AA was the bum...so bringing in Earl Mitchell makes our DL amazing all of a sudden? lol please.

You're also ignoring the injuries to Bowman, Rey Rey. Buckner was a rookie. The entire front 7 was in shambles. No, I don't think Earl Mitchell is the answer but Soloman Thomas isn't going to fix that is he. This is a multi year rebuild.

Ray Ray had 14 run DEF snaps last yr... Even with Bow we allowed 100+ in 3 of our 4 games and it was to fozzy whittaker, Christine Michael (his only 100 yard game), and Zeke.

AA and Mitchell are both the worst ranked run defenders on the team currently (they ranked 113 &114th our of 117 interior defenders). Even Buck ranked outside the top 30.

Your right this is a multi yr rebuild and the smart way to do it is get the best players that fit the scheme every player not drafted by this FO/HC need to get working cause they don't have any ties to them.

Originally posted by SteveYoung:

There are guys like Soloman Thomas who come out every year.

Yeah no. Guys like Thomas who have that combination of athleticism, motor, pass rush skills, intelligence and leadership are anything but common.


Williams is a far more conventional WR, a big body without elite athleticism and route running ability, far easier to find someone like that.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Ensatsu:

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
A lot of the comments against drafting Thomas seem to come down to to "I'm really hoping and praying that this patchwork DL is seen as good enough because I really want to see the 49ers draft the receiver so they can play some Madden style football for a change. DL's are boring."

Most people are fine tearing apart a weak QB class, but these same people are talking about a DT => LEO conversion project that gives a high bust factor to an otherwise great talent like Thomas.

I mean really, when I look at it objectively, I see the same bust percentage rate across the board.

They can minimize the risk by playing him on the interior, but that means they need to offload Armstead for trade value. And everyone knows his value is low.

So then we should just stick with a s**tty AA? Sometimes 1st rd picks don't turn into game changers and become good rotational guys. This FO has zero ties to him...I got no problem rolling with Solomon and AA splitting snaps or having AA be a backup to Buck at the 5-tech. No one is saying he's a strictly a LEO.

He's not making top end money and we can afford it. IF he does decide to actually be good then trade him....the Pats do that s**t all the time.

would be a waste if he split snaps with AA lol , thomas an every down player if you ask me.

Originally posted by SteveYoung:
What changed?? I hate the fact of drafting 3 DL in 3 years and ignoring other positions yet again. Even Justin Smith said as much.

We are rebuilding. We might as well see what AA can do when healthy. Give him a year to prove it. What do we have to lose? What if he blows up and plays to his potential? He won't get the chance if he is sitting on the bench. If he stinkns then play Mitchell and Blair and get a UT next year. By all accounts he was owning everyone in camp last year. All the veteran Olinemen said as much. He needs a chance to prove himself.

There are guys like Soloman Thomas who come out every year.

I think we are the perfect example of why teams need elite playmakers at WR. We'd probably have 1 maybe 2 more Superbowls if we had a 6'3 red zone beast of WR.

Yes please let's pray that AA all of a sudden figures out how to play football and stop the run...that's a solid plan.

I feel like you haven't watch Thomas play this yr with the statement guys like him come out every yr...guys like Mike Williams come out every yr

Originally posted by PRIMETIME21:

would be a waste if he split snaps with AA lol , thomas an every down player if you ask me.

If drafted, I imagine that Thomas and Buckner would be getting the most DL snaps overall.


If Armstead shows something then youve got a pretty nice rotation going and you can trade him to a team in need of a 4 technique down the road.

Originally posted by PRIMETIME21:
would be a waste if he split snaps with AA lol , thomas an every down player if you ask me.

then have him come in to give Buck a rest and rotate...he can have a set of packages to get on the field. IMO I'd rather trade him to a team that needs a 3-4 DE. Throw him into a trade for Kirk

I've yet to hear anyone give a good reason why we shouldn't draft Thomas outside of "we shouldn't draft 3 DL in the first round 3 years in a row" and "We have a bigger need at Leo and he's not a good fit at Leo"

Those are not good reasons.

"The guy doesn't show good effort"
"He's one dimensional"
"He's weak"
"He's too slow"
"Not athletic enough"
"Not smart enough"
"Off the field issues"
"injury concerns"

....those are the type of things that would be a good reason why he shouldn't be our pick. Obviously none of those fit Thomas.

Talking about players that don't come around very often. Speedy, rangy, ball hawking safeties that can play single high in this scheme and terrify QBs who want to throw the seam route.

And with that same elite skill set, they improve the run game? How? Want to improve rush defense? First, we need a freakin NT. After that, we need to have talent and depth at defensive lineman (check). What about putting 8 in the box? Super tough to run on, but it Only works if you have a FS that is elite.

The talent needed for this FS role is rare. What if that talent was there at our pick?

Just a thought, any chance this kids leaps Garrett as the number 1 pick, Just read he was top 5 in either almost or every category for DLineman at the combine, plus like a lot say his motor, his leadership skills and a great kid..does all that possibly make him the number 1 pick..?

Originally posted by Lobo49er:

Talking about players that don't come around very often. Speedy, rangy, ball hawking safeties that can play single high in this scheme and terrify QBs who want to throw the seam route.

And with that same elite skill set, they improve the run game? How? Want to improve rush defense? First, we need a freakin NT. After that, we need to have talent and depth at defensive lineman (check). What about putting 8 in the box? Super tough to run on, but it Only works if you have a FS that is elite.

The talent needed for this FS role is rare. What if that talent was there at our pick?

Now balance that out with a general inability to tackle and a hip labrum tear that has affected other players long term.


Those concerns are what lead to Hooker not being a "gimme" the way Garrett, Adams and Thomas are.

Originally posted by jersey49er:

Just a thought, any chance this kids leaps Garrett as the number 1 pick

Nope.

Originally posted by genus49:

I've yet to hear anyone give a good reason why we shouldn't draft Thomas outside of "we shouldn't draft 3 DL in the first round 3 years in a row" and "We have a bigger need at Leo and he's not a good fit at Leo"

Those are not good reasons.

"The guy doesn't show good effort"
"He's one dimensional"
"He's weak"
"He's too slow"
"Not athletic enough"
"Not smart enough"
"Off the field issues"
"injury concerns"

....those are the type of things that would be a good reason why he shouldn't be our pick. Obviously none of those fit Thomas.

Thomas isn't a bad player. He's a really good player.

How can we not take need into account? Let me put it this way:

Let's pretend that Solomon Thomas and Derek Barnett have almost the same grade. Who are you picking? A dt/de for the third straight year? Or a Leo?

Doesn't need have to play into the thought process?

Originally posted by Lobo49er:
Talking about players that don't come around very often. Speedy, rangy, ball hawking safeties that can play single high in this scheme and terrify QBs who want to throw the seam route.

And with that same elite skill set, they improve the run game? How? Want to improve rush defense? First, we need a freakin NT. After that, we need to have talent and depth at defensive lineman (check). What about putting 8 in the box? Super tough to run on, but it Only works if you have a FS that is elite.

The talent needed for this FS role is rare. What if that talent was there at our pick?

We got one on the team already (in Ward) and I see about three of them in this draft outside of Hooker

How much is a NT gonna play for us when nickel is basically the new base? That's a position that can be found later

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Lobo49er:

Talking about players that don't come around very often. Speedy, rangy, ball hawking safeties that can play single high in this scheme and terrify QBs who want to throw the seam route.

And with that same elite skill set, they improve the run game? How? Want to improve rush defense? First, we need a freakin NT. After that, we need to have talent and depth at defensive lineman (check). What about putting 8 in the box? Super tough to run on, but it Only works if you have a FS that is elite.

The talent needed for this FS role is rare. What if that talent was there at our pick?

Now balance that out with a general inability to tackle and a hip labrum tear that has affected other players long term.


Those concerns are what lead to Hooker not being a "gimme" the way Garrett, Adams and Thomas are.

Let's be clear that "gimme" is subjective here. There's only one "gimme" in the draft. Everyone else ( in the discussion for 2) has pros and cons. We're assuming we're stuck at 2, and the only "gimme" is off the board.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Lobo49er:

Talking about players that don't come around very often. Speedy, rangy, ball hawking safeties that can play single high in this scheme and terrify QBs who want to throw the seam route.

And with that same elite skill set, they improve the run game? How? Want to improve rush defense? First, we need a freakin NT. After that, we need to have talent and depth at defensive lineman (check). What about putting 8 in the box? Super tough to run on, but it Only works if you have a FS that is elite.

The talent needed for this FS role is rare. What if that talent was there at our pick?

We got one on the team already (in Ward) and I see about three of them in this draft outside of Hooker

How much is a NT gonna play for us when nickel is basically the new base?

We won't ever get out of base if we don't find one (hopefully 2) NTs. No, I'm not suggesting we address that at 2 .

I've never watched Ward and thought, "that's Earl Thomas". I've said exactly that when watching Hooker.

And again to disagree, teams have been chasing the elusive Earl Thomas v2.0 for several years now. This talent level is rare.