MadDog49er Draft Analysis for the Class of 2017 | Page 8

MadDog49er · 2017-04-29T21:42:46-07:00

Well, it comes and goes so quickly, that I hope we all had a chance to enjoy the weekend full of fun and drama. With a new administration comes new hope, and new players to build a future. Here is what I saw from the Niners this weekend in my draft analysis. To preface, I do not evaluate anything outside of the picks themselves. I do not add or subtract value for the volume of picks, or lack of volume, good trades or poor trades along the way, or the pickup of unrestricted free agents. Others may calculate those factors into a final grade. I simply analyze each pick to see the quality of the selection as a solid player, and if it is a solid fit for the team. Here is my evaluation of each pick and then my list of selections while the team was on the clock: Round 1- Solomon Thomas- Thomas was the best player on my board when the Niners were on the clock. He is a tremendous football player, and has terrific upside. Fast, strong, good inside and out, smooth, and with excellent character. This is the kind of player a team can build around. I envision the team playing him outside on base downs and shift him inside on passing downs. Just what the doctor ordered in run defense, where we stunk last year. He is outstanding against the run. Not a burner around the edge, but is not a sloth as well. Tends to go straight at OTs than bend around the corner. A nightmare for interior OL to handle. Excellent pick. Round 1- Reuben Foster- Easily a top ten talent (for me a top 5 talent) if all factors outside of the football field are considered. Fast, tough, smooth, and solid across the board in all facets of defense (run, pass defense, pass rush). No problem covering RBs. Plays well through trash. Has no problem hitting people. Just a complete football player....on the field. The red flags come off the field, and there are numerous. Getting kicked out of the combine, to my knowledge, has never happened before, and showed a lack of self-restraint/maturity. Failing a urine test shows a complete lack of foresight, and seriousness of the moment. This is your job interview, and you failed in multiple ways. Self-admittedly poor at the whiteboard, and low Wonderlic score of 9 is another red flag for the complexities of defensive systems he will run with in the future. So, I ask myself, most MLBs are team captains and running the huddle. Is this the guy I want doing that? Hell no. If he is just a guy as an OLB, then I have better sentiments toward the pick. No one issue is a complete disaster, but the composite accumulation of all these factors tell me that he is not a clean player. And, that is the reason he sunk to the bottom of the first round. First round guys, regardless of talent, have to have a clean sheet. Call me not a fan of this pick, since there were a LOT of talented guys out there with clean sheets in front of them. Round 3- Ahkello Witherspoon- One of the more physically gifted CBs in the draft (his SPARQ score was nearly 95%), a long limbed, tall (over 6'2 1/2") is a nice match for what the Niners want to do on defense. Witherspoon improved greatly from two years ago to last year to this year. His completion allowed percentage continues to drop. Thin, but runs very well. Not a slot guy (he will be on the edge), there is a lot to like with this pick. Witherspoon was fourth best on my board at the time of this pick, so count me a fan.I think he can step in and compete right away for a starting position. Round 3- CJ Beathard- The ghost of Trent Baalke roared it's head and made an initial, head-scratching appearance with this selection at 104 overall. What in the world was the brass thinking? Beathard was absolutely brutal in multiple games this year (his final college game had a 7 for 23, 55 yards, and 3 INTs line). Yes, he was down some targets this year. Yes, he played some good teams and defenses. But, this is not a guy you are building a franchise around. He is not Cousins. So, why use a third rounder on a backup QB? I have no idea. To me, a complete disaster. Round 4- Joe Williams- I believe I had a higher grade than most on Williams. He was my number 9 RB in this draft, and if you watch him on film, you will see one fast cat that can break big plays. I don't see the full versatility as some other backs who have a more, well-rounded game, but Williams overall was a quality selection if you are looking at RB, and ignoring anything off the field. Williams has some baggage in his past, including the death of his sister, that caused him to quit football for a couple games at the beginning of this year. When he came back, he was a force. The production per game was pretty remarkable at over 150 yards/.game. But, quitting football should be a red flag because he has already done it once. What if he falls into another funk? The team took a risk here, something I wouldn't have minded if it were in the 6th round. To me, this is way too early a selection due to the risk of another departure. We already traveled down that road with Anthony Davis before. Round 5- George Kittle- I have nothing but good things to say about Kittle. A complete tight end who can block inline or line up in the slot, Kittle was the second best tight end on my board at this pick, and fourth or fifth best overall. Under-used and underappreciated at Iowa, he showed well at the combine as a smooth athlete. SPARQ score of 97% percentile shows a stud athlete. Bright, hard-working, cares about football. Good size at about 6'4", 250. This was a very strong pick. Round 5- Trent Taylor- A really bad pick in 2017, but possibly much better pick in 2018, if Cousins signs with the team. Taylor is a tiny, slot WR, who posted more catches in big boy college football than anyone else. 136 catches is crazy. Now, you are getting very little to nothing after the catch, and you better have an accurate QB because his catch radius is tiny (hence the reference to Cousin). Taylor can return punts as well. To me, a bit rich for the 5th round, but a solid possession receiver for a hyper accurate QB. Round 6- DJ Jones- A solid interior rush defender for Ole Miss, Jones is a NT, which will allow him to compete right away to get in the DL rotation. Good productivity this year and last (he was probably better last year since Nkemdiche was next to him taking a lot of OL attention). You are not getting much up the field action. More of a classic toilet--clogging NT. Numerous teams expressed interest in him. I had him substantially lower down my board. Short arms and short height (less than 6'1"), at 320 pounds he is a classic fire hydrant NT. Tepid enthusiasm from me. Round 6- Pita Taumoepenu- Many 49ers fans wanted the team to get an edge rusher in the draft. Well, here he is, because this is Pita's one true talent on the field. Had a good 2016 year, even though he was spotty in starting assignments. Pita started only 7 games in his career at Utah, so this is not a guy with a lot of experience. 9 sacks in 12 games last year, turned in a nice Pro Day workout which included a fast, sub 7.00 cone time, and 10 yard split at 1.62, which is very good. At 6'1", 240, he has short area quickness. But, he is one dimensional. Super raw. Only started playing football when he moved from Tonga at 17. I understand the team is filling out the roster with positions of need, but I just don't see this guy as anything more than a core special-teamer. So many better players on the board at the time. Round 7- Adrian Colbert- Free safety, graduate transfer from Texas to Miami who sat out 2015 and played 7 games in 2016. What do I say about a 7th rounder? Can he make the roster? I don't think so at safety. Could he develop on the practice squad? Maybe. Colbert is fast. He ran a sub 4.50 at his Pro- Day I just look at the roster of undrafted free agents and think that forty of these would have been better picks. I don't get the pick. Nothing excites me watching his game film. They must see something they like. Mark me down for a draft grade of B-. The best picks of Thomas, Witherspoon, Kittle give hope. All three are solid pros, who will be a part of helping the team. All three should start in the next year at some point. Foster is the wild card. If he keeps clean, then this draft could have solid potential to be a cornerstone in rebuilding the team for the future. My picks when the team was on the clock: 1. Solomon Thomas-DE 1A. Forrest Lamp-G 3. Cooper Kupp- WR 3A. Blair Brown- LB 4. Jake Butt- TE 5.Damontae Kazee- CB 5A.Xavier Woods- FS 6.Bucky Hodges- TE 6A.Keion Adams- LB 7. Cameron Tom- C Quick comment on my picks- We agreed with Thomas pick. Lamp was an unexpected drop in this draft, and that is OK with me. I perceive him to be equal with Zach Martin, and if that is the case, he is going to the Pro-Bowl. I was originally targeting Evan Engram, but he was snatched up at 23 by the Giants. Nobody has been able to cover Cooper Kupp this year, either in the regular season, or at the Senior Bowl. He is the best route runner in this draft, and will make his mark in the slot. Blair Brown is a stud. I think he is this year's version of Jatavis Brown (no relation). Ignored because of height and being in the MAC, he simply kicks a$$ on the field. Love watching him play. Check out the Tennessee game where he and Basham deflate the Tennessee offense. Jake Butt was one of the best TE's in this draft before injury. I see him as this year's Jason Witten. He simply finds ways to get open on the field. No problem taking a red-shirt year if needed. Kazee is the back to back Defensive Player of the Year for the MWC. He then came to the Senior Bowl and looked tremendous. Short, but the heart of a lion. Love the kid. Woods was one of the few single-high FS in this draft. Small schooler, but good athlete and solid production. Underrated for sure. Not sure why he was on the board this late. Kept waiting for teams to select Bucky Hodges, and finally thought it was the time in the 6th. Instant red zone threat, long and lean split out wide. Gives very little in blocking. Can be the emergency third string QB. Adams is a hyper/explosive edge for Western Michigan. Flies around the field, has a wicked spin move. Really exciting high energy prospect. Finally, Tom is a four year starter with very good athleticism (sub 5.0 time) and leadership. Can pull easily. In wrapping up, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who makes this board special leading into and through the draft. From the genius known as Phoenix, to the equally amazing, but too busy to share his brilliance often enough, On the Clock; the Hall of Famers, the heavy contributors (sorry for not listing all of you) who breathe life into this board, and even the newbies who keep us sharp by not accepting a sloppy evaluation because of history/street cred on the board: Thanks for a great run this draft season. It is an honor to join you in this journey together. I can honestly say that I hope I am wrong on every low evaluation I placed on a Niners' player, because in the end, we hope they all become stars, and we get this mess corrected. Cheers to all. Now, feel free to hammer my opinions. I am stretching

Feb 12, 2018 at 3:37 PM

#106

Mertonschickendance
Veteran
Posts: 4,491

Originally posted by susweel:

Reuben Foster- Easily a top ten talent (for me a top 5 talent) if all factors outside of the football field are considered. Fast, tough, smooth, and solid across the board in all facets of defense (run, pass defense, pass rush). No problem covering RBs. Plays well through trash. Has no problem hitting people. Just a complete football player....on the field. The red flags come off the field, and there are numerous. Getting kicked out of the combine, to my knowledge, has never happened before, and showed a lack of self-restraint/maturity. Failing a urine test shows a complete lack of foresight, and seriousness of the moment. This is your job interview, and you failed in multiple ways. Self-admittedly poor at the whiteboard, and low Wonderlic score of 9 is another red flag for the complexities of defensive systems he will run with in the future. So, I ask myself, most MLBs are team captains and running the huddle. Is this the guy I want doing that? Hell no. If he is just a guy as an OLB, then I have better sentiments toward the pick. No one issue is a complete disaster, but the composite accumulation of all these factors tell me that he is not a clean player. And, that is the reason he sunk to the bottom of the first round. First round guys, regardless of talent, have to have a clean sheet. Call me not a fan of this pick, since there were a LOT of talented guys out there with clean sheets in front of them.

#MaddogWasRight

Nailed it.

Also notice how he looked when he had to call defensive plays vs when Coyle became the QB of the defense...there was a difference in his play

Jul 18, 2018 at 11:40 AM

#107

genus49
Moderator
Posts: 28,202

I'd much rather talk about this draft class than 2012

Still early but this draft class has the potential to be truly special.

We already have the following guys as starters heading into this season

Thomas
Foster
Witherspoon
Kittle
Colbert

And at worst key depth in the rest of the guys
Joe Williams is really the only guy who looks to have one foot out the door

If Bourne ends up as a legit WR and Pita shows something as a rusher this year this class will be really exciting.

Jul 21, 2018 at 2:16 AM

#108

TonyStarks
Veteran
Posts: 62,841

GS maddog

Jul 21, 2018 at 7:33 AM

#109

pdizo916
Member
Posts: 38,241

Originally posted by genus49:
I'd much rather talk about this draft class than 2012

Still early but this draft class has the potential to be truly special.

We already have the following guys as starters heading into this season

Thomas
Foster
Witherspoon
Kittle
Colbert

And at worst key depth in the rest of the guys
Joe Williams is really the only guy who looks to have one foot out the door

If Bourne ends up as a legit WR and Pita shows something as a rusher this year this class will be really exciting.

the only bad pick was thomas. Other than that, it was a decent draft class.

Jul 21, 2018 at 8:04 AM

#110

LasVegasWally
Veteran
Posts: 24,853

Good article on the 2027 draft.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2018/7/21/17597690/bleacher-report-draft-power-rankings-2017-draft-49ers-reuben-foster-solomon-thomas

Thoughts??

Jul 31, 2018 at 12:35 AM

#111

Zachary
Veteran
Posts: 10,989

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Good article on the 2027 draft.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2018/7/21/17597690/bleacher-report-draft-power-rankings-2017-draft-49ers-reuben-foster-solomon-thomas

Thoughts??

good read and completely agree. Saints easily had the best draft so I'm cool with that.

Taylor, Colbert and Kittle have faaaaar exceeded my expectations. Of course I expect big things from early
Picks. So these guys ahhh ya. And the UDFA's.

Completely nailed that class and that's why I trust us taking Pettis where we did and stuff

Jul 31, 2018 at 10:53 AM

#112

TheRickestRick
Veteran
Posts: 10,450

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Good article on the 2027 draft.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2018/7/21/17597690/bleacher-report-draft-power-rankings-2017-draft-49ers-reuben-foster-solomon-thomas

Thoughts??

Pretty much agree. Saints landed 2 quality starters and am amazing RB2. The niners draft was more foundational with more quality found in the later rounds but less flash outside of Foster. Over time the niners draft may overtake the saints based on this year or next. But both were phenomenal and it should be fun to watch how everyone develops.

Aug 1, 2018 at 5:29 AM

#113

MadDog49er
Hall of Fame
Posts: 19,400

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Good article on the 2027 draft.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2018/7/21/17597690/bleacher-report-draft-power-rankings-2017-draft-49ers-reuben-foster-solomon-thomas

Thoughts??

The Niners' roster was pretty shoddy coming into 2017, and that allowed a lot of rookies to play immediately. Most did pretty well. We'll have to see what that final result is like about 5 years down the road. So far, so good.

I was critical of the 49ers 2011 draft class, and took a beating in Year 2, when it looked like Aldon Smith and Colin Kaepernick were going to be long-lasting stars. However, time proved me right in that draft with JJ Watt and Rodney Hudson as my first two picks, as Smith and Kaepernick are not playing. Time ultimately shapes the final perspective.

Aug 1, 2018 at 5:31 AM

#114

MadDog49er
Hall of Fame
Posts: 19,400

I really liked the Cowboys draft this year in Leighton Vander Esch, Connor Williams, and Michael Gallup. I think these three are going to make a big impact in 2018 and beyond. All three are going to start, and camp has been very kind to them so far.

Aug 1, 2018 at 10:30 AM

#115

NYniner85
Veteran
Posts: 118,935

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
I really liked the Cowboys draft this year in Leighton Vander Esch, Connor Williams, and Michael Gallup. I think these three are going to make a big impact in 2018 and beyond. All three are going to start, and camp has been very kind to them so far.

Like williams and Gallup...wouldn't be shocked if Vander will be injuried on the reg. Kids got crazy upside but outside of that Oregon game it was meh for me.

Aug 1, 2018 at 12:17 PM

#116

LasVegasWally
Veteran
Posts: 24,853

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Good article on the 2027 draft.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2018/7/21/17597690/bleacher-report-draft-power-rankings-2017-draft-49ers-reuben-foster-solomon-thomas

Thoughts??

The Niners' roster was pretty shoddy coming into 2017, and that allowed a lot of rookies to play immediately. Most did pretty well. We'll have to see what that final result is like about 5 years down the road. So far, so good.

I was critical of the 49ers 2011 draft class, and took a beating in Year 2, when it looked like Aldon Smith and Colin Kaepernick were going to be long-lasting stars. However, time proved me right in that draft with JJ Watt and Rodney Hudson as my first two picks, as Smith and Kaepernick are not playing. Time ultimately shapes the final perspective.

Truth.

You knocked it out of the park on those 2 picks!

Aug 2, 2018 at 11:58 AM

#117

Giedi
Veteran
Posts: 33,955

Originally posted by pdizo916:

Originally posted by genus49:
I'd much rather talk about this draft class than 2012

Still early but this draft class has the potential to be truly special.

We already have the following guys as starters heading into this season

Thomas
Foster
Witherspoon
Kittle
Colbert

And at worst key depth in the rest of the guys
Joe Williams is really the only guy who looks to have one foot out the door

If Bourne ends up as a legit WR and Pita shows something as a rusher this year this class will be really exciting.

the only bad pick was thomas. Other than that, it was a decent draft class.

I'm still hoping Solomon can improve and I think TC he's shown something. Clearly I'd have loved for him to be the second coming of Reggie White, but I think there's still a big upside to him at this point.

What excited me about the 2017 offseason was the ability for a lot of undrafted talent to make the team. That's a big positive for me in addition to the 2017 49ers draft being so loaded with talent. 2018, I don't think any of the undrafteds can make the team. That's a good thing and a bad thing. My hope is that we'll be drafting closer to 32nd than 9th in 2019, and if we do, why not trade a boatload of draft picks to move up and get a DE/Elite Edge rusher in the 2019 draft.

Aug 7, 2018 at 10:26 PM

#118

longterm9erfan
Veteran
Posts: 494

Hey MD... Just curious... How did your choices for the Niners in 2017 perform this past year? It appears the Niners' choices did pretty well when taken as a group. However, I respect your film work and analysis...do you think your choices fared better or at least as well as the Niners'?

Cheers!

Jan 9, 2019 at 9:06 AM

#119

fryet
Veteran
Posts: 3,325

Bumping this up to see how MadDog's analysis looks 2 years later.

Solomon Thomas - MadDog liked, so far Solomon has underperformed as a #3 overall pick. I think MadDog got this one wrong, but let's check again in a year.
Reuben Foster - MadDog did not like this pick. Reuben had one phenomenal year, and is now not with the team. Mad dog got this right.
Ahkello Witherspoon - MadDog liked this pick. While he hasn't set the world on fire, he was usually the starter at CB, so I think this was a decent pick. MadDog was right.
CJ Beathard - MadDog did not like this pick. Considering Beat's record of 1-9, I think MadDog got this right.
Joe Williams - MadDog did not like this pick. He is no longer with the team. MadDog got this right.
George Kittle - MadDog loved this pick. Kittle is an All Pro type player. MadDog got this right.
Trent Taylor - MadDog did not like this pick. Trent has helped the team some, but has not proven worthy of the pick yet. I think it is still debatable on whether this was a good pick or not.
DJ Jones - MadDog liked this pick only a little. Playing well and may be the starter next season? I think this player has outperformed MadDog's expectations.
Pita Taumoepenu - MadDog did not like this pick. Player has underperformed and probably won't be on team next year. I think MadDog got this one right.
Adrian Colbert - MadDog did not like this pick. Colbert has had ups and downs, but for a 7th round pick, I think he has outperformed. MadDog got this one wrong.

[ Edited by fryet on Jan 9, 2019 at 9:07 AM ]

Jan 9, 2019 at 9:21 AM

#120

English
Moderator
Posts: 41,387

I don't think you can keep extending the timescale for judging a pick. For example, Aldon Smith was an amazing player. It was an excellent pick. The fact that he self destructed a few years down the line is not realistically a criticism of his drafting. You can't really expect each teams GM to have a time machine. Smith didnt have huge negatives at the time of his drafting. Foster had some negatives but with the second pick the team apparently felt it was a worthwhile gamble. And from the way he played in his first year, it certainly looks that way. His flame out could be foreseen at the time of drafting, though, so the criticism is valid.