Grade the 49ers 2012 Draft Class

This class worse than any I can remember..and I go back awhile.

I am a Baalke guy, but this class flat out stunk.

Easily an F.

It's strange...I don't think Baalke's had a draft class that I'd give a B, C, or D grade. They've either been tremendous or terrible.

2010: Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Navorro Bowman, Kyle Williams, Anthony Dixon Grade: A-
2011: Aldon Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Chris Culliver, Kendall Hunter, Bruce Miller, Daniel Kilgore Grade: A+
2012: LaMichael James, Joe Looney, arguably Jonathan Baldwin Grade: F
2013: Looks promising, but it's obviously way too soon to give it a grade

A+ in my book, no doubt!

Originally posted by Gore_21:
All that is left is James and Looney. Then UDFA's Jerod-Eddie and Celek. Hampton and Thomas on the PS. Also, depends if you get technical or not but like I said I believe we used 6th from trading down in 2012 draft to get Moody this year. Also, traded Jenkins for Baldwin. And then whoever the 7th becomes for Johnson. So depends on if you are grading just rounds 1-7 or UDFA and trades. Until James, Looney, Jerod-Eddie, Celek, Hampton, Thomas, Baldwin, Moody and the 7th for Johnson are off the team the 2012 class in my opinion isn't done. Not to mention our 3rd in 2012 we traded down and used to move up this year for Eric Reid. Like I said if we don't have that we trade our 3rd we used for Lemonier to get Reid. So either no Reid or no Lemonier.

Good post!

I don't think it's reasonable to include picks traded for future or past picks or players in evaluating a draft. You bring up a list of who the 49ers drafted in 2012 and you look what those players did for the 49ers. It's not a grade of the front office or of the team or of the season ... if you are grading the draft you grade THAT draft alone.

There is a simple formula some use that is that if a draft has 2 players who are significant contributors to the drafting team after 3 years then it was at least a C- ... right now going in to year 2 there are 2 3rd string players who will be challenged to even stay 3rd string next year (Lattimore vs James, some OG draft pick vs Looney). With 2 years until we can come to this conclusion we kind of have to shelve it.

Another formula is you wait until every player in a draft is retired and look at the careers of every player at the same position drafted after the draft pick and if one of them had a bad career that pick is down graded. For instance the NYJ get downgraded on Al Toon because Jerry Rice was still on the board, but they don't get an F because Toon had a decent career. But we're probably more than a decade from using this method.

The best short term method is to look at what the team that drafted them thinks of their draft ... the 49ers have dumped all but 2 and those 2 are 3rd string. That is a bad draft after year 1.

Originally posted by Scoots:
I don't think it's reasonable to include picks traded for future or past picks or players in evaluating a draft. You bring up a list of who the 49ers drafted in 2012 and you look what those players did for the 49ers. It's not a grade of the front office or of the team or of the season ... if you are grading the draft you grade THAT draft alone.

There is a simple formula some use that is that if a draft has 2 players who are significant contributors to the drafting team after 3 years then it was at least a C- ... right now going in to year 2 there are 2 3rd string players who will be challenged to even stay 3rd string next year (Lattimore vs James, some OG draft pick vs Looney). With 2 years until we can come to this conclusion we kind of have to shelve it.

Another formula is you wait until every player in a draft is retired and look at the careers of every player at the same position drafted after the draft pick and if one of them had a bad career that pick is down graded. For instance the NYJ get downgraded on Al Toon because Jerry Rice was still on the board, but they don't get an F because Toon had a decent career. But we're probably more than a decade from using this method.

The best short term method is to look at what the team that drafted them thinks of their draft ... the 49ers have dumped all but 2 and those 2 are 3rd string. That is a bad draft after year 1.

I think the historic approach is a good one. I also think looking at the number of key contributors from a draft class in year 3 is a good approach since you start seeing the players entering their primes.

We passed on some very good players to take AJ and the pick had a ripple effect on the rest of our draft. I would give the draft a D. James' contributions last year after Hunter went down were enough to avoid a fail.

You would have to factor in Jon Baldwin + 2014 7th rounder at this point. And those results are unknown. But it doesn't look good.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
You would have to factor in Jon Baldwin + 2014 7th rounder at this point. And those results are unknown. But it doesn't look good.

Why? Why not just look at the players drafted by the 49ers in 2012 when evaluating the 49ers 2012 draft?

It's an F. All we have left is super bowl fumbler, LaMichael James.

Originally posted by Hopper:

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:
you are so right. Rueben Randall and David Wilson would be much better than AJ and LJ. Silly draft. Hopefully Baldy can up this grade of an F+ from me if he can contribute and Looney would shape up.

Randle I agree. But David Wilson? I'm perfectly fine with a future duo of LaMichael and Lattimore over him.

We also missed on doug martin forget Wilson.

Originally posted by Scoots:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
You would have to factor in Jon Baldwin + 2014 7th rounder at this point. And those results are unknown. But it doesn't look good.

Why? Why not just look at the players drafted by the 49ers in 2012 when evaluating the 49ers 2012 draft?

Because we go those values out of that draft.

D

The only thing saving it from an F is James, and the possibility that Looney and/or Baldwin might give us something. Everyone from this draft is either struggling, cut, traded, or limited in role. It's a bad draft.

This class is terrible without factoring players this year from trades. TB also gets a future draft pick. Wasn't crazy about the Cam Kohnson trade. Why trade for a 7th when that's what we paid. Guy had good upside.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by Scoots:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
You would have to factor in Jon Baldwin + 2014 7th rounder at this point. And those results are unknown. But it doesn't look good.

Why? Why not just look at the players drafted by the 49ers in 2012 when evaluating the 49ers 2012 draft?

Because we go those values out of that draft.

Don't you also have to consider trades as value gotten out of that draft? And what about the overall value of the draft itself--was it filled with valuable players or only so so talent? How did other teams fare in talent acquisition that year?

If its measured solely by acquisition of players, alone, it doesn't appear to have been a very good year for Baalke.

Originally posted by theduke85:
Awful. How can people claim Baalke is such a mastermind with a draft if he threw up a dud like this as recently as last year? (for the record, I think his 2013 draft was A+)

Because he has 2010, 2011, and your A+ graded 2013. Even Bill Walsh had some bad drafts.

I gave the draft a D. It's not the fact that most players aren't with the team. It's that there is little to no production coming from all of the picks.