Will the 2011 draft class beat the 1986 draft class?

Haley will eventually be in the hall of fame. Rathman, Taylor ....were elite players in their position. Wallace & McKyer very good.

Aldon is elite. Hunter and Culliver are very good, as is Miller. CK & Kilgore are unknowns at this point.

Too early to tell, but let's call Aldon Smith & Charles Haley a wash.

The three "very good" players of the '11 draft class will have to elevate to pro bowl caliber sometime in the next 2-3 years. Remains to be seen.

What makes '86 special are two things:

a) They were all big parts of the late '80s/early '90s 49ers dynasty
b) They were all late round picks which exemplify the genius of the picks (see 6th round Thomas Brady for the ultimate example of this)

For '11 to have a shot, the 49ers have to win a superbowl with them.

One thing is for sure is that last year's class >>>> this year's class. Perhaps LMJ & AJJ are at a Kendall Hunter+ caliber, but still......nothing on the defensive side. Without Aldon Smith, how far could we have gone last year?

2nd round pick Larry Roberts become a very solid DE.
6th round pick Don Griffin was a solid backup,eventually started for 4 years and did very well.

49ers got a steal with 4th round pick Kevin f*gan who was considered a 1st/2nd round talent but was injured. They let him sit while he recovered and he became a starting DT and played very well for 5 years.

They traded their #1 pick about three times and wound up with Tom Rathman via the Bills. There were a bunch of trades in which they were involved. One of them landed Jeff Kemp from the Rams to back up Joe Montana. Kemp started 6 games and the team went 3-2-1 while he played.

Gotta say 2011 has a long way to go to out rank 1986.

AGreed. 86 was the best draft ever. The big difference rests on CK. If he can become a franchise QB 2011 will be a great. I've said on multiple posts Culliver has probowl potential and maybe all-pro potential. Kilgore may surprise some folks.

Our 07 draft>2011 draft

Patrick Willis
Joe Staley
Ray Mcdonald
Dashon Goldson
Tarell Brown

That's 5 starters and 3 of them are pro bowlers.

Potentially - Yes.

They'll have to win Super Bowls to even be in the conversation. And I mean Super Bowls - in the plural. Just one won't cut it.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Potentially - Yes.

They'll have to win Super Bowls to even be in the conversation. And I mean Super Bowls - in the plural. Just one won't cut it.

Well true, but that class only won 2 superbowls. Granted back to back.

Originally posted by SFrush:
Our 07 draft>2011 draft

Patrick Willis
Joe Staley
Ray Mcdonald
Dashon Goldson
Tarell Brown

That's 5 starters and 3 of them are pro bowlers.

this.

Originally posted by LBSI9ers:
Yea it's early but they have signs of great players.

Tom Rathman (third round)
Tim McKyer (third round)
John Taylor (another third-rounder)
Charles Haley (fourth round)
Steve Wallace (fourth round)

Smth
CK
Culliver
Hunter
kilgore
Miller

1986 is considered the best draft class ever, but this draft class Could have a hall of famer player in Smith. Culliver and CK have probowl potential. Miller is super uderated. In my opinion he should catch more out of the backfield.

I agree about Miller. He seems to do well the few times passes are thrown his way. With the attention other guys will be receiving in this offense, I think if he's targeted more, he can make lots of YAC.

To the person that said the 2007 class is better, I agree. One of the best drafts of the 2000s that I can recall. Only other that stands out to me is Houston in 2006.

Although it doesn't look good now, I think 2012 may turn out to be ok. Much of it hangs on AJ Jenkins. The other guys are in a position where they can make an impact as role players over the next few years seeing as how we are in serious need of some. The idea of Gore, Hunter, James, and even Miller has the potential to be our best backfield since.... :-).

Originally posted by LBSI9ers:

Well true, but that class only won 2 superbowls. Granted back to back.

Originally posted by SFrush:

Our 07 draft>2011 draft

Patrick Willis
Joe Staley
Ray Mcdonald
Dashon Goldson
Tarell Brown

That's 5 starters and 3 of them are pro bowlers.

Impressive.

Best value pick of all time? Joe Cool in the 3rd by far. Gore in the third was another good one.

Culliver is already elite.

His only big misses this year have come when he's slipped and fallen.

This class has the potential to beat the 86 class if CK plays like this. AMazing. We may have landed LT and Joe Cool

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/82196/around-the-nfc-west-aldon-smiths-night

Let's take a look at that 2011 class, shall we? First-rounder Aldon Smith set a "Monday Night Football" record with 5.5 sacks during the 49ers' 32-7 victory over the Chicago Bears. He now has 29 sacks, the highest total for a player through 26 games since sacks became an official stat in 1982, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Second-rounder Colin Kaepernick completed 16 of 23 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns while making his first NFL start. He posted a 133.1 NFL passer rating. His 97.5 QBR score was the highest for a player's first start in the five-year history of the metric.

Third-rounder Chris Culliver played 59 percent of the defensive snaps at cornerback. He was in coverage for the Bears' lone touchdown, but by then, the 49ers were cruising. Culliver has two interceptions this season and has played well overall.

Fourth-rounder Kendall Hunter had a 14-yard touchdown run against the Bears to give San Francisco a 17-0 lead.

Fifth-rounder Daniel Kilgore played nine offensive snaps, coming onto the field in jumbo packages. Those packages didn't gain much traction on this night. They remain an important part of what the 49ers what to accomplish through heavier personnel groups.

Seventh-rounder Bruce Miller started at fullback. He played 45 percent of the offensive snaps. He also made a team-high two special-teams tackles.

General manager Trent Baalke, the 49ers' coaches and personnel staff had to like what they saw.