Predict 53 man Roster- 2017

Originally posted by StubbyNBY:

Originally posted by SmokeCrabtrees:

I think we keep Lynch AND Cornelius... Jerome OR Don Jones are cut. Pita goes to the practice squad and we add 1 RB or WR.

I would be shocked if we kept Tank and Lynch but if we do, that means both guys showed something in TC and pre-season so I am all for it. Jerome is a great PS candidate but I hope we don't risk losing him, especially being thin at FS. I think Don Jones is almost a lock to make the team with his ST's play.

See I don't think we are thin at FS... DJ,Reaser,Colbert can be cross trained there as possibilities, but Reid more importantly could slide in a pinch to FS. That's assuming only if he beats out Tartt originally which if he doesn't, he's the backup at both safety spots by default.

Releasing Don Jones makes no sense, he has $750K GTD in his 2yr deal, if you June 1 cut him, you only save $356,250. I'd rather keep guys like him, Coyle and Watson who are proven ST'ers.

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Releasing Don Jones makes no sense, he has $750K GTD in his 2yr deal, if you June 1 cut him, you only save $356,250. I'd rather keep guys like him, Coyle and Watson who are proven ST'ers.

But what IF one of the young guys shows he's just as good at ST and actually is fighting for snaps and has potential at his actual position. We're gonna keep him cause of the 356k of dead money?

Too early to speculate on this before we even see mini camp let alone training camp. At the end of the day I just hope everyone stays healthy so the decisions are made due to who's the better player vs who's the healthiest.

Originally posted by genus49:

Too early to speculate on this before we even see mini camp let alone training camp. At the end of the day I just hope everyone stays healthy so the decisions are made due to who's the better player vs who's the healthiest.

FA sho.

On Kapri Bibbs...

So, what are the Niners getting in Bibbs and where does he fit? In the last two preseasons with Lynch watching, Bibbs posted 165 rushing yards on 39 carries. If that wasn't enough to make him a desirable piece in a trade, the extra knowledge brought to the table by Niners vice president of player personnel Adam Peters helped solidify it.

Peters worked for Elway in Denver and saw Bibbs rise from undrafted free agent out of Colorado State to member of Denver's practice squad for most of two seasons before landing on the active roster last season. Bibbs appeared in 12 games in 2016 with 129 yards on 29 carries, including a 69-yard touchdown off a screen pass against the Oakland Raiders.

"I do wish they saw this final piece in me and they saw the type of player that I'm going to be this year," Bibbs told 9news.com in Denver. "Now the 49ers are about to get one of the best running backs in the league this year. And (the Broncos) going to find out real soon."

"To have an opportunity to pick up an extra fifth-round pick and get a guy like Kapri, who has had success in this league, I studied Kapri coming out of Colorado State and he does have some qualities to him that we really do like," Shanahan said. "I think getting Kapri, adding a fifth-rounder which allowed us to move a little bit to make some other selections too, and we did it at the expense of losing one next year. But, we felt it was worth it to where we need some competition on our team and we did that with Kapri and it also allowed us to get a pick that allowed us to maneuver to get some other guys, too."

http://www.espn.com/blog/san-francisco-49ers/post/_/id/25047/rb-kapri-bibbs-connection-to-john-lynch-brings-more-competition-to-49ers

On Hikutini...

...when asked Tuesday if he had a few favorites in the 49ers' 10-man draft class, vice president of player personnel Adam Peters ticked off several players.

Then, he threw out a surprise.

"I do like Hikutini," Peters said, "even though we didn't draft him."

That would be Louisville tight end Cole Hikutini, who was bypassed in the 253-man draft after he posted a plodding time in the 40-yard dash and had just one season with more than 19 catches at the Division I level.

So why is Peters so enthused? The 49ers think Hikutini, who grew up in Sacramento and spent one season at City College of San Francisco, slipped through the cracks of a deep tight end class and is a potentially ideal fit as a pass-catcher in head coach Kyle Shanahan's system.

"I really liked him just for our offense," Peters said. "Maybe not everybody's, but I think as far as what Kyle is looking for in a tight end: A guy who's a separator that can get open underneath. I saw something in him that, for a guy down the line (in the draft), I thought he had something special. A guy that was better than maybe his numbers suggested."

The 49ers selected Iowa's George Kittle, one of the draft's best blocking tight ends, in the fifth round. Aand after the draft, they began their aggressive recruitment of Hikutini, whose so-so blocking ability was another reason he wasn't selected.

According to a post-draft story by MMQB.com, Peters, Shanahan, tight ends coach Jon Embree and general manager John Lynch combined to make at least eight phone calls to Hikutini, who was also speaking with the Patriots, Saints and Lions. Peters focused on Hikutini's agent, and the 49ers finally landed the top rookie free agent on their list with a $10,000 signing bonus and $100,000 guaranteed.

Hikutini noted the 49ers actually began barraging him in the latter stages of the draft.

"They were contacting me," he said, "just making sure I stayed near my phone."

Hikutini took a meandering path to the NFL. After playing just one season of football at Pleasant Grove High, he spent two seasons, including a redshirt year, at Sacramento State. He then spent 2014 at CCSF before landing at Louisville, where he had 19 catches for 348 yards in his first season.

Last year, he grabbed the attention of NFL scouts (50 catches, 668 yards, 8 TDs), but sustained a knee injury in a bowl-game loss to LSU that prevented him from running at the combine. He ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash at Louisville's pro day and said he still wasn't healthy.

"I've run faster 40s than that, but I wanted to go out and compete," Hikutini said. "I wanted to show them that my knee was getting better. I think I came out a little sooner than I should have, but I showed them that I can compete."

http://m.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Buried-treasure-Undrafted-TE-Hikutini-could-11153911.php

^ It makes you wonder, that with so many micro-WR's, we'll keep 4 TE's and go "BIG" there.

Originally posted by NCommand:

^ It makes you wonder, that with so many micro-WR's, we'll keep 4 TE's and go "BIG" there.

I'm envisioning 2 TE sets with Kittle and Vance but flexing one out to the slot as a big body WR.

Originally posted by SmokeCrabtrees:

Originally posted by NCommand:

^ It makes you wonder, that with so many micro-WR's, we'll keep 4 TE's and go "BIG" there.

I'm envisioning 2 TE sets with Kittle and Vance but flexing one out to the slot as a big body WR.

I could see that as well.

Speaking of Kittle I didn't notice it watching him play but he's got some skinny ass legs based on those pictures from the rooks visiting the museum.

Originally posted by genus49:

Speaking of Kittle I didn't notice it watching him play but he's got some skinny ass legs based on those pictures from the rooks visiting the museum.

New Niner trend.

Originally posted by GEEK:

Originally posted by SmokeCrabtrees:

Originally posted by Buchy:

Bold prediction but I think we will trade Garnett and T Brown, I don't think they fit Shanahan's zone blocking run scheme.

No way on Garnett IMO... Brown I could see maybe in 2018. I think Brown is VERY good in pass pro, so if you have to then you can use Beadles/Gilliam on first/second downs where you're more likely to run,play action or perhaps a short pass.

Agreed. Garnett is basically the classic case of "he's got potential even though he doesn't fit the scheme perfectly. Let's see what he's got in year one before moving on from him".

Originally posted by Buchy:

Bold prediction but I think we will trade Garnett and T Brown, I don't think they fit Shanahan's zone blocking run scheme.

Bold prediction #2...no way we trade either Trenton nor Joshua.

Originally posted by LottDMontanaO:

Originally posted by SofaKing:

Originally posted by Willisfn4life:

Yup. Harbaugh's first season. I think the versatility of a team's offensive line is what weighs the heaviest during cuts. That's why these multiple position guys are becoming more and more in-demand.

Exactly. If we have a swing tackle and an interior lineman who can backup at G and C, we could probably get away with carrying 8. I think only 7 dress on gamedays usually.

Regarding the OL, I know versatility plays an important part in determining how many to keep on the 53 but so does the injury factor for this position group, one that gets beat up over the course of a season. Thus, I'd prefer the Niners to go with 9 on the OL (dress 7 on game day) as it's one of the most important position groups in thinking about winning the battle of the trenches.

For the DL, I'm thinking they'll keep at least 8, maybe 9, in running a 4-3. What you'd have now in combining the OL & DL numbers is at least 17 total towards the 53. I wish the 53 would one day expand by at least a few, maybe to 56 or more, due to so many injuries during a season and also these teams do so much evaluating and finding talent (draft, undrafted free agents, etc.) yet they can only keep so many due to the 53 limitation. There's the PS, but those players aren't team-protected in any way, unfortunately.

Nice post LottDMontana... agree wholeheartedly it seems a shame to carry 17 guys combining OL and DL...BUT, those are the guys who get beaten to a pulp every game, and after that it is just a matter of time until someone gets dinged. Lord , wiht an average of 17 guys on IR last 3 CONSECUTIVE yrs, a good many of those were OL and DL. Yes it is keeping a lot of talent, but you gotta have good lines to have a great team. Vince Lombari's "build your lines first" comment could just as easily have been, and "protect your Lines above all else." Sure QB is in there, but the Lines are what basically make or break a team. And it is a plain hard fact...OLs and DLs take a lot of punishment, and subsequently get nicked or in our case , injured . YOu have to count on some of them going down. Way more likely than any ohter position on the squad. So if we carry 8+9 OLs +DLs, probably keeping one more OL than DL, i think that is more a necessity than a "what is usually done". Just look back at our last 3 yrs of player injury, and you can see we were running really thin on both lines. You gotta protect your lines and if you need an extra guy, make it be on one of those two slots. Now, if your talent is substandard at those slots, ok, move them on. But if talent is good, your best team insurance is having extra OL or DL.

I hope that some of the folks that they are looking to shed will be worth something to other teams. All the incumbent TE's have to be on the block. I'm thinking Ellington is on the bubble and there is going to be some fall out at RB, LB and DL?