The 49ers, as with last year’s #1 pick, selected a guy that was under the radar for the general public but was highly thought of by actual NFL GMs. AJ Jenkins, from Illinios, racked up 1,271 yards and 8 touchdowns last year, all the while sneaking up the depth charts of many war room denizens. The Rams had worked him out and had placed him nearly on the same level as Justin Blackmon. The Niners went to one of his workouts and obviously liked what they saw. Some insiders had him as a early to mid 2nd rounder due to his 4.38 40 time, excellent hands, and his route-running. Sure, he’s not the prototypical 49er WR (think JJ Stokes. Well, don’t. Think Dwight Clark) who is big and sure-handed. He’s more of a speed burner DeSean Jackson type who can stretch the field. My take is he’s definitely Randy Moss insurance. But lining up both those guys outside will hopefully give defenses fits. Crabs may find himself behind Manningham as the slot guy. Guys like Kyle Williams and Ted Ginn appear to be buried on the depth chart at WR. KW likely is odd man out since Ginn is the KR guy (and let it be known Ginn was injured playing WR, not returning a kick). Unless Harbaugh is leaning toward more 3-4 wide reciever sets, and a more wode-open offense, there may be some bitching among the pass-catchers. Which means ol’ Randy becomes cranky. We’ll see how that goes.
KW was supposed to be what they drafted AJ for. A speedly guy who can create mismatches, draw safeties to him, get open with his speed, and open up shit underneath for Crabs. For whatever reason, KW just never got enough separation, and was not very good at finding open areas to catch balls. The Niners went a little overboard to address their non-production at WR, but better too much than too little. Crabs had a good enough year, but disappeared in the playoffs. Whether due to the fact that everyone knew he was the only WR worth a damn, or he just wan’t getting open himself, the team needed to upgrade the WR spot seriously. Morgan’s injury, Edwards’ slowness coming back from his many injuries, and Ted Ginn’s inability to be a genuine WR led to these decisions to get Moss, Manningham, and AJ. UIt’s weird that a guy who can field punts in the tricky Stick winds, can’t catch passes.
Baalke had AJ pegged a while ago as the guy he really wanted, and he played the quiet game well. Other teams were definitely scouting the dude. The guy is an academic all-American, has huge hands, and is tough to boot.
One down 6 to go. At this point, I think the Niners get RB Turbin in the 2nd round. Fleenere is likely out of the mix. Don’t be surprised to see a 5th to 7th pick for WR though.
Forty Niners Forever 
In case you missed these from the previous thread, here’s an article about sleepers in the draft. AJ among them:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/tony_pauline/04/24/draft.late.risers/index.html?eref=si_mostpopular
Here’s ESPN’s Mike Sando talking about the Rams interest in AJ Jenkins. They had him rated pretty highly:
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest
Yeah, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at Dennis’s house when the Niners chose JRice out of Miss. You went ballistic didn’t you Dennis?? come on admitt it.Not only Rice but I would have loved to have heard your comments on the Skinny little Kid from Notre Dame the Niners drafted for a QB.
According to the SacBee, AJ has some huge hands 9 7/8 inches. So yeah, there is no telling how good this kid is till the games begin. He did look good in College so we shall see.
This is from Branch on the Chron
Outlook: The 49ers could address their right-guard position, their only unsettled starting spot. … Guards Cordy Glenn (Georgia) and Amini Silatolu (Midwestern State) are still available. … San Francisco also might select a cornerback.
And if these guys are sooo much better than Jenkins, why are they still on the board??
When the 49ers made the pick, Stanford tight end Coby Fleener and wideouts Rueben Randle (LSU) and Stephen Hill (Georgia Tech) were available. Those players, unlike Jenkins, were viewed as potential first-round picks, but are still available entering Friday’s second round.
This was in Branch’s article
Experts or so called in the media are a hoot. Mostly they fall hard off the high wire.
Brent Jonesy on KNBR would like to see the Niners move up and get Fleener. So will Fleener go quickly now in the 2nd Round?? Always tough to know where projected 1st rounders go once they drop down to the 2nd round. I would hate to see them give something away to trade up.
Well, I think they’ll pass on Fleener now. Especially if Silatolu is there. I could see them trading up for him. It looks as if Harbaugh may be moving toward a more wide-open offense. If he wanted to run his 3-4 TE jumbo formations that he did so much of in college, then Fleener WOULD have been the pick. But why go hard and heavy after Manningham, Moss, and Jenkins? We still have Crabs, and unless he’s used as trade bait down the line, the Niners all of a sudden have too many WRs. KWs gone. Ginn is strictly a KR and emergency WR. Crabs could be forced to backup status if the Niners run their usual 2-3 WR sets.
I’m sure they’ll mix and match a lot, but this pick leads me to think they have more up their sleeve. Either a trade or a different approach to offense. Maybe Harbaugh thinks Smith can now handle a higher powered offense? Curiouser and curiouser. . .
I have a splitting headache. Not because I’m upset over drafting A.J. Jenkins, but Vernon Davis’ younger brother just hit me over the head with a hammer. I’m sure we’ll draft that murder suspect in a few years.
http://tinyurl.com/8xtcgpc
I am leaning towards Crick tonight. Get the next Justin Smith and keep protecting your playmaker ILBs.Wait for 3 and 4 for a S and a C-G.
I ran into a fellow Niner fan on my way to the pharmacy today…he was wearing a Hearst red #20 jersey, I in my Niner t-shirt and jacket. We got to talking about that fateful playoff game in Atlanta where Garrison broke his ankle that for all intents and purposes ended his career. His injury really changed the complexion of that game. I know it happened on our first series, first play? Whatever, his ankle injury hurt in every sense of the word. We ended up rushing for < 50 yds. Terry Kirby did little. We became pretty much one-dimensional.
I dunno. Maybe the Falcons were destined to make the SB that year. We did use up quite a bit of luck the prior week on that T.O. TD to beat the Pack.
If I remember, the Niners only lost by 4 (24-20). The game would have been much different with Hearst. Likely a win, but who knows?
Fleener reunited with Luck in Indy. That will be interesting to say the least.
Best of luck to the former Cardinal stars.
Not much of a shock there. That should be fun. That team needs a youth injection.
Derek Wolfe, DT, to Denver.
There’s Janoris with one of his 3 women and kids . . .
And there he goes. To the Rams. Perfect. Now I can feel good about hating him.
Whoooooooooo? Rams take Shawn Kemp?
DId I miss the Rams drafting a WR?
They took Brian Quick, Chuck. First pick of the 2nd.
And they still have one more 2nd round pick coming up at 45.
Never mind. They got Quick. And they are rebuilding their defense.
Jeff Fisher did draft Pacman Jones, so Fisher’s been down that road before.
If I was in charge, it would be the road less traveled. There are just certain guys no matter what their skill set would not put on my uniform.
I have to harp on the Browns draft once again…they took OL (need) but they took the guy from Cal when by most estimations there were at least 4 or 5 better options including Glenn, the Samoan kid and the kid down on the Farm, Martin. That’s strike three for Holmgren.
Yeah, I see Silatolu went at 40. Turbin’s the guy for now.