Certainly didn’t think they’d go this hard after defensive players. Still and all, with 7 picks today, they can do some depth filling to say the least. I guess the ‘braintrust’ feels that the offensive stagnation was a product of the coaches, not the players. That’s certainly a theory, but one I’m not too comfortable with. I mean, if the offense somehow regresses, we are doomed. Even incremental improvement likely won’t overcome the insanely tough schedule we have, and the players we lost. I understand that most of the defections and retirements were on the defensive side of the ball, but really? All defense? The most curious pick to me was Tartt in the 2nd. The defensive backfield took some hits with Cully and Cox hitting the road, so natch I thought they’d go after one of the many CBs available at 2. They took a strong safety.
Yeah, Bethea’s getting up there, but Brock is coming off an injury-plagued season, and Cook, while semi-decent, is no C0x. Donate Johnson played well as a rook, but the rest are various flavors of backup. I thought CB was much more a need. Unless they know something they aren’t telling us re: Bethea. He is 31, but still played well last year. Beyond that, they lose 2 ILBs and draft an OLB. Harold looks like a solid guy, but again, not really an area of dire need like ILB appears to be.
Armstead? Safe pick. One Tomsula should be able to reap major rewards out of.
Today? I’m hoping they go WR, ILB, CB, ILB, OL, TE, WR.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
Chuck I’m surprised a bit with Tartt.
Thought he’d go RD3/4.
Given Rowe and Tartt, we now know Baalke favored Tartt.
Have to assume these Picks are catering to Mangini if nothing else.
Not a fan of Arik, but, I hope he’s another Aldon find.
Love Eli where we got him.
Watched numerous games from UVA, he comes to play IMO.
Hoping for Riggs, McBride, Waller, James among others today.
This far, the 1st 3 RDs haven’t blown me away but, few guys step on the field as Rookies and light it up anyway.
New schemes, lowered expectations this year.
See who comes to play…
Riggs s/b Diggs
WR from MD
Tartt is a tough kid.
Hoping he sticks, high expectations as a RD2 selection now.
My immediate thought last night was Tom Gamble.
Would Philly have taken him over Rowe I wonder?
Watch for LBs Heeney, Jake Ryan, Taiwan Jones today too.
WRs Bell and Hardy too.
Good depth IMO that could still help us.
Gotta say, Chicago makes a great Draft venue with Draft Town.
Can’t do that in NYC.
Kudos to Chi-Town on Draft Town.
Wouldn’t mind Jeremy Langford or Jay Ajayi today either.
Well we’re moving to the Offense sort of…Blake Bell TE Oklahoma 6’5 255lb, converted QB
DeAndre Smelter. Big, fast, large hands and a good vertical game. How does that sound? It’s easy to bag on a draft while it’s happening, but any football fan knows you have to give it at least a couple of years. Unless you rippers know something the rest of us don’t, give it a rest.
4th round: TE, RB and WR. All offense and the 4th often produces great NFL players. I’ll bet the Niners go after a QB in the later rounds. The backup situation is untenable as it stands now.
So we burn a 5th round pick on a punter? And we have arguably the best punter still in the game (Andy Lee) What the hell was that pick all about??
“Your killing me Smalls”
Yeah, that one is a head scratcher. Stupid move on Baalke’s part if you ask me.
I want nate boyer in round 7
i think this must be one of the deepest drafts ever for guys with funny names
Last 2 drafts were graded A’S by ESPN etc., this one will be an F and the MF baalke did it with all draft picks available. Armstead is not ready for one year and Rd 1 should be week 1 starters. Rd 2/3 starters in their second year. Smelter is a medical red shirt. Baalke ain’t dumb. This draft was bad for a reason. I will go from my gut reaction on previous thread. Colin will be traded to grab the best QB in next years draft. A dumb arrogant jock with a big arm.
Love the DLine talent but wait till 2016 for payoff. No point for Justin to stay. Retire cowboy not worth an injury. Next year a franchise QB, ILB, and WR1.
Smelter is WR1 in 2016 with good surgery and rehab. VD replaced with top line TE. Hoping for a top 5 pick one year from now.
Blasting this year’s draft is premature. There’s always question marks such as the punter pick of course. Baalke likes South Carolina players that’s for sure.
This draft won’t be felt this season. 2013’s Tank and Dial and McDonald and 2014’s Marcus Martin and Brandon Thomas need to step up and be front line players. For me the only players of significance are Arik Armstead and Smelter.
The statement of this draft is Colin a franchise QB and the odds are not in his favor.
This team is getting young in a hurry.
D side is also getting cheap on a lot of rookie contracts. Set for another QB FA like manning also.
Bakkentom I feel your frustration.
All I can say with this Draft is, wait and see.
Have to assume they’re comfortable with the talent presently on the Roster.
Would have liked a higher Pick at the OT position personally.
Smelter was a guy I liked going in but, chose Waller over him as a potential TE conversion guy.
GA Tech Offense seemed pretty similar to ours in general.
However. having Smelter alongside Anquan for a year ain’t a bad thing IMO.
I’ve given this Draft a ‘C’.
If Armstead pans out, I’ll go ‘B+’.
Can’t say I’m disappointed with the Blake Bell selection though.
He’s a QB conversion guy so, he’s raw as a TE.
Answers the need for a big Red Zone option hopefully.
Here’s the final haul in terms of Picks and Bio’s.
http://tinyurl.com/pqja6vp
I’m getting a Volvo page, NJ.
Sorry Lurker John – didn’t test it – My Bad.
Try this –
http://tinyurl.com/klzrpyu
Each guy’s name is an active link to the Bio info.
Eli Harold was somewhat of a surprise in terms of where he went.
I’d have flipped Tartt and Harold myself but, what the heck do I know?
A draft evaluation that’s actually reasoned and devoid of shrillness. Mayock is a pretty well-known name in football circles. If his comments carry any weight, Baalke did okay. Thanks for posting, NJ.
NJ, neither look like Nancy boys. If you tried to flip em, delivery of pain would follow. Maybe a trade for an ILB happens. Baalke needs to be asked why a S or OLB before an ILB.
Bakkentom I’m with you.
Thought ILB was a glaring need as well.
I did however agree with most of the reports that this Draft Class was ‘undersized’ at the ILB position.
Curious to see whether Moody gets a shot to step up or, whether a trade occurs, as you suggest.
Plenty of guys will be hitting the market following the start of Camps around the league too.
Grabbing Bishop and Wheeler may have negated the urgency to reach for the position during the Draft process too?
Watched his video Draft wrap up with the media.
He’s constantly referring to ‘The Board’ in terms of how they treated each player.
I get the process;
Most, if not all teams, place value on the guys they see as Draftees.
He made a comment suggesting that value outweighs need, suggesting ‘we don’t reach’ for players.
Obviously he felt Tartt at S was more valued, at least in RD2.
I’ve got no problem with the kid, liked all the info I was able to gather on him and, I did see him at the Senior Bowl.
Like any guy that gets Drafted, it’s all about potential and whether they feel he fits the scheme.
I happen to think he covers pretty well for a bigger guy too.
Hoping for the best of course.
Meant to say I watched Baalke’s video Draft wrap up with the media.
That big dumb jock Kap has as many road playoff wins as all Niner QB’s combined. Yes you read that right, Montana, Young, Garcia, Brodie and of course Alex Smith. More importantly, it was Kap’s plays that ultimately made those wins.
Take a peak at current winning percentage QB’s. Kap is 8th on that list with Flacco ahead by a whopping .002
Not bad for a dumb jock about to be traded eh.
Constantly repeating a meme don’t make it so does it “Tom”.
Careful, you’re starting to make sense.
http://www.footballdb.com/stats/qb-records.html
http://gamedayr.com/sports/colin-kaepernick-holds-49ers-road-playoff-wins-record-94697/
For those that squeal about links.
Some folks require a QB to not only never make any mistakes, but to also overcome shitty schemes and lousy playcalling and yet miraculously he does, more often than not, hence the winning percentage being so high.
Kap has the makings of an elite QB. Going to QB school was a good idea if 2 years late and a change of OC was also 2 years late coming.
As for the draft. Weirdly enough, when there are no high value ILB’s at the appropriate pick slot, Baalke chose not to force it and take less value for need. Ditto CB, which the Niners have several players we the public have yet to see perform, maybe Baalke knows something we don’t except there is no maybe about it.
Andy Lee is going on 12 years, it is appropriate to begin the search for his replacement.
I like the picks, even Arik in the first, and give a B grade for now and like Nipper says, we have to wait a couple of years and revisit it.
Trashing the team in the off season is for the birds. Same as anointing a team is.
That’s why they play the games right?
The punter pick is a little odd, especially if the guy could’ve been had in free agency. The only way it makes sense is if the Niners plan to cut Lee and his big contract and go cheaper with the rookie. If he can beat out Lee in camp, that is.
It also sounds like the kid has a big leg and accuracy too.
John, the kid was the best punter in the draft and is one of the few spots a rookie can come in at the pro level and compete. Andy Lee, much as I love the guy, is $2m and in his 12th year. We also have no idea if there is a back story to Andy Lee that the organization knows about. As usual we whistle in the dark.
“Tom” is starting to sound a lot like one of our old friends here with his repetitive “Kap sucks and will be traded” and “Baalke is an idiot” bullshit. Stooping to claiming Baalke is being paid off to sabotage the draft.
Get’s old real quick.
It still has to make you wonder, if our guy was ranked in the middle of the pack why didn’t we take the # 1 guy or someone in that range. I’m ok with the draft, we addressed the D with the first 3 picks and that was what I was looking for. After reading different Bio’s I feel pretty good about their chances of sticking around.
It’s one thing to wonder Winder, quite another to be another “fresh face” on the blog slamming the same old worthless shit about Baalke and Kap and throw in a side of OC, who none of us have any clue about, for good measure.
I didn’t expect Baalke to take a punter, but on reflection there is some good reasons I can think of as to why that was done.
If the goal was to bigger we sure did at punter. The kid is 6-5, 230. I read he kicked a 65 yd FG the other day and could be used as a kick off specialist.
I’m not excited about this draft but I really don’t know the players either. A couple of thoughts did spring up.
-Everybody keeps saying Armstead is a one year project. What D-lineman isn’t? Especially a NT or 4 technique. I think this guy is going to be really good.
-Drafting a safety says to me that Ward is not being written in with ink as the heir apparent at the position.
-I read Harold is a soft speed rusher. Don’t we already have Lemoneir for that?
-Smelter sounds like another Boldin.
-We drafted a bruising blocking TE for goal line who can be our emergency QG. WTF?
-No matter how good Andy Lee is, he makes a lot of money for a punter. I’m hoping our offense comes out of the cave man era and we don’t need the best punter in the league anymore.
-Doesn’t it seem we always draft a RB?
Niners almost always do take a RB. I was surprised they didn’t take a CB, but if the value wasn’t there, or they feel good about the guys on roster we haven’t seen yet, then I get it.
ILB is good at the starting position, thin for depth, but a lot happens after the draft and during camp so the story is not written yet, only the draft is.
The thing that disappointed me the most in this draft was that in rds 2 and 3 there were some players I really wanted and they all got picked just before we were up.
I was hoping Devin Smith would fall but figured that to be a slim chance. I did figure Funchess or McKinney to be there and both were gone. Next I wanted the TE from Miami in rd 3 and poof, taken before we could pick. That made my shoulders slump a bit. I didn’t even get the chance to see if we would have picked them.
Baalke not aggressive in 2nd and 3rd. Could have bundled picks to jump ahead for a Chris Conley etc. Those 2 picks could have been better. Go get your man he did not do. Why? Jed York is the Peter Principle on steroids. TB has all the job security in the world. Othwise this draft would be his tombstone.
Give me a break bakkentom.
Give us all a break “Tom”…
With the Warriors coming up here in a few, hats off to them. But I also have to say hats off to the Clippers, lined up to maybe be the Warriors’ Western Conference Finals opponents.
Though I’m no fan of either the defending champ Spurs nor the freakshow owned Clippers, their series was as good as they come. Heartstopping, lead-changing, last minute wins by both sides both at home and on the road all throughout the series was fun to watch. The Clips showed they are once again going to be a very dangerous opponent for the Warriors should it come to that.
I’m glad for the Clips. They deserve some success. So do the Warriors.
QB History means nothing. Every DC knows how to shut down Kap. Last year is the only history. Even the blindest homer can read this draft. Torrey Smith/Jerome 2 lb Simpson to take the top off the defense and young IOL studs so this year is prove it. He is no rookie anymore and OC and him better figure it. The train at the end of the tunnel is all that 2016 draft capital. Too bad no help from a bill Walsh, bill bellichek, or a mike McCarthy.
The train at the end of the tunnel?
Same old shit new name. Don’t waste your time John, it ain’t worth it.
Tick Tock “Tommy”
12th Man, I didn’t know Pinion was considered the best punter in the draft. Niner fans should know first hand how valuable a quality punter can be. In the NFL, especially in tight games, field position is everything. Lee regularly flips field position for the 49ers. Sounds like Pinion is also a booming kickoff man.
Like I said earlier, I’ve learned to reserve judgement on drafts until things play out a bit. There are no guarantees in this league.
I read he was 53 out of 124 or something close to that. I believe it was at espn but not quite sure.
His numbers aren’t great but there OK. If he has a real good hang time then his numbers are really good. Numbers can’t tell the whole story. We’ll learn more when he gets some camp time.
His distance and hang time was pro level.
He also had an extremely small percentage of touch backs.
So should we keep Lee or go with Pinion? I’d say that is a matter of a Pinion!
Our offense might have been the most ill devised of all time last year. Harbaugh sank to a major low when he rebuilt the offense and brought out one he had no idea of how to run. Like NJ said, the other team was playing chess while we were playing checkers. Harbaugh was severely outcoached last year by DCs all over the league. It was the first time I ever heard the players calling out the coaches for dumb schemes. Kap gets a pass for last year. His big plays might be the only reason we made it to 8-8. But when you rely so much on the QB making big plays he also will make some bad ones. It is the coaching we were stuck with last year, thankfully Jed jettisoned the staff. Harbaugh would have been better off staying with the Jumbo offense he had the year before. At least he knew how to call plays for a classic cave man offense. New modern strategies were above Harbaugh’s ability to design and call plays.
Yup.
100% agree with your post. thoughtful and not biased with your own stupid agendas. Nicely done.
I agree with NJ49er . I give this draft a B if armstead pans out. If not … a C- .
Steven Curry wins NBA MVP.
Go Warriors!
Best analysis I can make of this Draft Class is youth for the future.
Ian and Dorsey have injury concerns.
Justin is likely done or, damn close to it.
Brooks and Eli Harold are very similar guys IMO.
Tartt brings size, and coverage ability, along with the versatility to play both Safety spots.
Again, no one expected to lose both Patrick and Borland in the blink of an eye either.
This Draft Class at ILB was NOT a strong group.
Baalke explained his position pretty well, stating that they wouldn’t ‘reach’ for an area of need.
I buy that philosophy 100%.
You stack your Board, you assign the values accordingly and, you seek those guys in areas you expect to find them.
As with all Draftees, it’s incumbent on each of them to work their skills into Pro caliber production.
Too many guys get Drafted and see it as the reward.
For me, it’s a ticket to future financial success, if you accept the challenges associated with the opportunity.
Give me the small school guys, with the fire in their bellies, over the glamour school football programs with all the National exposure any day.
If LSU OT La’el Collins gets cleared in the murder investigation involving his former girlfriend, would we consider making a run at him as a FA?
I would.
Here’s an interesting site to track the UDFA signings.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2015udfa.php
Obvious that we went heavy with WRs in this venue.
Perhaps they’re feeling that the new Coaches, specifically former LSU WR Coach Adam Henry, can find a diamond in the rough?
Poor little Bullit can only lurk here like the chicken he is.
New thread is up.