If he gets out of line, just have Andre Smith eat him.
They don’t call it “Liar’s Month” for nothing.
I heard that Dee Milliner raped a baby panda and then bathed in the blood of a virgin hyena.
There, now no one will draft him before the Packer.
Well, Milliner has had 5 surgeries, which is something NFL teams knew and the pundits didn’t.
I’m starting to think he may even slide out of the top 10. What a horrible draft class at the top.
If someone takes Dion Jordan before the Browns, it seems more and more like they take Mingo (I can’t see the appeal) or Floyd/Star. Barring a trade down I don’t see many options.
I wrote a 49ers-specific, five-page draft guide for my co-workers. It’s taken longer than I hoped because right now I’m also in the final stretch of running an art show, and painting a picture for it. It’s two of my most favorite, time-consuming things happening at once. Anyway, here are some excerpts from my write-up:
49ers needs:
Even with a stacked roster, there are openings that the 49ers must fill. This is a list in order of how I see the severity of the need, but NOT necessarily the order I expect them to address them.
- Starting Free Safety
- Defensive End/Tackle Rotational Depth
- 2nd Tight End
- Nose Tackle
- Pass-Rush OLB depth
- Wide Receiver
- Backup Swing Offensive Tackle
There could also be a desire for general defensive backfield improvement, offensive speed, and special-teams stalwarts. This year’s draft is deep at safety, defensive line, and tight end; starters could be had in later rounds at those positions. ILB, QB and RB might be taken late.
GM Trent Baalke has said he likes to draft now for needs a year or two down the road. With 13 picks, expect multiple trades, possibly in the 1st Round, but more likely to move up in middle rounds and trading 2013 picks for future picks.
Key:
+ = Future league star likely out of reach for the 49ers
******* = Gold. My personal favorites in the draft. Very much want.
****** = Silver. Darn good pick. Would be happy with them.
***** - Bronze. If others are off the board, I would be OK with these guys.
Players by position:
Safeties:
1 *******Jonathan Cyprien, Florida Int’l – My first choice. Charismatic on the field. Aggressive. Good in coverage and against the run. Small School prospect, so raw. Needs to improve on tackling.
2 ******Kenny Vaccaro, Texas – Considered the best safety in the draft. Versatile, in box, slot, deep. Smooth, strong. Not many INTs, slow. I’m not completely sold, good Goldson replacement.
4 *****Phillip Thomas, Fresno St – Excellent in coverage, good size and speed, good ball skills, aggressive against the run. Poor open-field tackling (coachable). Recovered from leg injury.
5 *****Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma – A bit undersized, but very good coverage instincts, and good against the run. Fluid enough to cover slot receivers. A starter available in late 2nd or 3rd Round.
8 *******Bacarri Rambo, Georgia – Hard-hitting ball-hawk in the mold of Goldson. Big character concerns and needs coaching to polish his game. Still could be a day-one starter. 3rd Round gold.
Sleepers: Duke Williams, Nevada & John Boyett, Oregon
D-Line/OLB:
1 **+**Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida – Second coming of Warren Sapp. Most likely out of trade reach and doesn’t quite fit our defense. Would be a great pickup for Oakland at #3
2 **+**Dion Jordan, OLB, Oregon – Second coming of Aldon Smith. Prototypical 3-4 OLB, already drop into coverage and sets edge against run. Didn’t rush the passer that much in college, but nigh unstoppable when he did.
3 **+**Star Lotulelei, DE/DT, Utah – Crazy perfect fit for our defense. Big, strong, agile, smart. Can play all along the D-line. Motor could be a concern. In our rotation, a star now and anchor later.
4 Sheldon Richardson, DT/DE, Missouri – I’m not completely sold, but highly-regarded DT who could fall into range for a trade. Can play all along D-line. Same school as both Aldon and Justin.
5 [del]Ezekiel Ansah[/del], DE/OLB, BYU - AKA “Ziggy” Raw, physical freak. New to football. Good motor, but lacks conditioning and awareness. Compares to Jason Pierre-Paul, but not as natural. Bust alert.
6 *******Datone Jones, DE/DT, UCLA – My #1 draft crush. Worth trading up to get. Strong and fast. Can line up at 3-4 DE and 4-3 DT. Built like Justin Smith. Needs a little polish, but worth it. Rotational depth now and a starter later.
7 ******Sylvester Williams, DE/DT, N. Carolina – Very strong and quick but needs to learn to use it. Picks gaps too soon against run. High motor, but needs conditioning. Maybe better than D. Jones.
8 *****Jesse Williams, NT, Alabama – Raw, new to football. Right now a pure NT with limited pass-rushing skills. Run-stuffer who can take multiple blockers. Better options in 1st, but decent in 2nd.
Scary Boom/Bust: Margus Hunt, DE, SMU
Sleeper Nose Tackles: Brandon Williams, NT/DT, Missouri Southern & Montori Hughes, NT/DT, Tennessee-Martin
Tight Ends:
3 *******Travis Kelce, Cincinnati – Plays with intensity. Good route runner with good breaks and good separation. Best blocker of the TE class. Character issues. My top choice for the 49ers.
10 *****Mychal Rivera, Tennessee – If the 49ers don’t address the second TE spot earlier with Kelce, Rivera could be a steal in the 5th or 6th Round. Scrappy, competitive, and willing to rough it.
Cornerbacks:
1 **+**D.J. Hayden, Houston – On tape, this guy is the best corner in the draft, but was almost killed when a heart vein ruptured from a practice collision. Fluid hips, fast. Gone before the 49ers pick.
3 ******Desmond Trufant, Washington – Fluid as hot canola oil. Brother of Seahawks corner Marcus. Quick enough to cover slot receivers. Originally a zone guy but irritated WRs in Senior Bowl. Versatile and plays well against the run. Very competitive. Needs to get stronger and physical.
4 ******Johnthan Banks, Miss St – Big. Held up vs future NFL talent in SEC. Not most fluid, but damn does he have a nose for the football. Versatile in coverage & plays aggressive against the run.
5 [del]Xavier Rhodes[/del], Florida St - Tall, fast, strong press corner plays with swagger needed for the position. Too stiff in hips and doesn’t turn well. Will eventually move to safety. Bust?
7 *******Tyrann Mathieu, LSU – Playmaker with a troubled career. Failed drug tests repeatedly and eventually kicked off team. Undersized but fierce and has a nose for the ball, and return skills. On the 49ers, he could play on every special teams unit, including being both a returner and a gunner, and also could cover the slot on passing downs. Could go as high as #61 or #74.
Wide Receivers:
1 **+**DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson – Looks like an NFL receiver on tape. Not the fastest guy, but runs routes very effectively. Smart.
2 **+**Tavon Austin, W. Virginia – Game changer. Small stature, but crazy fast and slippery. Scouts gush about him. Given draft depth at other positions, I could see the 49ers trade up for this guy. Return ability.
7 *******Da’Rick Rogers, Tenn Tech, – Big character issues, but big and fast, looks like Terell Owens or Julio Jones. My favorite mid-round receiving prospect.
Sleeper: Tyrone Goard, Eastern Kentucky
Backup Tackles:
David Quessenberry, San Jose St - - Terron Armstead, Arkansas-Pine Bluff - - Menelik Watson, Florida St
Dallas Thomas, Tennessee - - Oday Aboushi, Virginia - - Chris Faulk, LSU
Practice Squad/Camp Fodder Quarterbacks:
Matt Scott, Arizona - - Collin Klein, Kansas St
Jordan Rodgers, Vanderbilt (Aaron’s bro) - - Nate Montana, W. Virginia Wesleyan (Joe’s son)
Future Running Backs:
Marcus Lattimore, S. Carolina – If it weren’t for his knee getting shattered, he’d be the top RB in the draft. Powerful, large, and shifty. We can afford to stash him for future use.
Le’Veon Bell, Michigan St – North-South Bruiser, but maybe too tall. Fights for yardage. The 49ers have shown interest.
Having had more time to think about this and do more research, I think the Cardinals should be able to get someone good on the O-Line or a decent pass rusher with the 7th pick - but there is a good chance that the top 3 OTs are going to be gone by the time they choose. I really think someone who needs a tackle is going to trade past them with Cleveland to pick up, presumably, Johnson - who I would take if he falls to the Cardinals. I see a trade simply because there is a big perceived drop off after the first 3 tackles and there are a number of teams that could do with a good one - San Diego and Miami, in particular, I can see trading up with Cleveland.
As a result, I can see the Cards getting a bit of stick from traditionalists if they take Warmack or Cooper with the 7th pick, as it is usually too high to take that position - but I can see it happening and would not be too unhappy if it did. Alternatively, a pass rusher would be worthwhile - I just want them to avoid Ansah, who I think could well be a bust high in the 1st round.
Nice writeup garygnu (and you too Omni)
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A couple quick questions, if you will:
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How would you grade Baalke’s drafting? Aldon Smith is great (although his disappearance in the playoffs could be some concern) and early returns on Kaepernick are certainly encouraging, but there is also AJ Jenkins, Taylor Mays, and Glen Coffee in there too. All in all, he seems to be one of the best in the league, after Ted Thompson of course.
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Anyone other than Ansah and Rhodes you think will be busts?
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What do you think of these QB’s. One or two of them have to become starters right? Right?
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“Collin Klein, Kansas St” - is this because he can run the read/option? (He’s a horrible thrower though). After the 579 you dropped on the Packers in the playoffs, I can see allure, but I also think it’s more of a fad with too high potential QB injury issues to outweigh the benefit. Are the 49ers going to more of it, or will they be just sprinkling a little in?
Don’t the Niners need a backup QB, too?
Didn’t they just sign Colt McCoy to be their back up? So I guess it depends on whether they think they need a more solid #2 QB. They might need some guys for practice but I would bet they’ll just pick them up from the undrafted pool at the end.
We have a saying among 49ers fan draftniks: “In Baalke we trust.” The Iupati/A.Davis tandem, and then the 2011 class (Aldon, Kaepernick, Kendall Hunter, Chris Culliver and 7th Round Gold in FB Bruce Miller). The 2012 class has disappointed, though. Taylor Mays was Singletary bullying Ballke; Coffee was doing fine until he randomly quit football; and AJ Jenkins, well, I hope he gets better.
Safties Reid and Elam I’d stay away from. In fact, there are a lot of headhunting, short guys I wouldn’t want on my team (Elam, Swearinger, Shamarko Thomas). TJ McDonald looks lost and won’t pan out no matter when he’s drafted.
It seems like half the D-Line prospects are “raw, physical freaks, new to playing football.” Lotulelei, Ansah, Werner, Williams, Hunt, etc. Any number of the one’s not named, “Star” could bust. DB David Amerson shouldn’t play corner, but safety. All the WRs have question marks.
I didn’t really look at QBs this year at all. I think Mike Glennon looks the most like an NFL QB from the limited stuff I saw on a draft TV show. I’d love to have EJ Manuel as our backup, but that’s not going to happen.
Yeah, Klein in the 7th as camp fodder and possible running backup. Matt Scott can run and pass, he might be a better fit in the 5th or 6th Round. 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco mentioned MarQueis Gray of Minnesota as a late QB pick that could also line up at WR, TE, and play special teams.
The way Kaepernick has been training this off season, he certainly thinks he’ll be running a lot. I hope Greg Roman keeps the Pistol read-option and designed runs. I like it.
Hamlet could you see the Packers snagging someone like Patterson out of Tennessee if he is still there?
BTW, I think there is too much hand-wringing over teams picking QBs in the first round. QBs do not cost any more than any other position, so unlike in the past, if the guy is a bust you can move on fairly easily. However, until a team finds their QB they are not really competitive. The sooner you can do that the better. I am not saying you must take a QB if you need one, but I have no problem with teams “reaching” for a QB.
U-C-F!
I don’t think he fits the TT mold. Patterson is too high risk. He’s very talented in the open field, but he’s very raw as a actual wide receiver: running routes, actually catching the football, and blocking downfield. Not only am I not a fan of Pattersons’ I also think he’s not a TT kind of guy. Maybe if he falls to their second round pick, but not in the first. I think guys like DeAndre Hopkins, Robert Woods, and Stedman Bailey are more like the guys TT has drafted in the past.
I don’t think that’s true at all. Despite being no better than average, guys like Josh Freeman, Mark Sanchez, Sam Bradford, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, and others are still likely starters only because they were first round draft picks. Sure the real busts are gone soon (bye bye J’Marcus!), but teams wait and wait and wait for QB’s to develop, much longer than they do other positions.
Teams are competitive with average QB’s. You don’t need an elite one to win it all. Just ask the Super Bowl competitors last year. Having an elite QB can certainly cover up deficiencies on your team much easier than average ones and can keep you competitive for a long time, but if you have a solid team, you can win it all with a slightly better than average QB.
I don’t have a problem reaching for great QB’s (unless you way overpay and then get them injured like the Redskins), but what teams are doing is reaching for mediocrity. That’s where the problem lies. And these picks can ruin a team for years. The Jets could’ve had a Super Bowl if they had someone better than Mark Sanchez. The Jaguars have been hopeless with Blaine Gabbert. The Browns are no better having used a first rounder on Brandon Wheedon than they were using a third rounder on Colt McCoy. The Raiders are still trying to recover from Russell (and a really bad trade for Palmer).
Making a bad decision by drafting a mediocre QB in the first round is costly.
Damn! I was hoping he’d slide… 
I’m warming up for the draft by watching 30 for 30 - Elway to Marino. This thing is riveting, can’t believe how loaded that draft was.
ETA: Also wild to to think that Ernie Acorsi was in the middle of all this, things worked out okay for that guy, eh?
I broke down the Bears roster a couple days ago, now it’s time to rank needs and start thinking about who the 20th pick should be.
First off, I think the Bears really want to trade down. So does everyone else, so I’m not counting on it. But there isn’t a single player in the 10-20 range that I’d rather have than a couple more 2nd rounders. It will be interesting to see who slips and if there’s a market to trade up when they do, one scenario has the Bills trading their first rounder and then trading back up into the back of the first to get Nassib. Maybe Geno Smith slips and the Eagles trade back up to get him in the 20s somewhere. Maybe Milliner falls far enough that people get anxious to go up for him. Maybe Eiffert excites a team like the Ravens. In any case, it will be wild and unpredictable.
I also think the Bears will be drafting BPA and not for need. In spite of this belief I am going to rank the Bears needs because…well…it’s the only gimmick I can think of.
Needs by position:
1. OG/C
I would have said this was obvious a month ago, but the Bears have added some players and after looking at the roster there’s some potential at the position. Very untested though. It looks like it’s going to be some combination of Slauson, Carimi, Brown and Britton. Looks decent on paper, but there’s nothing that says converted tackles like Carimi and Britton will definitely excel at OG. Center however is a wasteland, Garza is shabby and you only hope he doesn’t kill you. Boggs is a total question mark and there’s a reason Williams has never earned any time.
2. LB
As much as I like the moves Emery made to bolster the LB group, it’s perilously thin and neither Williams or Anderson are immune to the flame out. Behind the starters it’s a damned embarrassment. Maybe Tucker’s system will de-emphasize the need for a super star at MLB but this is the Bears and replacing Urlacher has to be a priority.
3. CB
I’m breaking slightly from the standard script with this one. The Bears have 2 great starters but neither is signed past 2013 and both are on the back end of their careers. They don’t have a single backup who can start and their nickel is a hand-me-down. Time to start planning for the future at a premium position.
4. OT
One could easily flip flop the OG and OT spots in this order, it all depends on how you feel about Bushrod as a franchise LT. I’m skeptical but at least between Bushrod and Webb they’ve got experience. The biggest reason why I am more worried about OG/C is because of those OGs, 3 have played OT before giving us some legitimate depth.
5. WR
Last year it was the Brandon Marshall show. Jeffery is a nice compliment, but neither player is a speedster and with Hester and Knox both done catching passes this group really needs anther option, especially in the slot.
6. DT
Melton is a stud and Paea is starting to justify the draft pick, but behind those two guys there’s a whole bunch of nothing. Even after franchising Melton I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see the Bears grab another 3-technique in the first as insurance and to bolster the rotation.
Did I miss the mock draft thread, or did we not do one this year?
Well, I think I hate this draft. I can’t think of a realistic scenario where I end up liking the Eagles’ pick.
That was the result of 35 minutes of typing, by the way. I deleted everything else because it was a lot of words to say, “everyone in the top 10 is a bust except Joeckel and Fisher and one of Ansah or Mingo (and good luck knowing which).” And maybe Floyd, but he doesn’t fit the Eagles so I didn’t even look at him.
Jordan has no rush repertoire, Star’s tape shows a player completely opposite from his scouting reports, Lane Johnson stinks of Mamula-funk, Milliner is just a guy who doesn’t do anything special, and Chance Warmack has horrible balance. And Geno Smith, who might not be able to throw farther than 10 yards and certainly can’t when it’s colder than 50°. I hate everyone.
This is definitely a draft that’s lacking star power at the skill positions, but someone will emerge as a stud for someone. A lot of mocks now have the Bengals taking Eddie Lacy. While he’s an exciting player, and he fits a need/upgrade as the Bengals stable of backs is just average, I’m not thrilled with the idea of taking a back in the first round, particularly given the Bengals snake-bitten past with RB’s taken in the first round.
Rumor mentioned in a few places including NFL network that the Browns want to move up to get Mingo. Haha, what the fuck is that? I almost hope Lombardi does something retarded like that and people just spontaneously rise up and burn the motherfucker down.
That’s not even vaguely useful as a smoke screen, that’s just silly.