I wouldnt say i completly agree with all of the selections made throughout the draft, but i do think we did a good job cementing a good foundation for our future playoff runs. Although our picks didnt include any standout playmakers, I understand management trying to stregthen our interior o-line and adding another BIG body on the D line. Most mock drafts didnt have Balmer available at 29 so maybe that was the reason we passed on Groves or a reciever of our choice. Although i felt like our reciever corps were good prior to the draft, I cant FIgure out why in the hell we didnt take a limas sweed, desean jackson, or hardy when they dropped as far as they did. I mean come on, even a manningham or hawkins in day 2 could have added that playmaker, but hey maybe they know something i dont. The only question i have is…

What would Nolan have done differently if he were still the MAN on draft day??

I would have liked to see Phillips solidify our defensive backfield at FS. I’ll take Balmer but i have to believe he is going to play DE and where does that leave McDonald….platooning i guess but i like him and would like to see him get a better shot which is not likely with our first round pick being at that position.

Rachal is ok but it did hurt to see any WR there for the taking…. especially sweed.

Reggie Smith i dont really care for…... i would have rather went somewhere else with the pick…. unless he can play FS bc Goldson looks affraid to hit sometimes and i think roman is a temp plug…. i like brown as our nickle….. maybe he can return kicks though

Morgan is whatever…. i find it hard to believe we drafted a guy that needed but down with pepper spray…. how dumb are u

Cody Wallace and Larry Grant are two guys that are growing on me the more i read on them….. Wallace had a tough upbringing and is strong as an ox….. i say we give him the reigns at center and move heitman to guard if hes not gonna be here long….
Grant looks to be a stud athlete….. who blocks 12 kicks…. thats rediculous….. i set my hs record in single season sacks with 16 and only blocked one kick….. that shit is not easy
hopefully he gets a chance at TED and not just special teams

Would have loved to see us grab marcus monk in the 7th

We upgraded the receiving corp significantly this year. Bruce will not light up the league, but he won’t drop passes either. I think Bryant Johnson has a ton of upside potential given that he will want to prove himself as a Fitzgerald/Boldin caliber guy (which I don’t believe he is, but the effort will be there). Battle is pretty consistent (though hardly extraordinary). And whatever happened to Justin Smith? He’s still developing and could turn into a solid receiver…why draft another kid in need of development?

To me, Balmer was a great pick-up because he’ll effectively occupy the o-line in the NT position. I’m always okay with drafting O-linemen early because (1) they are the most important position on the field, and (2) like every other pick in the draft, its a role of the dice whether they’ll pan out. I think Rachal has good upside.

The 49ers’ draft haul was very unspectacular and very devoid of “playmakers” or “sexy” picks. That isn’t to say that it wasn’t a very solid draft, though. It’s a little too early to tell how “good” this draft is, because on the surface, most of the players taken are pretty much WYSIWYG, to some extent.

If Balmer can add another 10 to 15 pounds and actually play with the leverage the 49ers are saying he can play with, he’d be a very solid nose tackle. Heck, if he can entrench himself as a starter opposite Justin Smith, allowing Sopoaga to move inside (ahead of Franklin), he would be a very solid pick. I guess that while he’s a very “unspectacular” pick, I’m kind of excited that he may be able to make an immediate impact.

I feel kind of the same way about Rachal. I don’t think the 49ers passing on tacking ANY tackles means that they’re happy with Jennings or that they’re giving him the RT position. I think that if Rachal can come in strong, which I think is very possible (because of the reports saying his work ethic is really good), he could allow the 49ers to push Snyder back outside to RT. While is unlikely, at least early in the season, I think it’s a definite possibility. If Jennings doesn’t suck, he’ll more than likely still get hurt, so the 49ers will use Snyder outside at one point or another.

As Fooch pointed out, Heitmann could be a goner after this season. The 49ers took Wallace, who may be groomed as a replacement. Another likely scenario is that Rachal can play RG, allowing Baas to slide back over center (a position he’s played before). I think the picks of the offensive linemen, while low-key, do quite a bit in terms of depth. At least now Duckett isn’t hoisted directly into the top backup spot at tackle, which would be disastrous for any QB lining up behind center.

I, like Braekneck, don’t understand why they took Smith either. Many say that his best fit is at safety, and that he’s a little slow for corner. Don’t the 49ers already have someone like that from last year’s draft in Goldson? If I’m not mistaken, weren’t they supposedly pleased with his performance and what he showed last year? Passing on Crable, Davis, or Avril to take a player the 49ers already have “clones” of (Goldson and Hudson) just doesn’t make that much sense to me.

The one pick I’m kind of excited about, and I don’t really know why, is the pick of Larry Grant. He sounds like a cerebral guy who understands assignments, something that’s important for the ILB playing next to Willis. He’s also pretty quick and agile, but just lacks top-end speed. He’s supposedly bumping Brandon Moore out of the competition for the “Ted,” making B.Moore Patrick Willis’ primary backup. Grant will compete with D.Thomas and J.Ulbrich for playing time at the “Ted.”

All in all, the draft was okay. I don’t see potential for “utter failure” out of the top two picks, but the third one is a bit iffy. Solid, but unspectacular. I guess that’s the best way to describe this draft.