Evaluations of some Niners young players

First. a truism. Players are not busts if they don’t crack the starting lineup in year 1—-there is a learning curve. The ones that come out early have steeper learning curves.

Reggie Smith- Is he a CB, Safety, nickel back only? He came out early, and has progressed slowly because of injuries, a shift from corner to safety, and perhaps immaturity. We will find out what his future with the 49ers is this coming year.

 Kentwan Balmar- He came out early and is still growing. He was labeled as very raw talent when drafted; he needs time to learn how to play before we can evaluate. He is currently an end in a 3-4, but he is huge and may grow into the NT job.

 Cody Wallace- He is hardly ever active. As of now, he is strictly a center, and undersized by 49er standards This will be his make or break year, and if I were him I would be bulking up and trying to show something as a guard so he can compete with Wragge for the backup slot.
 
Chilo Rachal- Another talented guy that came out too early. Let’s see how he does this year; he should look better as he matures and learns to play NFL ball, and if he has a better RT next to him.

Again, lose the instant “bust” fetish and try to be patient with guys drafted after 2-3 years of college football.

become a solid nfl guard. He’s very strong and still has lots of potential.

SMITH IS THE REAL DEAL THOUGH HARDLY EVER GIVEN A CHANCE OUTSIDE OF SPECIAL TEAMS!!! BALMER THE JUSRY IS STILL OUT ON HIM BUT IF HE CAN’T PRODUCE SOMETHING THIS YEAR THEN YES HE IS A BUSTS!!!! CODY WALLACE IS A SOLID CENTER AND I FEEL HE COULD MOVE TO GUARD BECAUSE OF HIS MOBILITY!!!

1. 13- BULAGA SPILLER
2. 17-IUPATI OR POUNCEY
3. 49 MCGHEE OR SAFFOLD OR TATE OR HOLIDAY

Smith – He had great potential coming out of college and when McGM was still around, he said that our future at safety was all set. That was a reference to Smith being paired with Goldson for the foreseeable future. Injury last year set him back, but he’s still young, so he could still make an impact. I’m hopeful he can get it together, but they should be drafting someone to compete with him for the starting spot in the future, or rather, this year as they should move on from Lewis. Also, he’s a 3rd round pick, so the “bust” label doesn’t really apply as heavily as it does for a 1st rounder.

Balmer – This is the only guy in danger of being a bust. His 1st round status means that he should develop into a top notch player, but it could take a while. He should be settling into the role at LDE opposite Smith this year, but the injury late last year could prevent that. He was coming along quite well last year, so we’ll have to see how this year goes. If by next year he hasn’t unseated Soap in the starting lineup, you can throw the “bust” label on him.

Wallace – As a 4th round pick, he can’t be labeled a bust at all by my standards. He should be tested at guard this year to see if he can alternate, but right now, he’s strictly a center. His value increases if he can sub at guard in emergency. But, since he plays behind our best and most reliable lineman, he doesn’t have much chance of cracking the starting lineup. He might be a career depth guy.

Rachal – Has only been starting for one and a half seasons. He was very raw with just power when he started as a rookie. He progressed last year when he was challenged by coach Sing to step his game up. He’s also very young. I have high hopes for him with the addition of a new line coach and the addition of a quality RT. He also suffers because of Snyder’s missteps. The real knock against him in the community is that he was selected when D. Jackson was still on the board and he’s been a great impact player. It would take a lot for him to not be considered a bad pick in fan’s eyes because they know what they could’ve had. I still think he’ll be a quality guard for years to come.