A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO VASTLY IMPROVE THE 2010 ROSTER
by 49erFanSince1950 on Mar 15, 2010 7:07 PM PDT
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PrintWe have spent a lot of time discussing both the forthcoming draft and the free agent market. Now it is time to pull it all together. Here is my action plan to vastly improve the Niners 2010 roster (see Footnotes for explanations):
1. Release: WR Issac Bruce.
2. Resign as backups: OG David Baas (grade 65), CB Dre' Bly (grade 65), OLB Ahmad Brooks (grade 20), and OT Barry Sims (grade 58).
3. Sign as starting LOG: UFA Chester Pitts (grade 75).
The St. Louis Rams: (a) need wide receivers; (b) have tendered FS O.J. Atogwe (grade 67) at only the "right of first refusal" level (presumedly to try to resign him on the cheap late in the FA period).
4. Trade WR Brandon Jones (grade 59), WR Jason Hill (grade 57), and S Mark Roman (grade 60) to the Rams in exchange for FS O.J. Atogwe (grade 67) and a third-round pick in the 2010 draft (pick #65).
5. Elevate Dominique Zeigler (grade 46) from the Practice Squad.
6. Draft the following prospects in April:
Round 1 - Pick 13: CRB/KR/PR C.J. Spiller / Clemson (rank 8, grade 95).
Round 1 - Pick 17: CB Kyle Wilson / Boise State (rank 28, grade 93) OR CB Earl Thomas / Texas (rank 18, grade 94).
Round 2 - Pick 49: TWR Demaryius Thomas / Georgia Tech (rank 42, grade 88) OR WR Arrelious Benn / Illinois (rank 57, grade 92).
Round 3 - Pick 65: OT Rodger Saffold / Indiana (rank 66, grade 80).
Round 3 - Pick 79: SWR Mardy Gilyard / Cincinatti (rank 93, grade 81) OR SWR Andre Roberts / Citadel (rank 119, grade 72).
Round 4 - Pick 110: 3-4DE Arthur Jones / Syracuse (rank 125, grade 79) OR 3-4DE Mike Neal / Purdue (rank 109, grade 74).
Round 5 - Pick 141: ILB Pat Angerer / Iowa (rank 150, grade 72).
Round 6 - Pick 172: OLB O'Brien Schofield / Wisconsin (rank 163, grade 64) OR SS Myron Rolle / Florida State (rank 173, grade 66).
Round 7 - Pick 208: QB John Skelton / Fordham (rank 146, grade 30) OR QB Zak Robinson / Oklahoma State (rank 197, grade 54).
In all cases where two prospects are listed, the first of the two would be my first choice, but may not be available. Note that ratings for Thomas, Jones, and Schofield have dropped somewhat because of recent surgeries.
7. In August, at the end of training camp, choose between Nate Davis and John Skelton (Zak Robinson) as to who has the most potential as QBOTF.
8. The resulting starters at the beginning of the 2010 season would be:
OFFENSE:
LG CHESTER PITTS
RG Chilo Rachal
LT Joe Staley
RT RODGER SAFFOLD
TE Vernon Davis
WR Michael Crabtree
WT DEMARYIUS THOMAS (or ARRELIOUS BENN)
SWR MARDY GILYARD (or ANDRE ROBERTS)
QB Alex Smith
RB Frank Gore
COP RB C.J. SPILLER
DEFENSE:
NT Aubrayo Franklin
LDE Isaac Sopoaga / ARTHUR JONES (or MIKE NEAL)
RDE Justin Smith
ILB Patrick Willis
ILB Takeo Spikes / PAT ANGERER
OLB Manny Lawson
OLB Parys Haralson / O'BRIEN SCHOFIELD
CB Shawntae Spencer
CB Nate Clements / KYLE WILSON (or EARL THOMAS)
SS Dashon Goldson
FS O.J. ATOGWE
SPECIAL TEAMS:
KR C.J. SPILLER or MARDY GILYARD or ANDRE ROBERTS / ARRELIOUS BENN (if drafted)
PR C.J. SPILLER or KYLE WILSON or MARDY GILYARD
With these moves the Niners will certainly have the most improved roster of any team in the NFC West, and perhaps the entire NFL. Go for it, McC!!
Footnotes:
1. Grades for both veteran players and draft prospects per Scouts Inc.
2. Ranking for draft prospects are mean of rankings by (a) DraftTek, (b) Huddle Report, (c) Draft Scout.
3. TWR = tall wide receiver; SWR = slot wide receiver; CRB = change-of-pace running back.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.
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seriously
Where’s Morgan in this projection?
by David Fucillo on Mar 15, 2010 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Need a higher RT...
And why trade Jason Hill? And Where is Josh Morgan?
I miss Joe Montana/Steve Young/Jeff Garcia
by Mr HowsYourWife on Mar 15, 2010 11:13 PM PDT reply actions
Regarding Josh Morgan and Jason Hill
My interest is in the Niners becoming an elite team once again. To do that they must seek SUPERIOR talent. In time Morgan and Hill might develop; but neither has shown me that they can be other than average. Morgan is being asked to be a #2 receiver and he simply doesn’t have that talent level. He’s a #3 receiver, at best. Hill’s most significant contributions have been on special teams. To quote Sing, “we’ve got to get better.” I believe that Thomas, Benn, Gilyard, and Roberts all have superior potential to Morgan and Hill. Hopefully, if they are drafted by the Niners, they will fulfill it!
by 49erFanSince1950 on Mar 16, 2010 12:44 AM PDT reply actions
Josh Morgan
has improved since his rookie year and put up good improving numbers last year.
*Our “#1” wide reciever is V. Davis. Crabtree is our second. Morgan should be 3 unless a better veteran is signed.
*No rookie starters on the Oline—upgrade by signing Bushrod or up and coming free agent Gaither/Trueblood/ definitely resign Simms.
Do not resign Baas.
- or 17 pick draft Derrick Morgan, groom to replace lawson
*If no signing of gaither trade down from 1st round pick and pick up additional second rounder/picks
*Sign Gilliard/Best and best corner back available with second round picks
im with the signing of Atogwe. Also could use some ST maulers to make holes for the returners.
Morgan is a good complement to Davis & Crabtree
I agree with most of your potential off season moves. I really would like them to trade the 17th pick or a 2nd rounder for Gaither. I know people are concerned about the injury but he played the last reg season game plus the 2 playoff games. Gaither would solidify our line for years to come then they could draft a G in the 3rd or 4th round.
If G Tate is availabe in the beginning of the 2nd round I would love for them to move up and draft him. He would be a great slot reciever and could replace Morgan in starting lineup if Morgan does not continue to progress. Tate played RB and special teams in college as a freshman so his versatility will help him to get more snaps. Like Atogwe as well!
by 49er fan for life on Mar 16, 2010 2:29 AM PDT reply actions
Why would Brooks not be in the discussion for starter over Haralson?
Morgan is better than people give him credit for.
Equation= 1,2,2,3,3 is a lot better than 1,1,2,3 in a deep draft, especially when your 1 nets you E berry.
Alex Smith is not a bust, he is a product of poor management and coaching.
You say we need superior talent, do your trade for otogwe, but instead of spiller trade for brandon Marshall and get jhavid best in a later round, you get a better WR and a faster PR/KR. Crabtree+Marshall > your plan
by Ivang101 on Mar 16, 2010 10:16 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
The more I look at the palyers available the more I think the 49ers will trade down with one of their 1st round picks. Im thinking the no.13 pick! The elite guys the 49ers would seemingly be interested in quite likely may go before we pick (Okung/ Berry). The end of the 1st and early 2nd is packed with prospects that can fill need and potentially also be the BPA. If we traded the 13th pick for a later 1st plus a second. We could end up with:
1- Iupati, 1- Campbell/Brown/Davis/Williams, 2 – J.Best,/Mays(If Best was selected before we picked then we take a kick returning wr or cb with the later 2nd or 3rd pick. WR/CB (D.Thomas/Gilyard/ Benn/Wilson/ McCourtney/ Warren/ Ghee) 3 – S/WR/CB – Arenas/Shipley
For the amount of playing time Spiller would get, hes not worth the 13th pick was what i was getting at. There is a lot of value in the late 1st/early 2nd especially for the difference in price. Team like the Patriots accumulate picks and take advantage of this quite often.
by 49er4life on Mar 16, 2010 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Atogwe
Teams don’t need to trade for Atogwe.
The Rams aren’t going to sign him to a long term deal and they’re not going to pay him like $7 million this year.
He’ll be released in June-ish if they can’t work out a long term deal.
That said, if the 49ers do sign Atogwe in June, what’s the point of drafting Earl Thomas?
Atogwe is a great cover Safety and I don’t believe Earl Thomas would be able to start at CB as a rookie.
If he’s not going to contribute right away, he’s not worth a 1st round pick (to the 49ers) this team is ready to win NOW.
Saffold: He’s a 2nd round prospect, I’d take him over Demaryous Thomas.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
The draft comes before June, so if we set ourselves up waiting for Atogwe, we could easily end up overpaying, since teams have interest.
Equation= 1,2,2,3,3 is a lot better than 1,1,2,3 in a deep draft, especially when your 1 nets you E berry.
Alex Smith is not a bust, he is a product of poor management and coaching.
Not to mention the fact that the Rams may by that point decide he’s worth paying for. There’s also the likely scenario that we could get outbid at that point. Then we’d be left with zilch, zip, nada.
"If you're not first, you're last" -Reese Bobby.
Atogwe is a good player
outside of eric berry does anyone honestly think any drafted rookie can come in and start at FS?
Its too much of a gamble—if we’re serious about making the playoffs we have to
put our money where our mouth is (See: Jed York, this december is our last) and take some gambles. Some of the moves we make will pay off some won’t.
But what’s great about the NFL (compared to MLB and NBA) is contracts aren’t guaranteed (signing bonuses are though). I say go for him now, I’ve seen him play and he’s the real deal.
Lewis
I actually do think that a rookie can come in and be an upgrade over Lewis… depending on who the rookie is of course (this outside of Berry). Berry will not be the only guy to come in to the NFL and make an instant mark. There was a kid in Buffalo by the name of Jarius Byrd that was drafted in the 2nd last year. He won rookie of the year and was one of the best safeties in the league. I have high expectations out of this draft.
"If you're not first, you're last" -Reese Bobby.
People keep talking about drafting a replacement for Lewis, but the guys I keep hearing are Thomas, Berry, Atogwe etc. These guys are all natural free safeties, are they not? Drew, do you think they’d move Goldson to SS? He seems like he plays like a SS (likes to hit and tackle, but can still cover ground), the question is can he play SS effectively. He miffed on tackles quite a bit this year, not to mention he is undersized by SS standards to be regularly coming into the box and hitting running backs.
Just throwing this out there but Buffalo is loaded at safety right now. they have 4 starting caliber safeties. Both starters got injured last year and their backups performed really well. (Whitner, Wilson, Scott, Byrd). Byrd is gonna start at FS as you mentioned earlier. They are shopping Whitner bc he may still have trade value as he was a high pick, but probably performed the worst of the 4. Scott is interesting bc Buffalo is switching to a 3-4 and he cant play linebacker anymore like he did last year towards the end of the year. He just re-signed but he has everything you’d want in a SS. He can tackle very well and still has range. Thoughts on trading a late round pick for a proven back-up/replacement?
If you go to NFL.com
They have a listing of FA safeties. Most of the strong safeties are around 6 ft to 6-1 ft and 200-210 lbs. Goldson is 6-0 200lbs. He seems to be around average sized for a SS.
No
I don’t think they’ll mess with the continuity of Goldson at free safety. But the way the Niners play defense, there really isn’t a strong safety or a free safety. Just two safeties. And the problem with Lewis (and Goldson in the beginning of the year), is that their coverage stunk. I think Allen or Burnett in the 2nd would be a good way to go depending on what they do in the 1st Round.
"If you're not first, you're last" -Reese Bobby.
actually
Roman’s upgrade on passing downs. Lewis comes down as a LB in Nickel and Roman plays SS just because he’s faster, slightly. I could see a rookie playing Nickel FS with Goldson at SS on those downs, or vice versa depending on who has better coverage skills and the formation of the offense.
This is also why Earl Thomas isn’t a horrible idea. He can play dime corner or nickel safety and line up on a receiver if necessary because of his speed.
"If I were to walk down a dark alley in a bad part of town, I'd want Ray Brown with me. And if I were to have a nice dinner at a fine restaurant, I'd want Ray Brown with me." The Late Great McKittrick
A guy like Nate Allen could do that too, no?
And he wouldn’t be a 1st round pick.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Mar 21, 2010 1:04 PM PDT up reply actions
He's worth the money
Maybe it’s because I don’t think it’s of utmost importance to find a new S.
Maybe in round 2 or 3, but I just don’t see it being as big a need as RT or KR/PR.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Mar 17, 2010 11:48 AM PDT up reply actions
Let me get this straight:
You want to not address the team’s most glaring need until the third round, and then you pencil that guy in as a starter anyway?
Third-round guys don’t usually step in right away and start on the o-line.
That is madness.
From KFFL so take it for what you will
49ers | Cutting ties with McCloughan
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:08:32 -0700
Updating a previous report, Nancy Gay, of AOL FanHouse, reports the San Francisco 49ers are cutting ties with general manager Scot McCloughan over what is described as personal matter and not relating to any team issues. The decision was mutual, according to a source.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Mar 18, 2010 12:23 PM PDT reply actions
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