Official NFL Draft Thread: 02/02/11 (Continued...)

but like most other big boards too…i like that cameron jordan moved up but disagree on von miller…but everyone has their opinion…its a good looking top 25 tho and most of the right guys are there….drew what do u think about marvin austin? heard he looked really good at the EW Shrine game…..if we get Peterson u think austin would get a good look IF he fell to the 2nd??

If he doesn’t, he could fall like Joe Haden did last year. Some people had Haden as a top 5 prospect. He was drafted at 7 last year. Although Haden was a bit more rough around the edges coming out than is Peterson.

Option 1: The Trade up
Trade up to #4 overall for the 1st round and 3rd round picks
1. Patrick Peterson CB LSU
I don’t really need to get into why I think PP would be perfect for the Niners. Conerback is a huge need for the Niners. The cost up might be a little expensive but it is totally worth a third round pick to get a beast CB.

2. Brandon Burton CB Utah
Two CBs in two rounds, you must be crazy. Well I am a little. BB is extremely athletic which is what I like in my CB. Ya BB has a little problem in stopping the run but thats secondary for a CB. BB will need some coaching up but he will be a really solid #2 CB and lining up against PP forever.

3. Traded away

4. Dontay Moch OLB Nevada
Speedy pass rusher would definitely help improve the pass rush from the OLB position.

4. Kendrick Ellis NT Hampton
Franklin may be leaving and I like a NT that could make the LB job easier. Kendrick Ellis is 6-5 340 lbs. I haven’t been able to see some game tape but from what I heard he is built to be a NT.

5. Owen Marecic FB Stanford
I don’t like Norris and I want him gone.

6. Greg McElroy QB Alabama
I like what I see and hear from him enough to warrant a 6th round pick from him.

6. Kai Forbath K UCLA
I would prefer grabbing Henery but I think he would go before this pick. Forbath still isn’t that bad of a kicker.

7th rounders does it really matter?

1st 3 picks…all 3 suspended players from UNC.

if anyone cares.

http://www.walterfootball.com/forum/showthread.php?21292-49ers-Pick-No-7

Quinn is not more of a 3-4 DE. If used as an Olb, he can be more beneficial to a defense.

I meant 4-3…..as far as Peterson and remaining cbs there are potentially 4 #1 cbs in this draft. Peterson at this point in time is just the best prospect.

Round 1…..Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska……..Lets face it, Von Miller and PP will be
                     gone unless an act of Crabtree happens again, but the Raiders don’t pick in
                     front of us.

Round 2…..Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State. Ponder was the best looking QB in the
                     Senior bowl and made some great NFL passes. He is a WCO style QB and
                     would be a great prospect for Harbaugh to work with.

Round 3…..Casey Matthews, LB, Oregon. If your last name is Matthews and you have
                     long hair, your destined for a good NFL career. Many questioned Clay
                     Matthews as Clay was the 3rd LB taken two years ago, but now he would be
                     a top 5 pick. Underestimated and overlooked seems to be a family curse,
                     but Casey Matthews WILL be a great player in the NFL. Find a spot for him.

Round 4…..Owen Marecic, FB, Stanford. Marecic will probably not be around in the 5th
                     round. We have 2 picks in the 4th round, so get the guy that Harbaugh
                     knows at FB and knows the system that Harbaugh will install.

Round 4….. Kendrick Ellis, NT, Hampton. With the uncertainty of Franklin resigning and
                      the 49ers not franchising him at a reported 11 million a year, the 49ers will
                      need to move in a different direction. RJF, played well in the preseason last
                      year and Franklin is in this 30’s.

Round 5…..Brandon Bair, DE, Oregon. Bair is a true DE in a 3-4 scheme. He has a
                     nack for making QB’s hurry up there throws and puttin’ a hurt on them. We
                     need an upgrade at DE

Round 6…..Greg McElroy, QB, Alabama. Surrounded by talent in Bama, and greatly
                     underestimated, McElroy is a winner. Harbaugh would be wise to draft 2
                     QB’s and groom them both. McElroy could spend his first year on the PS.

Round 6…..Quizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State. Quizz can do it all, he can catch and run.
                     He can line up as a WR. The only question is his size, but since we have
                    Gore (medium size), and Dixon (massive size), we could use a small utility
                     type RB. Quizz just doesn’t fumble.

Round 7….. Bryant Browning, OG, tOSU. Scouting Report “Offensive lineman who has
                      gained versatility through experience … a real team leader … can be a
                      factor at guard or tackle … continues to develop his skills in game
                      situations … powerful run blocker” At 6’3" and 319lbs, he has the size that
                      Harbaugh would like to pound the ball, but also has a high IQ. Smart and
                      powerfull…“Double threat guy”.

Compensatory draft pick.
Round 7…..Ryan Whalen, WR, Stanford. Harbaugh gets another one of his guys.
                     Whalen is a true Slot Reciever and knows his system. Whalen has decent
                     size and runs in the 4.5’s and is projected as a 5th rounder, but who really
                     knows. If Whalen is taken, look at Jeff Maehl from Oregon. Same speed as
                     Whalen and great hands and runs good routes.

With the uncertainty of the CBA, the 49ers need to save and use all 10 of their draft picks. This Mock draft covers many areas of need.

1. Patrick Peterson – CB – LSU
2. Colin Kaepernick – QB – Nevada
3. Pat Devlin – QB – Delaware
4. Lawrence Guy – DE – Arizona State
4. Wayne Daniels – OLB – TCU
5. Stan Havili – FB – USC
6. Chris Rucker – CB – Michigan State
6. Baron Batch – RB – Texas Tech
7. Greg Little – WR – UNC
7. Omar Bolden – CB – Arizona State

Comp 7. Marcellis Williamson – NT – Ohio

Ryan Mallett is now the 39th best prospect, and projected to be a 2nd round pick. Notre Dame RB turned FB, Robert Hughes, is now projected to go undrafted. He would be a nice pick up, i loved the way this dude played with the Irish. Also, forget about getting better value with Havili over Marecic, because the former is now projected to be a 4th-5th round pick.

Because of his horrible injury in the bowl game, Duenta Williams is now projected to be a 5th round pick. That would be an absolute steal for the 49ers. Dude has 1st round talent, and was just unfortunate to have such a horrible injury at the worse possible time. I also like the fact that both Tejay Johnson and Eric Hagg have both dropped in the rankings. They would be awesome 7th round value picks. Johnson, althought not the most athletically gifted safety in the draft, plays with a lot of passion and is extremely sound at what he does. It also doesn’t hurt that he quarterbacked a secondary that was one of the best in the NCAA.

For those of you who want us to draft an OLB relatively early, we may not have to look for one in the 1st round. Akeem Ayers, Dontay Moch, Jeremy Beal, Lawrence Wilson and Justin Houston should all be available in the 2nd or 3rd round.

Free Agency and Contracts
Bring back Alex out of necessity if he’ll come. Resign Manny but let Franklin walk or resign him if he can’t command top dollar in FA. Let Goldson walk if he demands more than his level of play warrants.
Renegotiate Clements contract.

Personnel Adjustments
Run more 2 TE base alignment sets with the ability to split Vernon as a WR while still having the ability to execute Harbaugh’s power running game. Should use Vernon with motion to WR very often this year and get 1 vs 1 against OLB’s in the seam.

Draft Board- Listed as player priorities based on who is available / falls unexpectedly.
Sometimes I ignore a need if there is a can’t miss player at the position, e.g. Green at #7.
Players from higher rounds falling to lower rounds are automatically at front of priority for the lower round.

Picking any position knocks out players at that position in lower rounds except CB, where I could take two, just not in side by side rounds.

Round 1: AJ Green, Patrick Peterson, Brandon Harris

If Green or Peterson is there we can’t pass them up, they are the game changer type players for offense and defense this years draft. I like Jimmy Smith’s press coverage ability better, but I think Brandon Harris has the better closing speed and all around cover ability if Peterson is off the board.

Round 2: Aaron Williams, Justin Houston, Christian Ponder, Phil Taylor

Aaron Williams is here only if Green falls to us in the first. Houston if he falls I think is the BPA and could start in place of Haralson opposite Manny. If he’s gone, Ponder could be a value pick here if our medical staff thinks his arm can be rehabbed. If all are gone, Phil Taylor should be here as a replacement for Franklin this year or next.

Round 3: Marvin Austin, Colin Kaepernick / Greg McElory / Andy Dalton, Brandon Burton

Austin is prime value in R3, power, explosiveness, and always seems to be around the ball. I don’t like him as a NT prospect but as a possible DE. But if we don’t have a QB yet, we pull the trigger on Kaepernick. If we don’t have a QB and Kaepernick is gone, consider McElroy or Dalton.. even if we think we might be able to pick them in the 4th.. we have to come out of this draft with a guy Harbaugh can work with and we can’t chance coming away empty handed.

Round 4A: Vincent Brown, Sione Fua

Brown is a good vertical route runner who makes his cuts without slowing and creates decent separation. But if we don’t have a NT prospect yet we might want to consider Fua, even though he is more of a penetrator than a space eater.

Round 4B: Owen Marecic, Deunta Williams, Rashad Carmichael

With our second 4th we need to look at a replacement for Norris, but if Marecic is gone already we should consider adding more options to our secondary with Williams or Carmichael. Carmichael projects as a corner, but coming from VT’s aggressive defense he might be a good project as a hard hitting cover safety.

Round 5: Henry Hynoski, Jake Kirkpatrick, Stephen Friday

This is a cleanup round. If we didn’t get Marecic, consider Hynoski. If we are looking thin on the D-Line due to FA losses, consider Friday or the BPA at DE. If we don’t need cleanup, take Kirkpatrick for depth on the interior line.

Round 6×2: Mario Fannin, Justin Rogers

This is where we can start looking at more long term needs. Fannin is an explosive powerful runner, and I see us needing more guys who are 3 down backs who can committee with Dixon and Gore to keep all 3 fresh rather than a 3rd down COP back. Or if we’ve only selected one prospect for the secondary, then maybe bring in Rogers to compete for the nickel back role.

Round 7: Late round flyers or kicker.

It’s ever changing, and I’m sure it will several more times before the actual draft. But this is what I’m looking at right now.

Just watched the Cam Newton v. Georgia clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykzlReEscog) posted by AaronAloysius: early impressions? Concerns remain, but…I’m more open to him.
He’s got a great arm and looks to be able to make all the throws with good accuracy. His footwork can be sloppy, and nobody will confuse Auburn’s offense with, say, Stanford’s, but he does go under center and drop back a couple of times. He doesn’t force the ball in that video, but does throw into a couple of tight windows—good to see that he can do that. That Newton has great size and speed goes without saying—his athleticism is off the charts, far better than Kaepernick and significantly better than Locker.
The 2 HUGE red flags for me as follows: the windows he was throwing into were larger than anything he’ll see in the pros, both b/c it’s college and b/c he was a play action fake by himself (w/ his ability to take off and run) AND he only averaged 20 pass attempts per game and really only played for 1 college season. That means there’s very little tape on him from which you have to make your evaluation.
The ‘eligibility’ / academics question is less of a concern than the ego question: will his ego be overly inflated b/c of his Heisman success/national championship background? Will he study?
Little wonder that he’s obviously the most controversial prospect in the 2011 draft.
The bust potential is significant with Newton both because there is so little tape on him and because his physical tools are so impressive, it’s easy to think that you can mold him into anything you want him to be. Newton could go practically anywhere in the first 2 rounds depending on how he shows in interviews and at the combine.
If Harbaugh would want him I’d be thrilled…but that’s because I’m in full-on “in Harbaugh we trust” mode, not because of Newton. I’d feel better if we ended up trading back to mid-first and picking than of getting him at #7 (since I feel like there are a number of legit prospects that we could get at 7 if my mock shakes out as it appears below). Lemme know what you think!

So they might trade up to get him.