2012 NFL Free Agents: Who Is This Year's Ray McDonald?

I’m hoping the niners can steal him away from the Giants to really bolster the CB depth. 6’1" – 195 – ran a 4.49 at the combine. Tore his ACL last offseason but he is running at full speed now and has started agility drills. Hopefully this injury drops his price a little and can allow the niners to wait on him like they did for FA last year. He had 5 picks, 100 tackles and 21 PD in 2010….so only time will tell what kind of contract he’ll get. Just think he would look great playing behind the best front 7 in the game

Early Doucet

Especially without a change in staff or schemes.

However, I always could see the potential the front office saw when drafting McDonald when he was given playing time and healthy but never really got a chance as a full time player. So that’s how I would look at this question, who still hasn’t fully grown into their potential.

It wasn’t just McDonald last year, of course. Carlos Rogers and Tarel Brown far outplayed their expectations. So did Sopoaga and Bowman who silenced all of us who were angry about letting their predecessors go. Alex Smith improved his play and showed us things he never had before.

It’s probably unreasonable to think that there well be that many veterans break out once again… given that so many are already playing at a high level now. Outside of 2nd year guys, here’s a look of who I think might:

1. Dashon Goldson (if resigned): Now I know a lot of people look at his poor statistics against the pass and would rather move on. However, in regards to skill set there are few safeties in the league who can compare. He’s big, fast, fairly fluid, can catch, etc… He simply had too many mental lapses last year for most people’s liking. If he gets another year in the system to increase his awareness he has all the potential to reach a very high level of play

2. Mike Iupati: Has a great combination of size, strength and mobility. Many already consider him our best lineman but he has the physical attributes to be an annual pro-bowler. Shows flashes of dominating defensive lineman. He’s a third year guy so I figure that draft class is the obvious choice for breakout seasons. I hope next year is when he puts it all together.

3. Josh Morgan (if resigned): I agree with the other that he may not possess pro-bowl level talent but I also don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. He was quickly becoming Smith’s favorite outside target and definitely ran the best slant route on the team before getting hurt. Of course other additions to the receiver group may affect his production.

4. Alex Smith (if resigned): OK, I know I could have just lost some people here. Before last season I was in the thinking that Alex could potentially play solid yet unspectacular football. He did just that. The reasoning behind that thinking was that while Alex has solid physical skills and good intelligence, he never did anything to “Wow” you. Well, he did that a few times this year (Eagles and Saints games). Now I’m cautiously optimistic that he can improve upon last season. The improvement would come in fitting the ball in tight spaces more often while keeping his interception rate low. BTW, I would have never believed so if I hadn’t witnessed Drew Brees go from horrific to great in a blink of an eye, while living in San Diego.

5. Kyle Williams (The WR): Had a devastating finish to what should have been seen as a promising season for him. Very quick in and out of his breaks. Showed solid hands and good speed. I could see him becoming a very good slot receiver next year. Again, a lot depends on what the team tries to do this offseason.