Starting Monday April 5th, 2011 a mock draft was held via Twitter and tagged with the name #MockTre. For those of you not familiar with how hashtags work on Twitter, it's a way to track anything with that tag. You simply search for the tag and you'll find every tweet that was marked with it. It's easier than trying to follow everyone who's involved in a topic.
Education aside, I wanted to recap the results of the draft thus far, including some trades, selection analysis, and trends. The idea behind this draft was to pick people who I felt were knowledgeable, or at least would do their homework before making a selection. You be the judge...feel free to critique each and every pick and/or trade and explain why you would or wouldn't have made it.
In this post, I'll explain the moves made by the 49ers, as I played the role of GM for our beloved team in this mock draft. There were a few trades, and while I didn't get what I hoped for, I think the value obtained was still good (and the points back it up). Later in this mock's progress, I'll go over some of the other selections that caught my eye, as well as trends and trades made by other teams.
So let's go over the results thus far, about mid-way through the second round...after the jump.
| Value | Round | Overall | Team | From | Thru | GM | Selection |
| 3000 | 1 | 1 | CAR | @manraj76 | Blaine Gabbert - QB - Missouri | ||
| 2600 | 1 | 2 | DEN | @myfriendsftw | Marcel Dareus - DT - Alabama | ||
| 2200 | 1 | 3 | BUF | @Drawnitsud | Von Miller - LB - Texas A&M | ||
| 1800 | 1 | 4 | CIN | @joegoodberry | A.J. Green - WR - Georgia | ||
| 1700 | 1 | 5 | ARI | @cassusriff | Da'Quan Bowers - DE - Clemson | ||
| 1600 | 1 | 6 | CLE | @ninnyjams | Patrick Peterson - CB - LSU | ||
| 1500 | 1 | 7 | SF | @Tre9er | Prince Amukamara - CB - Nebr | ||
| 1400 | 1 | 8 | TEN | @Drawnitsud | Nick Fairley - DT - Auburn | ||
| 1350 | 1 | 9 | DAL | @joegoodberry | Tyron Smith - OT - USC | ||
| 1300 | 1 | 10 | WAS | @myfriendsftw | Julio Jones - WR - Alabama | ||
| 1050 | 1 | 11 | MIA | HOU | @grantmp1 | Cam Newton - QB - Auburn | |
| 1200 | 1 | 12 | MIN | @GilAlcarazIV | Robert Quinn - DE - N. Carolina | ||
| 1150 | 1 | 13 | DET | @grantmp1 | Cameron Jordan - DE - Cal | ||
| 1100 | 1 | 14 | STL | @bhoy_oh_bhoy | Mark Ingram - RB - Alabama | ||
| 1250 | 1 | 15 | HOU | MIA | @Jason_Madson | Akeem Ayers - LB - UCLA | |
| 1000 | 1 | 16 | JAC | @joegoodberry | Christian Ponder - QB – Florida St | ||
| 950 | 1 | 17 | NE | OAK | @wTheFirstPick | Aldon Smith - DE - Missouri | |
| 900 | 1 | 18 | SD | @GilAlcarazIV | J.J. Watt - DE - Wisconsin | ||
| 875 | 1 | 19 | NYG | @yougomango | Mike Pouncey - G/C - Florida | ||
| 850 | 1 | 20 | TB | @grantmp1 | Justin Houston - DE - Georgia | ||
| 800 | 1 | 21 | KC | @wTheFirstPick | Phil Taylor - DT - Baylor | ||
| 780 | 1 | 22 | IND | @bhoy_oh_bhoy | Cam Heyward - DT - Ohio State | ||
| 760 | 1 | 23 | PHI | @ninnyjams | Anthony Castonzo - OT - BC | ||
| 590 | 1 | 24 | GB | NO | @yougomango | Gabe Carimi - OT - Wisconsin | |
| 720 | 1 | 25 | SEA | @wTheFirstPick | Muhammad Wilkerson - DT - Temple | ||
| 700 | 1 | 26 | BAL | @GilAlcarazIV | Brandon Harris - CB – Miami | ||
| 680 | 1 | 27 | ATL | @LaSportsDude | Ryan Kerrigan - DE - Purdue | ||
| 660 | 1 | 28 | NE | @wTheFirstPick | Nate Solder - OT - Colorado | ||
| 640 | 1 | 29 | CHI | @indepthscouting | Derek Sherrod – OT - Miss. St | ||
| 620 | 1 | 30 | NYJ | @yougomango | Corey Liuget - DT - Illinois | ||
| 600 | 1 | 31 | HOU | SF | PIT | @Jason_Madson | Jimmy Smith - CB - Colorado |
| 740 | 1 | 32 | CIN | NO | GB | @joegoodberry | Andy Dalton - QB - TCU |
| 580 | 2 | 33 | TEN | NE | CAR | @Drawnitsud | Ryan Mallett - QB - Arkansas |
| 560 | 2 | 34 | SF | BUF | @Tre9er | Adrian Clayborn - DE - Iowa | |
| 550 | 2 | 35 | NO | CIN | @djberns247 | Martez Wilson - OLB - Illinois | |
| 540 | 2 | 36 | DEN | @myfriendsftw | Stephen Paea - DT - Oregon St | ||
| 530 | 2 | 37 | CLE | @ninnyjams | Brooks Reed - DE - Arizona | ||
| 520 | 2 | 38 | ARI | @cassusriff | Jake Locker - QB - Washington | ||
| 510 | 2 | 39 | NE | TEN | @wTheFirstPick | Danny Watkins - OG - Baylor | |
| 500 | 2 | 40 | DAL | @joegoodberry | Stefen Wisniewski - C/G - Penn St | ||
| 490 | 2 | 41 | WAS | @myfriendsftw | Colin Kaepernick - QB - Nevada | ||
| 480 | 2 | 42 | BUF | SF | @Drawnitsud | Ben Ijalana - OT - Villanova | |
| 470 | 2 | 43 | MIN | @GilAlcarazIV | Rahim Moore - S - UCLA | ||
| 460 | 2 | 44 | DET | @grantmp1 | Aaron Williams - CB - Texas |
As you can see in the "From" AND "Thru" columns, the 49ers traded into the 31st pick at one point, only to later trade that pick to the Texans. I got an offer from Pittsburgh early in the draft for the 31st pick and I didn't want to let it go to another team, so I took it. I moved up from 45 to 31 by also sending picks 107 and 114 (4th round picks). The thought was that I'd need to be in the bottom of the first in order to land Christian Ponder, the best QB on the 49ers board with me as the GM.
Well as you can see Jacksonville went and pee'd in my Cheerios by selecting Ponder with the 16th pick. Since I had selected Prince Amukamara with the seventh pick (and I received no trade-up offers despite soliciting), I knew I needed a pass rusher and a quarterback with the next few picks.
At 31 I could have selected Andy Dalton or Brooks Reed, perhaps Jabaal Sheard or Ryan Mallett...but I just didn't feel confident enough in spending a first round pick on any of these guys, so I traded the pick to Houston along with picks 141, 174 (5ths), 190 (6th), and 211 (7th) in exchange for picks 42 and 73.
This gave me a higher pick in the second than I originally had, AND an additional third round pick (two total) as well. I was pleased to have three picks in rounds two and three, with some key needs to fill. Ideally I would have liked to see the QB's fall to me at 42, but quickly watched Dalton and Mallett disappear from the board.
I knew I'd end up reaching on a QB if I picked one who was left at 42, so I took an offer from Buffalo to move up to the 34th spot. I had been watching my big board for guys who were falling like lead balloons, and felt good about what was available there. I sent Buffalo my 42 and 76 (original 3rd) for Buffalo's 34, 100 (4th), and 122 (4th).
I debated taking Jake Locker with the 34th pick, and I'm still wondering if I should have, or Colin Kaepernick...but I was trying to stay true to my board, which had Adrian Clayborn as the 22nd ranked prospect and the highest at a position of need who was still available. I was hesitant at first, but the more I thought about getting a guy at 34 who was previously thought of as a top 10 pick...I got comfortable with the idea and pulled the trigger.
In hindsight I'm still conflicted about the pick...but Locker is such a polarizing figure in this draft. Some say his accuracy in the pocket, with bodies around, is the opposite of what you need for a WCO, where others say he's coachable and has the pedigree, intangibles, and arm to be great. Still, the uncertainty of this off-season due to the lockout is a factor, and perhaps I should have made sure the 49ers had a top-talent at the position in case free agency is short and/or late in the off-season.
All-in-all, the value of the picks the 49ers have in this mock draft after all trades is higher than they started with. The original picks add up to a total of 2,387 points according to ESPN's draft value chart. Currently the picks obtained via the multiple trades have the 49ers' draft valued at 2,437 points. Essentially we traded 5th and 6th round picks in order to move up in the 2nd, 3rd, and break even in the 4th.
The plan would be to work hard in free agency and/or trade to sign a QB to bridge the gap for 2011, likely a "throwaway season" for new coaching staffs anyways due to the lack of off-season, and groom a player to be the eventual backup or starter, depending on how the development goes. Still, it won't be a Nate Davis type player who's a major project. I expect an early-to-mid-round pick to at least be the #2 by his second season.
Let me know what you think of the 49ers draft thus far, and feel free to comment on any other picks too.