Happy Anzac Day everyone. That's an Australian holiday where we celebrate the failed invasion of the Turkish coast at Gallipoli and the death of thousands of young men. There's a movie starring Mel Gibson in it. There's an Anzac biscuit, a cookie with syrup, oats and coconut in it. It's more or less like America's Memorial Day. There's ceremonies at the war memorials around the country, in Turkey and France, and everyone watches the annual Anzac Day match, in Aussie rules football. Needless to say, I have the day off and am enjoying myself.
As for the Niners Nation, nearing our holiday soon...Draft Day. A day when championship teams are made. And so I give you draft opinions from all comers. Do what you will with it. It seems like Amini Silatolu is on a lot of people minds. Could he be....the one?
Most of the pundits seem pretty happy with our position going into the draft. Samuel Lam acknowledges that most of our starting jobs are spoken for, but we have a lot of depth to fill out. He gives a look at who's on the roster at each position and an idea on how many, if any, people we need. | Lam looks at roster before draft. (Lam)
Matt Barrows is in high gear once again, with a flurry of articles to chose from. First is a guess at who we'll select in each round. Our first round pick is Amini Silatolu, G from Midwestern State. He then plugs all the other holes on the roster. | Barrows 7 round draft. (Barrows)
Next is a replay of the chat Barrows had with the fans yesterday. Questions about the draft are the fare. All options are examined, including trading down. | Barrows chat replay about the draft. (Barrows)
Barrows examines both guard and wide receiver position in the draft and gives us who we might draft who has the highest upside and who is the strongest right away. | Barrows on G, WR. (Barrows)
It's been announced that former great, C Jesse Sapolu, will announce this years 2nd round pick at the draft. | Sapolu to announch 2nd round pick. (Bay Area SB Nation)
A good article about the remaking of the 49ers front office. It reminds us of how bad the FO has been over the past 10 years and how hard it was to finally right the ship. | Remade front office paying off. (Mercury News)
The 49ers have several options at RG available in the draft. Two of the ones we may be eyeing at #30 are Amini Silatolu (there he is again), and Wisconsin G Kevin Zeitler. | 49ers draft options at right guard. (SFGate)
An article giving Amini Silatolu's life story. It's got good stories from his high school days at Tracy, nearby. The statistics from his college offense are eye-popping. | Silatolu's story. (Barrows)
Cam Inman gives us a recap of the discussion about last year's number one pick Aldon Smith. He's got numerous quotes from all the draft experts. While most of them rated Smith highly, few had him going #7 to us. Many experts, you may recall, wanted us to draft Blaine Gabbert. How would the season have played out if that had been the case. Shudder... | Last years pre-draft evaluation of Aldon Smith. (Mercury News)
Matt Maiocco makes the case for Janoris Jenkins, should the 49ers decide to draft the best player available. The team has done their homework and have definitely showed some interest in the troubled CB. | Jenkins as the best player available. (Maiocco)
49ers have 25 roster spots available to fill to make the league limit. That's active, inactive, practice squad, reserved and a bunch of other status that add up to 90. | 25 roster spots still available. (Maiocco)
A video link to Matt Maiocco discussing the 49ers and the draft. He notes that teams pretty well have their draft boards set at this point, so any risers and fallers that you may hear around media right now is strictly media driven. | Maiacco's draft video. (Maiocco)
Eric Davis, Cam Inman and, yes, Matt Maiocco discuss the 49ers draft needs in a panel video. Inman states the team should trade up if they see the player available they think can push them over the top. Davis disagrees and claims more picks to fill out the depth of the roster. | 10 minute draft discussion video. (CSN Bay Area)
Mike Sando gets a scout to break down the 49ers heading into the draft. What he has to do to make this scout talk is too overwhelming for me to put in a family-friendly post. Janoris Jenkins, Coby Fleener, and others are discussed. | Sando and scout break down Niners needs. (Sando)
A photo gallery of the worst picks in 49ers history. I don't have time to read until after I get the Nuggets up, but I'm a sucker for galleries. | Gallery of worst 49ers picks. (SFGate)
Former 49er Pierce Holt gives his view of Amini Silatolu. He likes what he sees, even though he's blind in one eye (they make the joke in the article, I'm just passing it on!). It's safe to say that Silatolu's name is popping up as often as Coby Fleener's nowadays. Could he be the mystery prospect that Baalke alluded to? | Ex-49er Holt analyzes Silatolu. (SFGate)
Could the 49ers be thinking tackle? That's the question this link promises to answer. Drafting a tackle like, say, Stanford's Jonathan Martin would allow the Niners to move Anthony Davis to right guard. | 49ers thinking tackle? (SFGate)
49ers are betting on Moss to contribute this year. Harbaugh believes he can be productive or they wouldn't have signed him. | Harbaugh thinks Moss will work out. (National Football Post)
Here is a photoblog of the offseason strength program. Nothing terribly exciting but you get to see some of the Niners in their workout clothes. | Photoblog of offseason workouts. (49ers.com)
Here's a new series from 49ers..com. It's called rookie reflections. It appears that each of last years rookies will answer a series of questions ranging from last years draft day experience, their memorable moment from the season, and even who the 49ers should draft in 2012. | Rookie Reflections: Chris Culliver. (49ers.com)
Rookie Reflections: Colin Jones. (49ers.com)
Another list of the teams needs heading into the draft with some suggestions as to who we might draft and who may be available. | Team needs and possible draft picks. (NBC Sports)
Kenny Williams thinks his son, our receiver Kyle Williams, will bounce back after last years season ending miscues. A good father would say no less. | Kyle Williams will bounce back, says father. (Yahoo!)
49erswebzone.com gives a list of prospects that maybe the 49ers should select. It lists pros and cons for each pick. | 5 possible picks. (49erswebzone.com)
Grant Cohn's final mock before the draft. What he has the Niners doing is baffling to me. Trading Delanie Walker, #30 pick and a fourth rounder to the Steelers to draft Coby Fleener. Why not wait and see if he lands at #30 and save the trouble and if you draft him, trade Walker for a pick? I don't know?!? | Cohn mock. (Cohn)
The 49ers are deep and have no specific needs in this draft. There are a few writers above who have a few ideas about some needs. Nice that there's a difference of opinion. | 49ers have no real needs. (Yahoo!)
The 25 minute audio of coach Jim Harbaugh on KNBR. | Audio of Harbaugh on KNBR. (49ers.com)
Being a Sheep
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