2012 NFL Draft Grades: Mel Kiper, Pete Prisco Give 49ers Barely Passing Grades

Fooch's Update: SB Nation added in their NFL Draft grades and gave the 49ers a C. Based on the analysis I'm not sure C is the right grade, but it follows the pattern of other grades around the Internet.

They say that Cs get degrees, but I'd imagine most teams would prefer something a little higher when it comes to draft grades. Well, if they actually cared about draft grades.

The 2012 NFL Draft is a wrap and as draft grades come in, it is easy to see that many NFL analysts are not particularly high on the 49ers body of work this weekend. It is hard to make any particularly accurate assessment one day into this new draft class, but that's why they're here.

Mel Kiper made a good point in his 2012 NFL Draft grades as he mentioned how he is really looking more at how teams addressed their needs, as opposed to solely on the specific players involved. He gave the 49ers a C+ for hitting needs, a B- for the value, and a C+ overall. It is worth noting that he gave the 49ers a C+ overall immediately after last years draft as well and that class has turned out rather well. Kiper had the following to say about the 49ers draft class:

A.J. Jenkins was a bit of a reach on my board, but I know the 49ers really liked him. I'm a huge fan of LaMichael James, and I had a change-of-pace running back as one of their needs. Joe Looney is a decent player, though he's no immediate upgrade like I felt they needed. Trent Robinson has a chance to be a starter at some point, but I thought they could have used a corner. Not a bad draft at all, and you could see their strategy. It's tough to add early impact to a good roster.

Pete Prisco put together his own draft grades and gave the 49ers a C- as he was not overly enthused about most of the picks. He liked the A.J. Jenkins pick (although you can guess who he is electing to rip with his comments on knucklehead receivers) and thinks free safety Trent Robinson is a solid sleeper. However, he questioned the LaMichael James pick given his belief in the glut of backs on the 49ers roster. It is worth noting he gave the 49ers a C+ for last year's class:

I liked the Jenkins pick to start the draft, but taking James in the second really didn't make a lot of sense. They bounced back with some decent picks after that, but not a great weekend for the 49ers.

Over at FOXSports.com, John Czarnecki joined the pack in giving the 49ers a C+. He pointed to a potential sleeper in fourth round guard Joe Looney, who dropped due to a Lisfranc injury to his foot. He also thinks Cam Johnson works well as a low risk seventh round pick. He suffers from a sickle-cell trait that appears to limit his on-field availability, but he also has a lot of talent as a pure pass rusher. In a situational role that could work out well.

Evan Silva provided grades for NBC Sports and he too gave the 49ers a C+. He thinks the 49ers were not particularly enamored with the prospects available given the numerous trades back. He was not particularly impressed with the picks:

While GM Trent Baalke has earned the benefit of the doubt, on the surface his 2012 selections don't especially impress. Pick 30 is awfully high for a slot receiver in Jenkins, and scatback James was a luxury choice at 61. Fleming and Robinson are solid, if unspectacular players. Slowey is a small-school project, and Johnson plays without consistency.

Over at NFL.com, they have a poll set up where you can provide draft grades for each round. The poll then calculates an overall grade based on the voting for each round. The math does not seem to add up on the 49ers. Fans have given them a C+ for the first round and a B- for each of the remaining six rounds, but they somehow come up with an overall grade of B. I don't think that's how it is supposed to work, but who am I to argue!