The 49ers remain alive in the NFL playoffs, which means there are slightly more important things to worry about than the NFL Draft. However, that does not mean there isn't room for draft discussion as well. The present is important, but this 49ers franchise is looking to build this ship for the long haul, and that means constantly preparing for the future.
This week marks the start of the All-Star Game season for the NFL Draft. Players have decided whether or not they will enter the Draft, which means we are fully into Draft season. This Saturday we will have the East-West Shrine Game and the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Next weekend, during the Super Bowl bye (no pressure, 49ers!), we will have the Senior Bowl.
We plan on having open threads for all of these games, and Nick and Trevor will help provide some details on the players participating. You may have noticed Nick and Trevor's positional previews this week. If not here are the links:
Running Back | Outside Linebackers | Offensive Line | Inside Linebackers
Even though there is tons to talk about leading up to the NFC Championship Game this weekend, we still want to provide opportunities to discuss draft prospects and the upcoming offseason. The upside to NN is that we provide enough different content, that if one topic doesn't interest you, there are several other entirely different conversations going on about other topics.
Up above, I've posted some video featuring SB Nation's Dan Rubenstein breaking down running backs, wide receivers and tight ends to watch on Saturday. Below, I've posted some video of Rubenstein breaking down quarterbacks to watch.
Although people will be watching these games on Saturday, in reality, the week of practice leading up to the game is more important than the game itself. There will be plenty of practice reports, and I have asked Nick and Trevor to keep an eye on those for reports in the coming days. In the meantime, SB Nation's Alfie Crow (proprietor of Big Cat Country) is at the Shrine game providing all sorts of reports and pictures. You can check out all sorts of Shrine Game reports in the SB Nation group page. Alfie is also uploading pictures from practice to his Flickr page.
Check all that out this week, as well as the videos above and below and we'll have plenty more later in the week.