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Niners Nation #Channel49 Twitter Q&A Mailbag Vol. 5: Jonathan Goodwin's replacement, Colin Kaepernick's stats & more

Every Friday at 2 p.m. Trevor Woods and I hold a Twitter Q&A session. People use the hashtag to offer questions and we answer the heck out of them. It's fast, furious and fun and it makes my head spin. Here is the mailbag post of the expanded answers.

By Aaron Malone
Coach Harbaugh informs Jonathan Goodwin that he's too skinny. "See," says Leonard Davis.
Coach Harbaugh informs Jonathan Goodwin that he's too skinny. "See," says Leonard Davis.
Chris Graythen

By now you know what we're doing. You know when and you know how. If you're not there ... I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you're at work. Maybe you have a life. These types of things show me that you're probably not the kind of support we're looking for. We're looking for people who eat, breath and tweet #49ers. See what's happened to my brain, I can barely write those five sweetest characters without hashtagging it. A clear sign of Twitter-induced brain damage.

And, even if you don't tweet, I hope you're enjoying the mailbag post and the debate it can induce. Stats have shown me that we all suffer from lack of Niners content which is where the site comes in. It's where Trevor Woods and I come in. Filling your day and brain with that content. I hope you enjoy.

Trevor Woods - Draftspert

I would like to see Florida International safety Jonathan Cyprien starting week one at safety for the 49ers. Cyprien has been ascending up on draft boards for a reason; He has some tremendous skills and upside. Although this is a deep safety class, it may be in the 49ers best interest to draft one early on and get that need out of the way. While a lot of the safeties in the class could be fine NFL players, most lack coverage skills and are better at defending the run. Cyprien was all over the field last season, registering 94 tackles and 4 interceptions. Cyprien does have some weaknesses, but these can be improved upon and are fixable. Check out his prospect profile here.

Absolutely great question. This is something that doesn't get talked about enough. At thirty-four years old, Jonathan Goodwin will not be part of the 49ers long term plan at Center; They will need to find his successor this offseason. The Niners may already have their center of the future on the roster in Daniel Kilgore or Joe Looney. I think both players will get a fair shake at competing with Goodwin for the starting job this offseason. Coach Harbaugh does not guarantee job security, that is decided through competition in practice. And as Jason Hurley has reported, Goodwin could become a cap casualty. Goodwin's cap figure is north of five million dollars and the 49ers would only be on the hook for $666,667 if they decided to cut him. A Center could be picked up in the draft also. Alabama's Barrett Jones and USC's Khaled Holmes could be options in the third round. Both Centers have the ability to be starters in the NFL and played against top tier competition in their conferences.

The steal Andy is speaking of is his former Nevada teammate Colin Kaepernick. Williams should be a fourth or fifth round selection in the draft, and I don't think the 49ers will wait that long to find their starting safety. Williams did put up some impressive stats, notching 100 tackles, but lacks a lot of key safety skills. Although he is a hard hitter, Williams gets lost in coverage all too often and does not possess good awareness at the position. Is he worth a flier? Possibly, but he would be a project to undertake, not a player that could start from day one.

The position that could make the biggest impact would be safety. The fact that the safety drafted will more than likely be starting gives that position a big edge to create an "impact". The second choice to make an immediate impact is tight end. The No. 2 tight end in the 49ers offense is very important and sees the field a lot, which leads to opportunities to contribute. If Kaepernick and a rookie tight end create a rapport, watch out. It could lead to even more fireworks on offense for the 49ers. I have a feeling Coach Harbaugh is going to find the 49ers a heck of a No. 2 tight end in the draft.

Aaron Malone - Sports Nerd

This is a common question this time of the year. There is the famous draft chart developed by Jimmy Johnson during his days with the Dallas Cowboys. It assigns a value to each pick. Under this chart, the 49ers could, conceivably package those two picks for the 13th pick, assuming that team is a willing partner.

A funny thing happened a few years ago. A team of sports analysts from the nerd academy we call Harvard developed a new chart. The old chart arbitrarily assigned values to draft picks based on Coach Johnson's whims. The new chart has used advanced nerdery to assign new values to the picks. It's been known for years that Johnson's chart overvalued the top picks while undervaluing mid and late-round picks.

Harvard's chart, the old chart and an explanation that I can't understand

Under the new chart, the 49ers could package the two picks for the 4th overall pick. Now that goes against everything you've ever thought about the draft and pick values. Could we get the 4th overall pick? Probably not. You can't even get Carson Palmer for that. Again, you need a partner and not every GM has the same values, nor do two later picks have the same 'wow' factor. Oh, and for the first part of your questions, keep both picks and take a safety and defensive lineman.

Most teams don't have four starting-quality cornerbacks on their roster because they can't afford it. Our cornerbacks' salaries are relatively reasonable. Yes, Carlos Rogers is overpaid at $7.3 million, following his regression in form in 2012. But, look at the rest of the 'Big Four'. Tarell Brown is set to make $3.9 million and is in a contract year. If he wants to get rich, he should play above and beyond that figure. Nnamdi Asomugha is scheduled to make $1.7 million while Chris Culliver is still on his rookie contract and will make $700k. Add it all up and that's $13.7 million, or a little less than what someone will pay Darrelle Revis in 2014.

Unless Carlos Rogers gets cut or restructured, or Nnamdi has seriously lost 'it', I'd expect all of the 'Four Horsemen of the Tupacalypse,' as I'll hereby refer to them, to see significant playing time in 2013. Perrish Cox and Tramaine Brock may be the odd man out. Read Nick Chiamardas' article on the position group for more info.

The 49ers schedule is not that difficult next year. Take a look at their opponents. It does not strike fear. We have the following teams at home: ATL, CAR, HOU, IND, GB, ARI, SEA, STL. On the road we have: NO, TB, JAX (in London), TEN, WAS, AZ, SEA, STL.

Of the entire schedule, the only game that we'd be the underdog in at this point is on the road against the Seahawks. Carolina, Indianapolis, Tampa, Tennessee and Washington are all expected to be improving, while Houston, Green Bay, Seattle and even New Orleans have title aspirations. I think 13-3 is an optimistic, yet realistic, possibility and Trevor replied the same without us even coordinating. With our more difficult games at home, if things go well, we could see a lot of wins. Or we could lose twice to the Rams.

As for stats, I've previously said Colin Kaepernick will throw for 3,200 and 24 TDs while running for 1,200 and 12 TDs. Receivers are difficult to gauge, but I want to see 1,000 yards out of Vernon Davis to go with at least eight TDs. Michael Crabtree should continue his play from the end of last year and surpass those numbers I've put forth for Davis.

Oh, and we're winning the Super Bowl!

Lawrence Okoye, for any of you who don't know, is a British Olympian who holds the record for discus throw in his home country. He's expressed his interest in playing 'American Football' and took part in the Super Regional Combine. His size, speed and strength are incredible and his confidence is not lacking. One tiny downside is that he's never played a down of football in his life. Intriguing.

Are the 49ers interested? The team hosted him last week. How long will it be before he's game-ready is unknown and probably incalculable. He's projected as a defensive end and he'd be under the tutelage of Coach Jim Tomsula, one of the best in the league. With all the picks we have toward the end of the draft, there's no reason to think the team won't do some unorthodox things with some of them and this would fit the bill. With Okoye, Margus Hunt and Jesse Williams all garnering significant attention, it's great to see our favorite game, traditionally unable to spread its global appeal, finally begin to blossom overseas.

Being a Sheep

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