This Week in Niners Nation: Post-draft Edition (5/3)

What a few weeks it's been since we last spoke. With all the draft capital the team had going in, big things were expected of general manager Trent Baalke and he did not disappoint. He made some deals, he got some steals. We got another pick for the highly-anticipated 2014 draft class. We filled all of our major holes. We got some developmental talent and some instant contributors. Analysts and myself agree...what a draft!

There is a lot of stuff to cover, seeing as we skipped last week's edition to focus on draft coverage. I'll dive right in.

Eric Reid - What a Cute Kid

Our first round pick was a safety. That was not a surprise. It was a mild shock that the team traded up to No. 18 for Eric Reid, though. He was a player that many mocks had us taking at No. 31. Could we have got him then? Maybe. But Baalke and Harbaugh had the guy they liked in their sights, made the move without giving up much to do it, and we have our replacement for Dashon Goldson.

Fooch starts us off with the announcement, some scouting report and a few videos. | Checking out the 49ers first round draft pick

Malone, that's me, gives you Twitter's reaction to the Eric Reid selection. It was generally favorable. | Twitter reacts to the Eric Reid selection (Malone)

While Tre9er's article is about more than just the Reid selection, it is inspired by it. It's about life, love, tradition and Eric Reid. | 49ers annual draft tradition: Hate the pick, gradually talk yourself into it (Tre9er)

Steve Busichio looks at the inevitable, if unfair, comparison that will dog Reid for the next few years. Can he replace Dashon Goldson? How do the two measure up? | Is Eric Reid "Dashon Goldson 2.0"? (Busichio)

SoCaliSteph looks at Eric Reid's previous quad tear, how he handled the situation and what that tells us about the man. Oh, off topic, but, did you know he had a 4.6 gpa in high school. I had a .6 one semester. How'd he get the extra 4 points...I failed math. | Eric Reid: Previous college quad tear shows potential NFL durability (SoCaliSteph)

More info on our top pick, Mr Reid. Steve gives us a peak into the off the field life of the young safety. | 49ers draft picks beyond the gridiron: Eric Reid (Busichio)

Tank Carradine

Cornelius "Tank" Carradine was tabbed by many to go in the first round. Some had him going in the late teens and some thought we might actually be targeting him when the trade up to No. 18 was announced. We selected Eric Reid, then watched as Carradine plummeted to us in the second round. His ACL injury must have been a concern to many of the teams who chose to let him pass on by.

SoCaliSteph has a piece on Carradine's recovery, but it's also a great look at the ACL, a tear of it, how they repair one and what it means to the player. | Tank Carradine on his ACL injury: "I'm over it" (SoCaliSteph)

Nick Chiamardas gives us the lowdown on Tank Carradine. He figures to be a big part of our future, while hopefully spelling both Justin Smith and Ray McDonald in the short term. Anyone who can get pressure on the QB and doesn't have 'Smith' on the back of his jersey will be a welcomed addition. | A closer look at Tank Carradine (Chiamardas)

Marcus Lattimore - Future Stud

Marcus Lattimore, if he hadn't suffered his horrific injury, could have been considered the best running back in the draft. He had all the tools to be a first round pick. We had picks to burn and didn't need a player to make the roster from his draft slot, so we rolled the dice. Many people had us taking him before the draft and many people praised the selection afterwards. Sounds like a match made in heaven.

What does the pick mean for the 49ers roster. The long-term impact is still up for debate, but might a current running back lose a spot to young Lattimore? | Marcus Lattimore's arrival could signal end of Anthony Dixon as a 49er (Brady)

Continuing on the SoCaliSteph injury theme, she takes a look at Mr Lattimore and his recovery from a devastating knee injury that knocked him down the draft boards. Eveyone's loss is our gain. With the team willing to pay for a year of rehab, if and when he returns to full strength will be a success for all involved. | 49ers willing to aid Marcus Lattimore in inspirational comeback (SoCaliSteph)

General Draftiness

The overall work in the draft was a thing of beauty. Trent Baalke has worked magic, once again, all across the board. His two big 'steals', Quinton Patton and Corey Lemonier may be talked about for years to come. They're grades going into the draft had them going higher than when we selected them, with Patton being placed in the second round by many. Add in Marcus Lattimore, and his long-term potential, and we should be praising this draft in three years.

Baalke discusses the draft after the first two days. He has a lot to say about Cornelius Carradine, who you may know as Tank. | Trent Baalke puts on quite the display (Fooch)

Anthony Ly is back! You remember him from the 'Booth Review'? He's funny, coined the nickname Droptimus Prime for Delanie Walker and has more spare time now. | 2013 Draft review: 49ers bolster depth, prepare for the future (Ly)

Trevor Woods and myself held our weekly Twitter Q&A. Lots of draft questions. Lots of discussion in the followup mailbag post. Lots of fun! | #Channel49 Twitter Q&A Vol. 7: NFL Draft edition (Woods & Malone)

By the end of the 2012 campaign, our defensive line and pass rush were running on vapors. It clearly cost us in the postseason. With one of the best DL coaches in the world, it made since to stock up on young talent, for 2013 and beyond. | 49ers' Jim Tomsula gets what he wants (Brady)

One area I thought the 49ers would make a selection for before they did was offensive line. None of our backups have experience and we didn't have a swing tackle. The front office felt we were fine, electing to take some late help. | 49ers were able to watch run of offensive linemen in draft with no worries (Brady)

League Wide Review

We can't simply look at the draft from a 49ers perspective. Well, we can and frequently do look at things through a strictly Niners lens. We've got plenty of articles analyzing how our competition fared. Some killed it, some sucked. It was good to watch the Cowboys continue to confound.

Trevor Woods has his Winners and Losers for each day. We'll start with Day One for no other reason than you'd be an absolute idiot to start with Day Three! 49ers, Vikings and Rams make the good list. Cowboys top the bad boys list. | Round one winners and losers (Woods)

Day Two sees the 49ers make the list, once again. If you think a 49ers website with a pro-49ers writer tabbing the 49ers as having a great draft sounds like homerism, then that's a very astute observation. But c'mon...it was great! | Day Two winners and losers (Woods)

Do we deserve to be on the Day Three list of winners? Does Quinton Patton and Marcus Lattimore sound good to you? Who joins us on the wall of fame? | Day Three winners and losers (Woods)

Now for a look at Niners Nation's draft grades for all 32 teams. Both Trevor and Nick Chiamardas give out grades. Nick did plenty of work on the draft, but most of it was in the 'looking forward' vein, making it hard to fit into a 'looking back at' sort of post. Sorry Nick. | NFL Draft grades: 49ers, Rams, Steelers at top of the class (Woods & Chiamardas)

Wes Hanson takes a gander at what our divisional competition did. Many have stated that our division had the best draft. Most everyone agrees our division is the best in the league. | 2013 NFL Draft analysis: NFC West (Hanson)

Football University

Tre is taking you to school...football school. Better read up if you're ignorant like me. | Football University: 49ers base defensive front (Tre9er)

FanPosts

Brother Girth starts things off with a reexamining of the 49ers roster after the draft and looking at who might be casualties based on who we drafted. Great work. | Cap and roster casualties? (Brother Girth)

Rafael777 gives us some of what the 'experts' thought of the teams recent draft haul. | 49ers draft grades: From the 'other' guys (Rafael777)

Now, usually I put the winner at the top...but I wanted to save the best for last. Here is a look at what the experts said about the 2010 draft class when the picks were still hot in the Commish's hand. Funnily, there are some quotes from some of the users and writers about their thoughts on the draft. Remember what you had to say? Taylor Mays, anyone? | The 3 year draft report card: 2010 edition (TryAndCatchVD)

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