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All of the SB Nation sites have an archive page that contains every article ever produced on the site. It can be fun to look back on the archives and see where we were off on certain ideas, but it's also just entertaining seeing how the site has developed over the years.
Earlier today, I was poking around the Niners Nation archive, looking at some stuff from this time last year. A year ago today we were less than a week away from the 2013 NFL Draft, and the rumors were flying fast and furious. On Sunday, April 21, 2013, we had a rumor that actually proved sort of true. It was not 100 percent spot on, but given how much crap is slung against the wall this time of year, credit to Jason Cole for probably coming as close as anybody on this.
A year ago, Cole reported an anonymous GM told him the 49ers were interested in moving up to No. 13 or 14 pick, and were hoping to find a defensive lineman who could eventually step in for Justin Smith. Here's the full rundown of Cole's 49ers specific report:
The 49ers are at No. 31 overall, have 13 draft picks, including two selections each in Rounds 2-5. It's believed by at least one GM that the Niners are interested in moving up to the 13th or 14th overall pick. There is no way that the 49ers can keep more than five or six new draft picks with the way the team is structured right now. Expect GM Trent Baalke to either trade up or trade out for picks in the future. The talk around the league is that the 49ers would like to get a defensive lineman who can eventually step in for veteran Justin Smith. The team also needs a safety, No. 2 tight end and could use an impact corner. All of that is possible.
The 49ers did not move up to No. 13 or 14, but they did move up to No. 18 to get Eric Reid. And they also worked their way around to eventually drafting Tank Carradine, trading down from No. 2 to No. 8 in the second round. I realize this is not exactly what Cole reported, but all things considered, I'd say he just about nailed it on this one.
It's hard to provide much context for what this kind of information as we look to this year. We could probably cull through all of Jason Cole's reports last year and find plenty that proved wrong when the draft came and went. But it's still interesting to look at things with the benefit of hindsight.