FanPost

Why Malik Hooker makes no sense at No. 2

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Fooch's note: Intriguing angle on this I thought was worth a bump.

Ohio State S, Malik Hooker seems to be a very popular pick for 49er fans. The love fest seems to grow with each passing day. I have to admit, i really can't see why. I mean, i get the big play highlights, the instincts that you "can't teach" and the "he is an athlete" arguments. Even with all of those, Malik Hooker to the 49ers at No.2 still makes no sense. The reason, John Lynch is the GM. It's that simple to me.

Why would John Lynch draft Malik Hooker at No.2, or even draft him in the first round? It comes down to the fact that Malik Hooker is a bad tackler. He is actually really bad. That is no small flaw when your GM is a borderline Hall of Famer who made his name as a safety who hit hard and tackled well. I can't see a guy like John Lynch with that football mindset who knows he has a lot of needs to fill putting that kind of draft capital into a guy who is basically useless if the runner starts going downhill. With all of the other needs on this team, i can't see him putting his first pick into a guy to play as the last man on his defense who is more likely to be dragged a few yards after the receiver makes a catch than he is to even have a shot at a clean stop. With all the comparisons to Ed Reed people seem to forget that Reed could make tackles. He was no Polamalu or Lott, but he wasn't Deion Sanders.

Hooker's ball skills are not much use if teams can just throw underneath every time and dare him to make a tackle. You think someone like Brady, Rodgers, or Matt Ryan are going to test him deep and let him use his ball skills if they can just hit Cooks, Cobb, or Gabriel on the run underneath knowing that Hooker probably can't make the stop? A big part of playing the single high safety role in this scheme is being able to come up and make a tackle if a ball carrier gets loose. On this Hooker is among the weakest safeties in the draft. Lynch knows this, and with the talent so deep he can get better value in later rounds. Or draft Adams from LSU.

If you think I'm nuts please explain why in the comments.

(EDIT: i've never tried to make a gif much less insert it. But this link should work) This is just one example of Hooker planting his feet and whiffing rather than running up to make a stop. He does this a lot.

malik-hooker-ohio-state-vs-clemson-2016-WnAw0n.0.html

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