Day One
Not a bad first day for the 49ers and greenhorn GM John Lynch‘s inaugural Draft. Lynch netted two defensive studs who should start immediately and provide needed improvement to the D-line pass rush (Solomon Thomas) and the ILB spot alongside NaVorro Bowman (Reuben Foster) that has been a glaring vacancy since Patrick Willis retired after the 2014 season.
We’ll assume for the nonce that Lynch won’t get the fat head and blow the rest of the draft. We’ll also assume that the dead last defense the Niners fielded in 2016 will be significantly improved this coming season. With three number one picks on the D-line now, how can it not improve? The only question is how much?
Day Two
After waiting through the entire second round, the 49ers finally took CB Ahkello Witherspoon with the second pick of round three. They had the third pick (from the Bears), but promptly traded it to the Saints for a second round pick next year.
The New Orleans fans might be scratching their heads more than we are, though. The Saints used the pick they got from the Niners to draft an RB. Nothing wrong with that, except they already had Mark Ingram and last week signed Adrian Peterson. RB was anything but a position of need.
Next year, we’ll no doubt be happy to have that extra second rounder, but this year, IMHO, it would have been nice to draft an extra third round player. Which Lynch did eventually, by trading back into the bottom of the third to draft QB C.J. Beathard out of Iowa, a guy not even mentioned on NJ49er’s draft list.
After all the wheeling and dealing, the Niners now have left for Saturday one 4th round pick, two fifths, two sixths, and a seventh.
Day Three
On the final day of the Draft, Lynch picked six guys who all played different positions — a RB, TE, WR, DT, LB, and CB. Nobody had a torn ACL to recover from and none of them had beaten a woman to a pulp.
Most observers, both local and national, seemed to look kindly on Lynch’s first draft. Of course, we won’t know for a year or two just how many of these ten total picks can play in the NFL. But for now, I suppose we can just applaud our new team and hope for the best.
ILB alongside Bo? Still living in the 3-4 days, maybe want to rephrase.
Here is a draft to crow about. Looks real good, both roster upgrades and next year’s draft. Have lost respect for HOU.
http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2017/4/28/15465314/recap-browns-take-de-myles-garrett-s-jabrill-peppers-te-david-njoku-in-1st-round
Great pickup, waiting for the drops on draft day. Follow their draft board and believe in it.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/reuben-foster?id=2557837
Armstead to move on? Too much invested in dline.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/solomon-thomas?id=2558018
Need to revisit articles like this. If Foster keeps his weight low for better speed, quickness, agility can he be our fit for a much improved Kam Chancellor as SS.
http://www.ninersnation.com/2017/4/2/15152994/the-future-of-the-49ers-defense-part-1-saleh-s-influences-studying
Looks like the Saints got aced out of Mahomes by the Chiefs and Foster by the Niners.
Lombardi: “Niners TE Vance McDonald is available for trade, even though he just signed an extension last Dec. New coach, changes happen.”
Take CB Witherspoon Colorado
Trade next 3rd rd pick with Aints and get their second round pick in 2018
I have feeling we just did that trade to buffer what we did last night. We gave them a real low 3rd round pick and in all likelihood we will have to wait a year to move up 15 spots or so. But hopefully NO will self destruct and make it worth our while.
Do not be a homer. What is Foster’s 40 time. 4.72? Is he really Patrick Willis like. Witherspoon is scrawny for a press corner. So we may have as starters Robinson and Witherspoon. Both scrawny.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/ahkello-witherspoon?id=2558157
Who’s got it better than us. CLE, JAX, TENN …
5 picks in first 3 rounds next year. Sound familiar. This can be us next year. New O and D need to be taught. Coaching staff needs to know what we have first.
The one thing fans will no doubt remember about Day 2 of the Cleveland Browns’ 2017 NFL Draft? They drafted their next attempt at a “quarterback of the future.” After an impressive Day 1 haul of three first-rounders, here are the two players the Browns landed on Day 2:
No. 52 – QB DeShone Kizer (View Report)
No. 65 – DT Larry Ogunjobi (View Report)
http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2017/4/28/15481392/recap-browns-take-qb-deshone-kizer-dt-larry-ogunjobi-on-day-2-of-nfl-draft
Niners should look into signing TE Gary Bary Barnidge who is a very productive TE.
They would have first shot at him on the waiver wire as the second worst team.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/browns-release-veteran-tight-end-gary-barnidge-183621659–nfl.html
It will come to pass that Ruben Foster will be the steal of the draft at pick 31. On tape he looks like a missile and plenty fast enough. What’s not to like?
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/sports/20170428/nfl-draft-foster-becomes-a-49er-with-help-from-call-waiting
Quantify. Guess he was injured so combine data not available. How fast is he. Is that 4.72 fake news.
Will D use him like a SS a good amount of the time. He seems to be a much better Kam Chancellor and that would be his best use, not a MLB?
Barrows explains the Niners first round and how everything happened
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article147372694.html
Still would like to see Niners draft slot receiver Ryan Switzer and TE George Kittle
Drafting QB Beathard in 3rd round was a supeise but he has the makeup to run Shanahan’s offense.
Analysis of CJ Beathard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOdP1Nwigvs
“Denver trading RB Kapri Bubs and 5th-round pick to SF for 49ers 4th-round pick in 2018.”
He carried 29 times for 129 yards last season.
Curious they made the trade and just picked Joe Williams RB out of Utah
Damn Joe Williams gets yards ion big chunks. Looks like a very good pick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnkQQhISL1Y
Holding out for Aviante Collins now.
OG/C IMO.
Gotta like the new Colts’ GM “The Colts let an orangutan make a draft pick, and it did a good job.”
Niners just took the guy I wanted TE George Kittle from Iowa.
Williams has “character issues” or he would have gone higher. He’ll either be a steal or a head case.
John Lynch is having an excellent draft. Shades of Walsh. Trading, moving back to acquire picks, drafting defensive players first and offensive players second. Solomon Thomas is an excellent pick – his long arms remind me of JJ Watt. So far, Lynch knows what he’s doing.
Well done. But I’m supremely confident Jed York will phuck it all up.
Caveats on Foster.
Lost weight from 240 to 228. 228 is his natural playing weight. Even if bigger in offseason that weight will be lost in season. Willis was a natural 6’1″ 240 lb.
Why do you want an ILB/MLB with that weight. A liability in stopping the run. With his athleticism, burst and adequate 40 speed he seems like a great in the box SS. A perennial all-pro at SS.
Check the schemes they play him in. Screams in the box SS. Let bigger LB’s handle that position for us. Coverage LB over the middle and SS on base downs.
Niners just took the fourth player they’ve drafted out of Louisiana Tech. Previous 3 were Tim Rattay, Quinton Patton and Jeff Driskell.
Wanted to take Ryan Switzer as a slot reciver but this guy Trent Taylor might do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBng1pBKQf0
Oline has not been addressed. Wonder if next pick will address that need.
we didn’t draft him but Fred Dean was from Louisiana Tech also.
If you think Foster is a liability in stopping the run you haven’t been paying attention That is his specialty, making tackles and that is what LBs do. He’s be wasted in the secondary
as the offensive player would already be 5 plus yards downfield.
He’s an attack LB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9jHvfASsHs
Nest picks are dlinemen
DJ JOnes DT Ole Miss and Pita Taumoepenu are paicked. Does not dode well for Tank Carradine, Aaron Lynch or Eli Harold.
Maiocco said Lynch was overweight and didn’t show any effort last season. Shows flashes but his inconsistent play might cost him his spot on the team. Same for Carradine and Harold. Have to start playing up to their draft status.
DC’s can generate mismatches with a Foster that can fool QB’s making reads, is he SS or LB on this play?
Kam Chancellor is slow compared to Foster. He helped make the Legion of Boom.
Highlight reels of undersized college players has ZERO meaning now. NFL OG, TE, and RB have the upper hand with small LB’s.
His best fit is Kam 2.0 and there were analysts who said Kam’s slowness would find him losing his marginal speed and forced to retire in 5 years.
Niners choose their final pick DB Adrian Colbert out of Miami
Room to sign 7 undrafted players. Finding 3 keepers among the 7 would be huge.
All in all it feels like a good draft. It’s a start.
We must have some OL prospects in that 7. This is the first draft that I can remember not taking an offensive lineman.
First UFA signed is Darrell Williams OT Western Kentucky
Souther Miss QB Nick Mullens is joining the Niners as a FA. That gives them 4 QBs on roster
Colorado LV Jimmie Gilbert, OT Erik Magnuson
Michigan and Matt Breida RB Georgia Southern are signing on with SF
Two more signing on
Jon Toth, C, Kentucky and
Kendrick Bourne, WR, Eastern Washington
4 more
KD Cannon WR Baylor, JP Flynn OL Montana ST,Victor Bolden WR Ore St, and Lorenzo Jerome S St Francis PA
Ravens grabbed my QB Zach Terrell as an UDFA.
But, after TN stole Corey Davis, I simply don’t care anymore.
I hate TN for grabbing TE Jonnu Smith as well.
I compared him favorably to Delanie, guess they did also.
Bastards…..
Aviante Collins goes UDFA to MN.
Thought he’d have been on our radar?
Obviously, not.
They did snag one of my conversion guys as an UDFA.
Jimmie Gilbert OLB to DE Colorado 6’5″/230 (127 TKLs/20 Sacks/3 PBUs) (http://tinyurl.com/m5rloxc)
Tall and lanky. Hard to figure if he’s an OLB or, a DE that needs more meat on his bones?
He did manage 20 Sacks in 50 games and has 4.6 speed.
See how it goes….
Here’s what’s being reported at the moment –
San Francisco 49ers
KD Cannon, WR, Baylor
JP Flynn, OL, Montana State
Jimmie Gilbert, LB, Colorado
Cole Hikutini, TE, Louisville
Lorenzo Jerome, S, Saint Francis
Erik Magnuson, OT, Michigan
Nick Mullens, QB, Southern Miss
Darrell Williams, OT, Western Kentucky
S Lo Jerome isn’t a bad guy to bring in either.
Short and relatively slow IMO (5-10.5/204/4.7) but, he’s managed to produce some good stats.
42 Games/252 TKLs/ 29 PBUs/ 18 INTs
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/lorenzo-jerome?id=2558206
So far so good.
Seems like John Lynch is a good fit as the new GM
Has the draft capital with 5 picks in the first 3 rounds to go after any difference maker including a QB they might covet.
Gotta think Cousins would still be on the radar as a FA next year Bullit?
Gotta admit I never saw CJ Beathard coming.
Did think about Peterman, though I eliminated him due to arm strength concerns.
You should be happy with Kittle. I did have him on my radar and opted for Engram in the end.
Both guys are about the same size. Thought about Jonnu Smith as a possible FB conversion too.
We’ll see how it goes from here.
I do think we lost someone they wanted that didn’t make it to us at the top of RD3.
Dealing out of B2B Picks seemed somewhat odd?
Guessing it could have been Josh Jones/Taylor Moton?
Jones to GB at 61/Moton to Carolina at 64.
See if it ever gets explained…
All things considered, not a bad Draft for a new regime.
I’m thinking it was Jones, only because they grabbed Witherspoon at 66.
Similar builds but, Jones (IMO) was the better candidate.
I think Witherspoon is fine in coverage, not so hot as a tackler.
Both guys can cover some ground however. Perhaps they’re thinking Witherspoon as a FS?
We’ll see…..
This UDFA could be in the mix for PR/KR assignment?
Little dude with some speed at least.
http://tinyurl.com/mby85xg
Some additional background on Bolden –
http://tinyurl.com/l3xmxhw
NJ, great observation on Witherspoon as FS. For press CB what about getting Donte Johnson on the field.
For this year job 1 is determing D personnel, scheme, adjustments game with OC’s, etc. Concentrating on front 7 which has the most FA and draft capital spent on it.
Lynch just following the draft strategy of CLE.
That’s not how it works. The Will plays over the left guard, which is in the middle of the field. In this defense, they’re both hook/curl defenders, which again is in the middle. Just think about it as a 3-4 when we had Bowman and Willis.
[ Edited by Heroism on Apr 27, 2017 at 9:05 PM ]
Bow will be the MIKE. Responsibilities are similar in this defense between MIKE and WILL, but MIKE is your leader and communicator. I like Bow at MIKE, and Foster at WILL
“49ers have 6 roster spots. There are 15 reported UDFA signings. Some might be tryouts, but SF must make some cuts.”
Oh boy. Pink slips coming!
Bills fired their entire front office, the GM and entire scouting dept this morning. So the owner wasn’t happy with the draft?
Baalke can get his resume to them and ruin them further
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/04/30/bills-fire-entire-scouting-staff-along-with-doug-whaley/
Forgotten man is Will Redmond the injured CB.
Projected as a late first rounder last year, if he’s recovered he could be a starter.
Redmond is a slot corner. We hurt at outside CB. Multi-year rebuild for sure.
Where do you get your info that Redmond is just a slot corner?
The scouting reports all seem to say otherwise
http://www.ninersnation.com/2016/4/6/11351270/2016-nfl-draft-will-redmond-prospect-profile
http://draftwire.usatoday.com/2016/02/29/2016-nfl-draft-scouting-report-mississippi-state-cb-will-redmond/
This is great – Hope he makes the most of the opportunity 😀
http://tinyurl.com/lv9a85b
Looks like he’s done some KR duties as well –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugsLn3S1jvI
Want to know what happened in the first round in the Niners John McVay War Room.
Peter King and MMQB had full access and this article takes you inside.
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/05/01/san-francisco-49ers-nfl-draft-room-bears-trade-reuben-foster-peter-king#
“49ers have signed FA center Tim Barnes.”
“With two more veteran additions and at least 26 49ers rookies coming in, a lot of guys are going to get bad news.”
The Turk cometh early, and often, following a regime change Skeebs.
Just like the first year od Pete Carrol in SEA. Hyper-competiton and personnel churn of the roster. Give 110% or else, everyone.
Courtesy of Niner Nation
“The South Point hotel released this round of win totals. They have the 49ers installed at 4.5 wins. For the rest of the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks are installed at 10.5, the Arizona Cardinals are at 7.5, and the Los Angeles Rams are at 5.5.
A year ago, the 49ers opened at 5 wins following the hiring of Chip Kelly”
Good maiden voyage for Lynch & Co –
http://tinyurl.com/m92oej5
Walking papers list:
Alex Balducci
Marcus Ball
Carl Bradford
Jayson DiManche
Je’Ron Hamm
Chris Harper
Wynton McManis
Brock Miller
Zach Moore
Mike Purcell
Eric Rogers
JaCorey Shepherd
Shayne Skov
“Blaine Gabbert in talks with Cardinals.”
So Eric Rogers never got on the field for the Niners.
Releasing him means Lynch/Shanahan didn’t think he had much to offer. Wouldn’t even give him a chance to make it to training camp.
He was supposed to be the great new hope at receiver last season.
I didn’t know that some of those guys were even on the team. I did think that Hamm was gonna make it though. I guess if he does it will be somewhere else.
ARI did not draft a QB. Good luck BG.
No interest in Kap yet.
Bullit ERogers was one of Chip’s guys.
As will always be the case with WRs, they’re only as good as the QB tasked with putting the ball in their hands.
Always liked Joe but, I felt he got a whole lot better when Jerry came to town.
Starts and ends with the QB in this game.
When he can make the plays, everyone else benefits.
Wow. Now Solomon Thomas is being touted as an edge rusher on base downs. So we have interior pass rushing lineman. Earl Mitchell is the sole starter that is stout against the run. Contrast us with the CLE draft and FA pickups. We are a top 5 pick next year.
“Ahmad Brooks is 33 years old and isn’t a player opposing offenses worry about. Aaron Lynch can’t seem to put it all together and reportedly showed up to camp significantly overweight again—he may not even be on the roster opening day. ”
http://www.ninersnation.com/2017/5/3/15509880/49ers-2017-draft-results-john-lynch-kyle-shanahan-solomon-thomas-reuben-foster-joe-williams
Also in the above link was this. Lynch obviously lighting the fire to up Vance performance. His hands are adequate now that Kap is not drilling short passes here.
“Kittle, meanwhile, joins a crowded tight end stable. John Lynch admitted the team wanted to trade Vance McDonald but couldn’t find a dance partner. Apparently no one was in the market for an underachieving tight end with stone hands and fumble problems. As detailed in a piece Mark Saltveit wrote back in February, tight ends play a crucial role in Shanahan’s offense. He uses more three-TE sets than any other coach in the league, so the stiff competition will bring out the best in this group”
Have the Homer’s exhausted their Reuben Foster euphoria yet.
Why did he drop. Everyone hopes his shoulder is OK. We seem more optimistic than other teams medical staffs.
Solomon Thomas is not a franchise player. Overdrafted. Versatile yes but not a DT or DE standout.
Best parts of draft. 2018 2nd and 3rd manufactured from nothing, thank you CHI. Need Foster fully healthy. Maybe Joe Williams, see how he fares against NFL D’s.
Let coaching staff digest what we have, teach and formulate for 2018 draft. We will make as big a jump next year as CLE will do this year.
So we play the AFC South on our schedule this year. Complaints we made against me touting some other teams on an SF blog.
Good drafts pay dividends. Proof is JAX and TENN in December. Too bad we aren’t playing CLE this year. Both teams patching up issues from drafts of recent years.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft/teams/_/name/jax/jacksonville-jaguars
http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft/teams/_/name/ten/tennessee-titans
Good stuff
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/05/03/san-francisco-49ers-nfl-draft-room-mailbag
York makes comments about Jim Harbaugh and almost acknowledges
he erred when taking Baalke’s side praising Harbaugh for lifting the Niners to Super Bowl contender.
http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Dinner-date-49ers-Jed-York-extends-olive-11118277.php
“49ers are releasing RB Mike Davis.”
No surprise there. Complete dud.
http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/adam-schefter-says-reuben-fosters-shoulder-give-hit/
Are shoulder pads standard in the NFL. Can he get one that can distribute hits better? Just remember the Bills and Shaq Lawson.
Foster makes or breaks our draft. Is Will the only position for him. SS make sense and scheme the D to get the most out of a non-Will Foster.
I need to read this later. Maybe some good medical comments.
“59 players added since the hirings of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan.”
“The 49ers announce the signings of six draft picks:
Adrian Colbert
D.J. Jones
George Kittle
Pita Taumoepenu
Trent Taylor
Joe Williams”
Wow. That was quick.
Whether these guys have success or not remains to be seen, but they clearly have a plan and have confidence in that plan, and are moving forward. It’s a good look, for now at least.
Now, if they can just arrange to keep Jed tied up and gagged at an undisclosed location…
Grumpy
Very true. Last year it just seemed they were flailing away and losing 14 games. What pissed me off was the unwillingness to make changes. Clearly they needed to give Ponder a couple of games to show what he could do. Instead of running Torrey Smith out to do nothing I wanted to see what guys like Smelter could do. Some younger guys never got a chance when clearly you try things in a lost season.
Jarryd Hayne could have at least made thing interesting but they let him go too.
Not really sure what the point was to play guys like Kap every week when they could have been seeing what other QBs could do.
The Browns will most certainly cut QB Kevin Hogan because they have Kessler, Ostweiler and Kizer, so maybe they keep their eye on picking him up if waived.
Very good and future reference:
Offense:
http://www.ninersnation.com/2017/5/5/15560558/reading-between-the-lines-what-the-new-regime-is-trying-to-build-part
Defense:
http://www.ninersnation.com/2017/5/5/15561528/reading-between-the-lines-what-the-new-regime-is-trying-to-build-part
Numbers have been assigned to the rookies
QB C.J. Beathard: 3
RB Joe Williams: 33 (currently the same as CB Rashard Robinson)
CB Ahkello Witherspoon: 41
SS Malik Golden: 46 (white)
TE Cole Hikutini: 46 (red)
DB Adrian Colbert: 47
FS Lorenzo Jerome: 48
DE Pita Taumoepenu: 49 (white)
RB Matt Breida: 49 (red)
LB Reuben Foster: 56
NT D.J. Jones: 66
WR Trent Taylor: 81
WR KD Cannon: 83
TE George Kittle: 85
DE Solomon Thomas: 96
Report of first day of rookie mini camp
http://www.ninersnation.com/2017/5/6/15565812/49ers-rookie-minicamp-recap-cj-beathard-solomon-thomas-reuben-foster
Reports are Aaron Lynch is at least 20 lbs overweight and on the bubble of being unemployed soon.
Had a good rookie year and there has just bee something off about Lynch including his suspension for PEDs.
It is amazing how some players take everything for granted. They are living the dream but seem to piss it all away. Well, good riddance, maybe he will find work elsewhere.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/49ers-have-post-draft-front-office-shakeup/ar-BBAQ9MK?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
Answering the Redmond position at CB are just comments like this. His smaller size, quickness, speed seems to move him to slot.
http://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2017/05/05/niners-wire-twitter-mailbag-49ers-post-nfl-draft-edition/2/
Very good NN mailbag. A missing item was lack of a LEO. Lynch on the hot seat. We took interior rush with Thomas. Blitzing Foster opens up the middle for able QB’s.
http://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2017/05/05/niners-wire-twitter-mailbag-49ers-post-nfl-draft-edition/7/
I don’t know if he’s flying under the radar, but I think safety Lorenzo Jerome is going to make the team. The 49ers don’t have a viable free safety to play the center field role behind Jimmie Ward, who’s missed considerable time during his first three seasons with various injuries.
Jerome, who was rated by ESPN’s Todd McShay as the best player to go undrafted, likely saw that and realized his best shot at playing time would come with San Francisco. So he signed with Hall of Fame candidate John Lynch.
Ward is coming off a broken collar bone and will increase his injury risk now that he’s moving to safety after playing cornerback his first three seasons. Jerome had 18 interceptions during his four seasons at St. Francis, and even intercepted Beathard during his first rookie minicamp practice Friday.
Lorenzo Jerome: Similar to Breida, this will be a pretty simple situation for him. It’s a yes or no thing. Does he have the read and react skills he showed on tape and at the Senior Bowl to make up for his lack of speed? If the answer is yes, he sticks. We need all the FS help we can get. If the answer is no, he will be among the first cuts
Niners release WR KD Cannon who they gave a $45K bonus
He did something wrong or it was attitude. Anyway he’s gone.
In a demented sort of way, I find pleasure seeing Jed lose some money every now and again 😀
New post is up.