So much foreplay, so little roar.
As expected, the 49ers used the second pick in the 2019 Draft to select pass rusher Nick Bosa. On Day Two, they picked a small, quick WR (Deebo Samuel) and a big, tall WR (Jalen Hurd). The third day was all special teams, inactives, and practice squadders.
Ho-hum comes to mind.
The team now has a glut of D-linemen, WRs, and RBs. The LBs are passable, with decent depth. But the O-line is still weak and the secondary was historically awful last year. Neither group received any help in the draft.
Apparently, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan think that Bosa and offseason acquisition Dee Ford will enhance the pass rush so much that the secondary will be vastly improved this year as a result. They couldn’t be any worse, certainly, but it’s a stretch to think they’ll improve much beyond mediocre.
All in all, this is not a draft that will push the team into the SB conversation, nor is it a draft that will talked about reverently in the future. But it might be good enough to get the Niners into the playoff hunt, if Bosa and Ford live up to their hype and one of the WRs actually makes an impact.
Of course, the return of Jimmy Garoppolo might help, too.
Wow , easily my favorite pick has to be Mitch Wishnowsky !
Greenlaw, Shule and Harris are relatively obscure choices not listed in draft guides or lists. They could be what used to be called “sleepers” so we shall see.
Pats took punter Jake Bailey a round after Niners took Wishnowsky so Niners had apprehension that if they didn’t take another team would sneak in.
By the time the draft got here my brain was already desensitized with all the crap that surrounds it. Whether we did good or not only time will tell.
Amen, Winder. The more the NFL becomes a spectacle, the less it entertains as a sport.
Over 400,000 people attended the Draft in Nashville.
If they had it in the Bay Area it would be fun to attend as a football fan.
One good thing is it’s free.
Maiocco on OT draftee Skule
“The measurable skills and athleticism were not enough for Vanderbilt offensive lineman Justin Skule to earn one of the 337 combine invitations. But the 49ers had him ranked as one of the 184 players on their draft board.
According to Pro Football Focus, Skule was in pass protection for 473 snaps last season. He allowed only one sack the entire season, and that was against Kentucky’s Josh Allen, who led the nation with 17 sacks and was the No. 7 overall selection in the draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“It wasn’t always beautiful, pretty, but [he’s the] kind of a scrapper who at the end of the play was on his guy and won his leverage at a very high rate,” Lynch said. “And, so when you find those guys, you look at the level of competition. Well, his level of competition was as good as it gets in college football.”
Vanderbilt plays in the SEC. Skule will compete against veteran Shon Coleman for the job to serve as the backup to offensive tackles Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey”
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Could be a project like Trent Brown was a few years ago
After the euphoric hangover is gone, overall draft is underwhelming. Expected more, good high position in first 4 rounds.
Bosa put the icing on the cake for a successful DL makeover. Will be elite from day 1.
Basically had our pick of entire WR pool with Samuel pick and Hurd choice still had better alternative WRs. Shanahan puts top value on versatility. ARI got Isabella and Butler. Who got the better deal here. Do these two picks spell the end of the Juice experiment.
Shanahan got what he wanted. Have to trust him here. Do these receivers show KS does not want to rely on Jimmy G’s long ball?
Niners just cut the following from their roster
•WR Steven Dunbar Jr.
•DB Godwin Igwebuike
•CB Tarvarus McFadden
•LB James Onwualu
•WR Jordan Smallwood
•P Justin Vogel
•S Terrell Williams Jr.
You can bet Vogel saw that one coming.
Set to compete for playoffs this year. Jordan Matthews can be a WR1 for us. Injured 2017 and came back with Eagles last year. With a potential high octane passing attack this guy can reignite his career here.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Matthews
Above has his combine stats 6’3″ 212 with WR1 speed and hops.
Maybe NJ knows more, was in his backyard 2014-2016 and 2018. Reason for low output last year?
The biggest thing right now is Garropolo’s health and confidence level. If he plays like he did at the end of 2017, we’ll be capable of at least being in the conversation for a wild card. But that’s not a given. Also DCs will be looking hard at how to stop him. That was what wrecked Kaepernick, even before his kneeling drama. He stopped growing as a QB, and DCs figured out how to stop him. Jimmy G will find that to have success going forward will be a constant battle and work in progress.
Team still has enough holes to preclude a Super Bowl run this year IMHO.
I’m hoping the addition of Welker will provide some spark for the tempo with these WRs.
Seems like our WR Coaching has been just as lacking as our talent level.
Hurd is a project as a RB turned WR.
Over-Drafted IMO. We’ll see….
Not to worry though, our Training Staff is State-of-the-Art now.
Fresh from the NHL too. Hat Trick!
What’s next? Happy Gilmore?
“Hey, why don’t I just go eat some hay, make things out of clay, lay by the bay? I just may! What’d ya say?”
Hurd was a surprise and I too was a big fan of Hakeem Butler.
Hurd started at rb at Tennessee ahead of Kamara and gained 1200 yards.
He had another growth spurt and at 6’5″ outgrew the position as there are no tall RBs in the NFL above 6’2″ so he transferred and moved to WR and had success considering the change.
I see him as the big receiver or in a year or two putting on 15 lbs and becoming a “joker” TE.
In the coming season they might use him use him as the short yardage back when they need 2 yards.
Scouting report
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jalen-hurd?id=32194855-5208-0933-a42b-f137c6bf565f
Kaden Smith in 6th round was a good pick.
Some had him projected as a 2nd round pick.
Dropped because he ran a slow 40 at the combine.
If he is in between Zach Earst and Coby Fleener in production, the Niners got a steal.
I sorta thought Hurd might’ve been a TE conversion project until Smith was selected.
Hard to figure why both?
Not happy that a FS/CB wasn’t more of a priority TBH.
NJ
I think Shanahan favors multiple TE sets where he can sneak guys out. Smith was a value pick in 6th round.
No surprise:
“A power struggle could be coming with (John) Lynch and chief deputy Adam Peters on the outs, and (Kyle) Shanahan looking for his own personnel man to run the draft and free agency.”
The shared power dynamic doesn’t work. Jed should get a clue.
If they can’t get along then it’s goodbye to Lynch.
If we learned anything from the Harbaugh era, GMs are easily replaced but good coaches are hard to come by.
Skeebs- Where did you see that I can’t seem to find any info.
The source of the story is Matt Miller.
Matt Maiocco is questioning why Matt Miller put this out there saying he has seen no evidence of it.
Perhaps we need a second source or Miller is just trolling.
Winder
Source is Matt Miller from Bleacher Report
Here is the story from Niners Nation
https://www.ninersnation.com/2019/4/30/18524042/rumors-kyle-shanahan-john-lynch-49ers-breakup
bullit- thanks for that. I guess we just have to see. I think KS has screwed up just as much as Lynch as far as the draft goes. Someone must be whispering in his ear because Peters came with credentials. Lynch is raw in the game but so would anyone just starting out. Anyway, division in the FO is not a good thing.
Kyle Shanahan’s response: “Complete B.S.”
So Lynch wants to draft Joe and Shanahan wants to draft Steve.
It becomes a heated discussion and that’s the nature of the beast.
There will always be friction and disagreements. It’s how they handle it and move on and not hold it against the other guy if things don’t work out as expected. Once they stop being partners and a team is when there will be problems.
Winning would be the deodorant here.
Matt Miller from Bleacher Report better find a new team to cover.
Not sure if he’s welcome unless he prints a retraction or admits he’s a troll.
WE don’t know who is telling the truth here. Obviously, Shanahan had to deny it, so that doesn’t prove anything. I do doubt that Miller just made something up out of the blue. Somebody leaked something to him.
I’d not worry about this at all – except that I remember Jed York is the captain of the ship.
That family could frak up a wet dream.
49ers waste no time and sign fourth round pick (110th overall) – punter Mitch Wishnowsky has signed his four year rookie contract.
We are taking our time with the UDFA’s this year most teams already got theirs. Last year we had em within a day or two after the draft.
Winder
Here is a list and most were signed on Sunday
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/san-francisco-49ers-2019-undrafted-free-agent-tracker/
Greg Cossell on Tolbert and Lund regarding draft. Has very interesting things to say about WRs drafted by Lynch
https://omny.fm/shows/tolbert-lund/4-29-greg-cosell-is-a-fan-of-49ers-wr-picks-after
bullit- Thanks for that list.
Raiders off to a good start: “RB Isaiah Crowell tore his Achilles during a workout with the team Tuesday and is out for the season.”
Today starts the rookie minicamp, a chance to see the drafted players and undrafted FAs.
“Scot McCloughan’s take on the 49ers’ top three picks:
Nick Bosa: Good, not great. Quinnen Williams would have been better.
Deebo Samuel: Slot receiver/returner. Zero in common with Pierre Garçon.
Jalen Hurd: Doesn’t want to block. Not comparable to Delanie Walker.”
Chuckle. Exactly how many quality pass rushers and wide receivers did Scotty draft during his tenure here in SF?
IIRC Manny Lawson turned out to be a run stopper with little talent for getting to the QB.
IIRC we soldiered on with some pretty crappy retread free agent receivers because we never got anyone good in the draft.
And, just to be blunt, let me *Laugh in Kentwan Balmer*.
He may just have a point with Williams in the long run. Time will tell. During his years here our QB situation was pretty bad and without a good one nothing really works. I think he still holds a little grudge against us. I think Patrick Willis was his crown jewel.
Also:
Frank Gore
Justin Smith
Ray McDonald
Ahmad Brooks
Parys Haralson
Delanie Walker
Vernon Davis
Joe Staley
Dashon Goldson
Michael Crabtree
No 5y yr option for Garnett. Cannot blame it mostly on injuries. AA got a 5th yr despite his 2nd and 3rd yr mostly injured.
https://www.ninersnation.com/2019/5/1/18525656/ok-but-what-about-the-o-line-a-study
Read his conclusion. Despite no improvement of OL in pass pro through the year Garnett did not get in until Tomlinson injured last game. Strongly looks like last year even when he got healthy he was the 3rd OG on team. Shanahan did not see enough ability to give him serious time to evaluate in game conditions.
Read comments. Shanahan puts more emphasis on OZ blocking to get run success opening up play action. So a healthier RB crew with Coleman added to get OZ clicking is more important than better OG in pass pro.
Have only so much draft capital so choices are made. Shanahan made his. Alternative choices made by Ballard at IND.
Yeah, Gore is probably his best if I had to pick just one. Picking up Justin Smith was also top grade. Joe Staley has been the backbone for us a long time. He did give us the ammo to get to the Harbaugh years.
Oh, he was usually good at finding linemen. Just not pass rushers.
I always thought Crabs was Singletary’s idea, TBH.
I dunno Grump, we had Jimmy Hat as our OC and he was definitely 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Then on 3rd down Smith would roll right and throw it out of bounds. you could almost book it.
Deebo meets the media
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g49q9nbtWHs
He says he patterns his game after Anquan Boldin and Golden Tate.
I think the best WR in the league is Deandre Hopkins who doesn’t get the notoriety he deserves.
Jalen Hurd meeting media follows
Ha ha ha: “Former 49ers OT Anthony Davis, the 11th overall pick in 2010, seeks reinstatement after more than two years away from football.”
Does the rights to Anthony Davis belong to the Niners?
What a dumbass, the money isn’t so easy to come by in the real world is it Anthony?
Maybe Lynch can trade him for 2 Happy Meals.
Yep, the Niners hold the rights to Davis. Good luck with that. Thank God Baalky isn’t here.
Niners open rookie minicamp today, they now have 6 of 8 draft picks signed. They announced signings of WR Jalen Hurd, LB Dre Greenlaw, TE Kaden Smith, OT Justin Skule and CB Tim Harris today. P Mitch Wishnowsky signed earlier this week. Only Amuel and Bosa remain unsigned.
Undrafted Free Agents signing are
LB Azeez Al-Shaair
S Demetrius Flanniigan-Fowles
DL Jamell Garcia-Williams
DL Kevin Givens
S Cameron Glenn
WR Malik Henry
TE Tyree Manfield
WR Shawn Poindexter
G Ross Reynolds
QB Wilton Speight
From the Cohn zone, article on Hurd with this comment.
Rebuild A Winner says:
April 26, 2019 at 8:24 pm
It’s so funny to me that Grant doesn’t understand why the Niners haven’t gone corner. It’s quite simple. They committed to Verett for this year. Second they like Witherspoon and Moore for the future. They believe you cannot truthfully judge a secondary without a pass rush. You would think you would understand that. Do people not remember the outcast of players the Niners secondary had under JH. Rodgers, Witner, T Brown and Dashon Goldston. Those guys were all average at best. 2 of them Rodgers and Witner were considered busts on there previous teams. But they came to SF and turned there career around because of the front 7 that made them look good. That’s the truth!
Niners needed talent at Wr. They achieved that. Now there Wr room is set. There RB room is set. Work on some more depth and with some injury luck this team challenges the Rams for the division. Book it!
Two big WR that can move, Jordan Matthews and Hurd. Jimmy G had trouble last year finding receivers that could seperate. Had to hold on to the ball too long to locate an open WR. Especially the Lions game.
Shanahan is trying a fix with Samuel, Hurd, and Matthews. Got good looks working with the day 2 picks at the Senior Bowl.
Got Bosa and stayed away from a pointless DB churn. Like this draft a lot. Jimmy basically part of 2018 draft. Lynch and Peters did well, again.
Last season the Niners managed to rank 13th in rushing and 15th in passing. With Jimmy G back, the addition of Coleman, and debut of MacKinnon and a healthy Breida promises an improvement on the 4.5 yds per carry on the running attack.
The passing attack should rise to top 10 or even top 5 status with Jimmy G back and kittle coming off his record setting year, with Pettis having a year under his belt and the rookies with Matthews, Goodwin and Taylor complementing them.
Shanahan’s offense is potentially explosive and something to look forward to.
Last year at this time we were having Foster and his suspension dominate the discussion here and he was the big unknown. It’s good not to have distractions.
Very detailed analysis of Deebo Samuel
https://www.49erswebzone.com/commentary/2077-receiver-deebo-samuel-brings-technique-strength-versatility-offense/
As Garoppolo goes, so will we. If he is all the way back with no issues and has the success he had in 2017, we’ll probably be a wild card team. If something goes wrong there, it’ll look a lot more like last year.
Agreed the team will only go as far as Jimmy G will take them.
Jimmy G was injured on a fluke non contact play last season in case we forgot. I’m sure Jimmy will choose to step out of bounds this year.
Just posing a question to the blog. Is Shanahan hedging?
Oline pass pro is a necessity for longer developing pass plays. Such as QB/OC using a vertical passing attack. More use of power-gap run blocking allows larger OL with quick feet to better handle bull rushing along with edge benders. Perfect example is IND and their bigger Oline being #1 in pass pro last year.
Different scheme entirely is Shanahan OZ and 2.5 second pass release for short to intermediate patterns. Runs in space and on all downs intermixed with play action keep the pass rushers at bay. This accommodates the smaller OL needed for OZ.
To pull this off the QB and skill players have to be in sync including adjustments post-snap and precise route running so Jimmy knows where and when targets are open. If executed well then OL holding pass blocks beyond 2.5 seconds not critical.
Two entirely different schemes. Watch IND and SF and see the difference from week to week.
The hedging? Jimmy is not the same in the long passing game where accuracy and stepping into throws not as good versus his short and intermediate game.
OZ runs in space, unpredictable run vs pass choice, and well executed fakes and play action off runs minimize the need for a long passing attack. Shanahan’s scheme and play construction hides our QB’s potential weakness.
IMO West Coast Offense is based on YAC. Look at Kittle’s catches last year and the ball is in the air usually 10 to 25 yards at most and the rest is YAC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBploG7THh8
If you want to start chucking the ball 50 yards downfield it means you have to hold the ball for 5 plus seconds since most guys run 4.5 40’s. You risk sacks, put your QB in harm’s way for big hits and have less than a 50 percent chance of completions.
Short to intermediate passing game is the bread and butter of the WCO and the way to go.
Last year with a depleted RB depth chart they still were able to rush 4.5 yds a carry which will only make the passing offense more effective.
New post is up.