Rounding Out the 49ers Draft

The Rest of the Gold Helmets
By: Brian Sanchez


Day 3 of the NFL draft was all about adding depth for the San Francisco 49ers and I think they did an exceptional job of doing so.  They made some great value picks that should all make the team and make the 49ers now one of the deeper teams in the league.  All of the picks from today have their weaknesses, of course, or else they wouldn't be on the board.  But the 49ers did an exceptional job of picking a certain type of player and they all have strengths that outweigh the weaknesses.  The type of player the 49ers drafted was team leaders who were either incredibly fast or incredibly strong.  They were also nearly all team leaders or captains.  Let's take a look at the new gold helmets:

Round 4 (pick 117)-Joe Looney, OL Wake Forest
     The 6'3" 309 lb. linemen is a big time value pick for the 49ers.  This is a very physical, very strong interior linemen.  Every time someone is a good value pick it means they should have gone higher, and there are always reasons why.  Looney tore a ligament in his foot during the Senior Bowl and he may not even be ready to go by training camp of this year.  The 49ers are comfortable with all the options they have at RG this year (Kilgore and Boone) so they took Looney and project him to make an impact over time.  Other teams who needed linemen wanted them to play right away leaving Looney, who the 49ers traded up for, to be a back up as soon as he is healthy and possibly push for a starting role the year after.
     Looney is a very physical very strong who is known more for his ability to throw defenders around than anything else.  He does slide his feet well so he does project out to be a good pass blocker.  But that is not the most important role for an interior linemen, there job is to block the run.  Looney's good feet mean he will be a good pulling guard and when he did so in college he was very good at getting to the second level and hitting moving targets.  His one weakness is the fact that his upper body is disproportionally stronger than his lower body.  This laves him sitting to high in his crouch sometimes making him easy to bull rush.  This is not too much of a problem to have, nothing time in the weight room with a professional trainer can't fix.  He is expected to make a full recovery from the torn ligament in his foot and then he will hit the ground running.  Todd McShay said that if he would have had a healthy foot he would have goon in the late 2nd/early 3rd because of his run blocking ability.  

Round 5 (pick 165)-Darius Fleming, OLB Notre Dame
     This 6'1" 245 lb. OLB will have a chance to immediately become a back up behind Aldon Smith.  The 49ers only have one back up OLB right now and that is Parys Harralson, a player whom I don't think s anything special.  Larry Grant could play some OLB but he should be primarily used to give Patrick Willis and Novarro Bowman plenty of time off.  So, Fleming has a chance to make an impact.  He is a physical specimen at his height and is a natural pass rusher.  even though he is short at 6'1" he hot the bench press an eye opening 27 times.  He also ran a 4.77 40 yard dash which establishes just how athletic this guy is.  He was a 4-3 DE in college but will easily make the jump to a pass rushing 3-4 OLB for the 49ers.  He uses his strength to bull rush O-linemen effectively and uses his speed to be a great player in pursuit and his lateral quickness makes him a threat from sideline to sideline.  Also, with his size and speed he can make a definite impact on the special teams. This is an impressive player who made a lot of plays in college and he is actually an underrated cover OLB showing he can at least cover well enough to not be a liability.  And with his experience at DE there is no reason he could not be inserted in pass rush situations to do just that.  With his size and speed he can definitely be a playmaker for the 49ers and if he shows off enough in training camp he could see a good number of snaps in the regular season on defense and be a starter on special teams.  Keep track of Fleming, he had a 3rd round grade and only fell because 4-3 teams did not like him as a DE (and rightfully so as that is not his position) meaning he was another good value pick for the 49ers.

Round 6 (pick 180)-Trenton Robinson, FS Michigan St.

     I love this pick as much as I do the Fleming pick.  This could end up being one of the best picks in the draft.  I have seen Robinson ranked anywhere from the 4th best safety in the class to the 9th best, but either way, most had him going before the 6th round.  The on down side to Robinson is his size (5'10" 195 lb) which is not prototypical and considered undersized for a safety in the NFL.  Bill Polian likened him to a younger Bob Sanders which always evokes confidence.  The basic term to describe Robinson is: where goes the football, there goes Robinson.  He clocked in a 4.52 40 yard dash, which is second among all safeties.  While he is smaller his tackling only suffers a little as he is a decent tackler.  But he was not picked for his tackling (although he likes to play in the box to stop the run) he was picked for his playmaking and ability to intercept the ball.  Mel Kiper Jr. even said he was the best zone coverage safety in this draft.  Robinson excels at reading QB eyes and zipping over to the ball and cutting in front of WR's for an interception.  He seems to have no holes other than his size, which he is still effective with.  He has a sixth sense about where the ball is going and can cover slot receivers but probably not at the level of a CB.  He has plus coverage skills for a safety but just adequate for a CB.  The only reason anyone could see him in the 6th round is because of the size, and the 49ers already established they will take an undersized guy with Lemicahel James as long as he is super tough, and Robinson certainly is.  The 49ers needed depth at safety having only CJ Spillman and Colin Jones who are fantastic special teams players but not so much at safety.  Robinson can certainly see team on punt returns but leep an eye on him as he could become one of the top replacements at the safety position.

Round 6 (pick 199)-Jason Slowey, C Western Oregon
     Slowey represents more of a long term investment for the 49ers but why not take a shot at the end of the 6th round?  Slowey is coming out of Western Oregon which is a NCAA D-II program.  He is one of the best linemen in D-II, but he played LT.  at 6'3" 303 lbs he does not have the size to play at tackle.  The 49ers drafted him and already have changed his position (so clearly they did their homework) to center.  He has been noted by many as being one of the nastiest linemen in the draft.  That right there is music to the 49ers ears.  While he did not look like he could become a tackle at the NFL level many think he could soon be ready to play guard.  The only reason it will take him a while to be ready for SF is because they are moving him to center.  That takes more time than moving him to guard, but if he could do that easily he may well be the replacement for when Jonathan Goodwin is gone.  With Slowey now, the 49ers have good depth on the O-line.  Either Kilgore or Boone will start at RG.  Either way Boone is the top tackle replacement, and if he is the starting RG and needs to move tackle then Kilgore will take over at RG.  Looney is a back up at the guard position and they also have Mike Person out of Montana St. from last years draft who can pay either guard or tackle.  then you add in Slowey and there is no real need on the O-line anymore.

Round 7 (pick 237)-Cam Johnson, OLB/DE Virginia

     Cam Johnson is the reason why I think this is such a solid draft for the 49ers, he has a chance to be on the active roster.  For a team as good as the 49ers it was not expected that this many picks would actually make the team but I think at least 6 will.  Johnson is big (6'4" 270 lbs.) and athletic (4.8 40 yard dash).  He has spent time as both a 4-3 DE and a 3-4 OLB and I think he could play both in the NFL.  He does project more as a pass rushing OLB but he could sneak in for some snaps at DE in 3rd and long situations.  He has the speed to rush the edges but actually prefers to stunt and blitz right up the middle where he can feature a ferocious bull rush.  He has a good set of moves when he rushes and because he has such powerful legs he has a great burst off the line.  This is another guy that most would have seen going in the earlier rounds.  He is more of a workout warrior than anything else and Harbaugh usually loves that.  the film on Johnson is not consistent and that's what worried a lot of teams.  Johnson is a freakish physical athlete and Harbaugh likes to take those kind of guys and coach team up.  If he can coach Johnson up, this 7th rounder can be a very viable back up.  At the very least, Johnson too should be able to be a force on special teams.  

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AJ Jenkins

Welcome to the 49ers
By: Brian Sanchez

Well, the 49ers took a WR, but it wasn't the one everyone was excited about.  They also took a Jenkins, but it wasn't Janoris the troubled CB from North Alabama.  It was AJ Jenkins WR Illinois.  He is a lot better than you may think.  Just because you haven't heard about him like you have Stephen Hill (who most fans wanted) but that doesn't make him any worse.  This is a good pick and I will stand by that, let's take a look at why I think that.
     First let's take a look at why people wanted Stephen Hill.  Most people were enamored with the fact that he had blazing speed.  I don't want to break your heart about Hills speed, but Jenkins ran a 4.37 40 yard dash.  Last time I checked that is a pretty darn good 40 time.  So Jenkins has the speed of Hill.  Hill is 6'4" and Jenkins is barely 6 feet tall.  But he is a much smoother athlete.  Stephen Hill may have better size but Jenkins is the more fluid athlete.
     Let's stop worrying about Stephen Hill.  The 49ers passed on him (and so did everyone else by the way).  Let's focus in on Jenkins and what he brings to the 49ers.  He is a do it all WR, which is a position of need for the 9ers.  The Randy Moss experiment will either be a failure or just for one year, so SF will need a deep threat sooner or later, and that's what Jenkins brings.  He is a very smooth, effortless runner who can blow past almost any corner.  He can line-up outside or inside which makes him a player that can start playing for the 49ers from day one.  He has also shown ability to return kicks and be pretty dynamic in that aspect which means they don't need to keep Ginn Jr. anymore.  He has soft hands and is very good with making spectacular catches.  He is an athletic WR even though he is shorter than most would prefer.  But here is what sets Jenkins apart from Stephen Hill, Jenkins is a good route runner.  AJ Jenkins has excelled an all routes and has the ability to go long but also run intermediaries as well.  Some people did not want a speed WR because Alex Smith wouldn't be able to take advantage of him.  But, Jenkins has shown the ability to separate from DB's on 5-7 yard routes.  He is a speed player but isn't a straight line speed guy only.  Stephen Hill is not a good route runner and may never become more than a guy who can just go deep in a straight line.  The fact that Jenkins is such a smooth athlete makes him tough to cover over the middle.  I'd expect him to become the No. 3 WR mid season and push to be a starter the year after.  Crabtree, Mannigham, Moss, Jenkins at WR with Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker at TE along with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter at RB means there is no shortage of weapons and no excuse for this offense not to excel.

AJ Jenkins is a classic Jim Harbaugh/Trent Baalke pick.  He was an academic All-Big 10 selection in his senior year at Illinois.  He is smart on the field just like he is off of it.  In his post-draft confrence call with the media his personality exploded and everyone came away thinking he is a charismatic great guy.  He said he was so excited when he got the call that he doesn't even know who called him from the 49ers to tell him the news.  He can split out wide as a No. 2 or slide inside as a slot receiver either way he is versatile which seems to be a must on a Jim Harbaugh team.  He has had some questions about his strength, but that is not what he was drafted for.  Look for Jenkins to blossom mid season much like Aldon Smith did.  AJ Jenkins is a solid pick who is a better player than the people "projected" him to be.  Harbaugh may have found a gem again and it would again be someone that nobody thought it would be.  Funny note:  in the pre-draft process GM Trent Baalke said there was a particular player that they liked and thought would be available at 30.  Then, when the 49ers pick came, despite Courtney Upshaw, Cordy Glenn, Stephen Hill, and Coby Fleener being there, they turned in there card immediately and took AJ Jenkins.  Harbaugh said that last night Trent Baalke wrote a name on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope.  Today he opened it and on it was the name AJ Jenkins, meaning he was the guy all along.

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Attention 49er Fans:

Chill Out
By: Brian Sanchez

Please, please, please just enjoy this draft!  Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke have done nothing to make you think they are going to mess this up.  Enjoy the fact that we are the third to last team to pick, it's because we won.  And we won a lot.  Harbaugh has only been a part of the draft process for one year, but Baalke has been the GM for two drafts.  And if you don't remember, he took over as GM a short time before his first draft and he still succeeded.  Trust these guys.  Enjoy the draft.  Whoever they pick it's going to be a good player.  Not who you projected?  Not the guy you wish they got?  Believe me, Baalke and Harbaugh know more about football than you, if they make a pick, it's the right move.  Don't believe me?  Let's take a look at the past two drafts.

2010 NFL Draft (49ers picks of consequence)


Round 1, pick 11- Anthony Davis, T Rutgers
This is more of a Singletary pick than it is a Baalke pick, but he did sign off on him.  Let's be fair:  Davis was terrible year one but improved to being decent in year two.  He is very young (22 years old now and 20 when we drafted him) and very big.  He has the quick feet and long arms you love to see in the tackle. Even if he goes through a modest improvement this year he will be good, especially since he is a RT.





Round 1, pick 17- Mike Iupati, G Idaho
Iupati is a beast.  He is one of the better LG in the league.  When he pulls on he power-o runs that Harbaugh loves so dearly he is a run away locomotive.  Sure the 49ers doubled up on linemen in this draft, but it worked.  Those two are guaranteed to be starters barring injury so this first round is definitely a success in my book.









Round 2, pick 49- Taylor Mays, S USC
You caught me here, Mays was not a good pick.  But how will i defend myself.  It was stated by everyone in the franchise that this was purely and solely a Mike Singletary pick.  I will also remind you that once Singletary was gone, Baalke promptly traded Mays away because he did not see anything in him.  So, it may have been a bad pick but the trade proves Baalke has great talent evaluation.









Round 3, pick 91- Navorro Bowman, MLB Penn St.
Hello!  Winner winner chicken dinner!  My theory is correct!  Bowman is awesome.  Last year Bowman lead the team in tackles, and yes, that means he had more tackles than Patrick Willis (who for what it's worth I consider the best LB and best defensive player in all of football).  We didn't even need a LB but we took him anyways and then, boom! All-pro LB.  Seriously though, how can he be a first team All-Pro LB but not make the ProBowl team?  Doesn't matter, he's a stud and a great pick.







Round 6, pick 163- Anthony Dixon, RB Mississippi St.
Ok, so he hasn't panned out as a RB like the 49ers hoped.  At one point people thought he would be the heir apparent to Frank Gore.  That is not going to happen.  But he has played a very important role on the SF special teams.  49er special teams are truly special and a big reason why they win.  The 49ers had to win the field position battle, and they often did thanks to guys like Anthony Dixon.





2011 NFL Draft (49ers picks of consequence)


Round 1, pick 7- Aldon Smith, OLB Missouri
We didn't need defense, we needed offense.  If we did take someone on defense it had to be Prince Amukamara because we did not need linebackers we needed defensive backs.  Take Gabbert or Locker because Alex Smith is played out and we need a new young QB.  We may not have "needed" Aldon Smith, but we got him, and he is a gem.  There was not a lot of positive feedback when this pick was made but now everybody loves it.  Smith will be the starting OLB and pass rush specialist coming off of a 14 sack rookie year.  He is my prime example of just trust whatever Harbaugh and Baalke do.

Round 2, pick 36- Colin Kaepernick, QB Nevada
We have no reason to say whether or not this is a good pick, but we have reasons to believe it is.  First, Harbaugh is clearly magic with QB's.  He made the 49ers trade up to get him so he obviously sees something in Colin.  Colin is big and athletic with a rocket for an arm.  He could be something special, especially with a couple years on the bench and learning from Harbaugh.  Another good pick.



Round 3, pick 80- Chris Culliver, CB South Carolina
Cully in the house!  Chris Culliver was good in his time on the field in the 2011-2012 season.  He is a very fast and athletic CB.  He mostly played in the nickel and dime packages, but was forced to start a few games because of injuries.  He will start this season as the No.3 CB and if he continues to improve he could be starting sooner rather than later.









Round 4, pick 115- Kendall Hunter, RB Oklahoma St. 
Hunter is a good solid change of pace RB.  He is not dominant or even one of the best small running backs in the league (although he certainly could develop).  But this pick signified that Harbaugh and Baalke saw a need for a faster RB in the rotation so they went out and got one.  Hunter will more than likely be on the team as a scat back making him a decent 4th round pick.



Round 5, pick 163- Daniel Kilgore, G Appalachian St.
This could be a 5th round gem.  Kilgore is a very physical linemen who is more nasty than he is fundamentally sound.  That is why Jim Harbaugh loves him.  If he plays across from Mike iupati we are talking about a potential for two run away locomotives on the O-line at the same time.  Kilgore as of right now is the starting RG.  The 49ers are expected to draft another one or sign a veteran to start a competition with Kilgore for the starting spot.

Round 7, pick 211- Bruce Miller, FB Central Florida
This guy was a pass rush specialist at UCF and was one of the best defensive players in all of Conference-USA.  Looks like we might have found a good defensive player in the final round.  Or Harbaugh can turn him in to a FB and make him an absolute stud.  Miller was, is, and will be the 49ers FB and a member of the very special, special teams.


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49er Free Agency

Better or Worse?
By: Brian Sanchez
March 28th, 2012


Jim Harbaugh says it best: You either get better or you get worse, but you never stay the same.  Sure the 49ers have signed names that people know, but how much did they really improve?  Let's take a look at the new players that will be wearing the red and gold this season.

Mario Manningham
(2 years $7.38 million)

     This is, in my opinion, the best signing the 49ers have made so far.  Manningham is coming over from the World Champion New York Giants where he was a part of a great receiving corps which included Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.  Manningham will either be a solid No. 2 WR or one of the better slot receivers in the league and gives the 49ers a good down field threat.  Last year he had 39 catches for 523 yards and 4 touchdowns.  But those numbers can not really be taken in to account.  Sure he had to compete with two other really good receivers for touches, but all of them had one thing in common: Eli Manning.  It wouldn't matter who your fellow receivers are, if Eli Manning is your QB you are going to have good stats.  I expect his stats to drop off under the poor quarterbacking of Alex Smith, but I also expect him to be the most consistent wide out for the 49ers and is certainly a better deal than keeping Josh Morgan who got more money per year and more years coming off an injury that made him miss the whole season.


Randy Moss
(1 year approx. $1 million)

     Moss is definitely the biggest wild card for the 49ers.  If he can be vintage Randy Moss, the 49ers got a steal.  But what are the chances that they get that?  He didn't even play last year because nobody (49ers included) wouldn't sign him.  But now that the 49ers are seemingly a good receiving corps away from being Super Bowl contenders he is worth the risk.  And the last time he was in the league he hardly looked like someone who deserved to be a starting WR.  But he comes in with the Harbaugh stamp of approval and I have to believe if he wasn't in shape to be a starter the 49ers would have never signed off on the acquisition.  Will he only be a deep threat (if he can manage that) or will he actually produce?  Again this is directly tied to whether or not Alex Smith can produce.

Brandon Jacobs
(1 year $2 million)


     This is the move that people like and I don't.  This just successfully made this backfield older and slower than it already was.  Gore's years are numbered and people are looking for the heir apparent.  Kendall Hunter is only a change of pace back.  Anthony Dixon is not good enough to be a NFL RB that receives a good number of touches.  Jacobs is yet another import from the NY Giants but he is not like Manningham.  Mario is peaking in his career.  Jacobs is almost done and provides no explosion.  The best he could be is a back that picks up a lot of short down yardage and possibly goal line touches. Gore is still the main goal line back I have to think because he is still a receiving threat out of the back field and Jacobs is not.  But there is no speed in the backfield.  Hunter is quick, but he does not play with much raw speed.  I think Jacobs will have minimal impact on this team and still expect the 49ers to draft a RB.

Perrish Cox
(2 years unspecified low amount)


     This is a guy who was a big time talent in college at Oklahoma St.  But a lot of 49er fans are expecting him to make a big impact on this team.  That's not going to happen, not this year anyways.  He got cut from the Broncos for more than just his off field issues.  He was also not in shape and was not playing at a NFL level.  He had the talent of a 1st or 2nd rounder but went in the 5th and has never been able to get his life in order enough to focus on football and realize his potential.  The 49ers do not expect him to really be anything more than the No. 4 CB if he even wins that spot.





     In my opinion, the 49ers have gotten better but not by much.  Manningham is the most exciting new face, but can Alex Smith take advantage of having a good stable of receivers?  I'm not convinced he can.  I don't expect anything from Randy Moss, and whatever I get from him will be icing on the cake.  I see no impact from Jacobs that will make this team any more of a Super Bowl contender.  And Perrish Cox?  I'm not even sure I'll see him on the field.

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