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Rank Your Personal Favorite Draft Picks


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Interesting topic.

While I'm not sure about the value and the skill set, I gotta go with McGlinchey. He's a core pick, he's an attitude pick, an identity pick. The jury is still out whether Lynch just places too much importance on character, but I like the idea of drafting big nasty guys with high character. They want McGlinchey to be here for a long time and to lead by example, and I feel like he can do it. I feel like he's part of a plan. They knew their plan didn't include Trent Brown, and I'm okay with that. If he doesn't fit, better move on than constantly be reminded that he's not what Kyle wants every time he doesn't do what he's supposed to do on the field. I'm a fan of having a plan. And after witnessing Kyle's work for only a year, I'm a fan of his plan. So, if his plan didn't include Brown, and includes McGlinchey, and he can come here and play at a high level while leading either by example or vocally, then McGlinchey is a great pick. I have no certainty he's that fit for the plan, but on intention alone, he's a terrific pick.

Second place, I put Moore and Reed together. Both could be homeruns at their specific spot. Moore at outside CB, Reed in the slot. They could be big time playmakers. If I had to put one before the other, I'd probably go with Reed. If Sherman is back to form, he'll be there for a couple of years, and Spoon hopefully should do the same on the other side. So I feel like Reed has a great chance at having an impact. K-Waun Williams is not a lock, Ward is Ward, and I wouldn't be surprised if by mid season, Reed had a greater impact than we expected. And he has a kind of swagger that makes you really want him to be great. Because if he's not great, then he's just annoying. I don't want him to be annoying. I want him to be awesome.

Then I have Pettis. I just want him to be the guy that people will think "Damn, why didn't we draft this guy?!". We often put too much emphasis on the physical traits, or the level of competition, or a lot of things that are very relative. But something like intelligence and hard work are things that translate to the NFL, no matter what. He sounds like a guy who could be a coach one day. And yet, he still has pretty good athleticism, and has great vision with the ball in his hands. That's something that can difficultly be taught. That's something that, if he can develop the rest of his game (strength, hands, etc.) can make the difference between a good and a great receiver.

Then I have the other receiver, James. He's just a weapon. We have several weapons now. Each seems to have his abilities. They're not all in the same mold (well, maybe physically, but not exactly skill wise). I love that we're giving Jimmy weapons. Now that's his job to be deadly with them.

I have to go for Warner now, simply because I don't care for the others. I feel like they're such long shots. The two DLs are meh... they have talent I guess, and are great athletes, but one is a 7th rounder, and you never know with them, and you don't feel bad if they don't pan, and the other is injured, and we don't know if he'll really ever be the same, and the same to what exactly? Was he great to begin with, or was he just a projection. Warner, on the other hand, is someone who I think we will all like. Maybe he doesn't turn into a great player, but he'll be there doing his job, and we'll be glad we have him. 

I'm not overly excited about our class, mostly because so many names caught me off guard, perhaps. But I see the upside, and being an optimist, I can't help feeling good about it. I'm not the type to judge management on who was drafted where, and the what could have beens of this world. I'll judge them on the wins on the field, and by our eventual playoffs performance. And this draft doesn't hinder my ability to be excited about our future.

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Did anyone else notice R2 made that holy sh!t!! droid sound after Street was selected? Like he already knows the pick was trash. I agree with R2, though. I guess there's some small chance with Street, but I'm not holding my breath. Good athlete who will redshirt. We'll see next year.

McGlinchey surprised me a little, but I am on board.

Once that pick was announced and the Brown trade went through, it was clear that the FO was making a long play in this draft, so it wasn't surprising they took a WR next. I think they got the right guy in Pettis, who is my favorite player in the draft. He looks terrific on film, and is elite at many of the subtler aspects of the game - stuff like hip bend, route recognition, etc. Pettis is sneaky hard to tackle, and I think stronger than he looks. He runs through arm tackles, and never seems to get tackled from behind, or by the feet in the open field. That, plus his sneaky speed, patience in using blocks, and unusual open field vision, is what makes him such a special punt returner. I think Pettis will become a star for the 49ers, and a #1 receiver who can line up all over the field, but will mostly be slotted out wide. Pettis is a smart, clean player who is, I think, a better athlete than people realize, with a few special traits which give him maybe the most upside of any receiver in this draft. I don't think he'll be a superstar, but I could see him as a top-10 receiver in the league.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So now that we're almost 2 weeks removed from the draft and I've had time to learn more about each player and judge them off of snap emotional reactions, I wanted to go back and grade each pick. 

 

1. Mike McGlinchey, OT: B+
I know there has been a lot of debate on value vs. reach, LT vs. RT, etc. I gave this pick a B+ because he has all of the tools, both physically and mentally, to succeed as a dominant RT for the next 10 years. I'm hesitant to believe that he can be an elite LT, but I think in today's NFL with teams putting EDGE guys on both sides of the defense, the disparity between LT and RT is not a lot. I think we got a guy who has a very high floor, which helps with our win now situation, but also has a moderately high ceiling in terms of refining his traits rather than learning new ones.

2. Dante Pettis, WR: C+
So when I originally saw this pick, I was unhappy because I thought we were trading up for Isiah Oliver. 2 weeks later, I'm a little more excited about Pettis. I like the player but still don't love the pick. I'm excited to see his dynamic ability on display in an offense that he should thrive in. I think his skills of separating with his burst and route running in the intermediate area pair well with Jimmy G's elite ability to carve up defenses in the short to intermediate area will give Pettis the opportunity to be a pretty big contributor for the next several years. I think he will force his way onto the field on the offense pretty early on and will be the main punt returner day one.

3. Fred Warner, WILL: A
When I saw this selection, I thought it was a dream. Warner is the new-age prototypical WILL LB and could be a star. I see him as Dion Jones but 3 inches taller. Warner covers like a safety but also hits like a LB. I love his intelligence, athletic ability, and leadership qualities. He's great in coverage and will be a huge upgrade over Malcolm Smith. My only concern with Warner right now is his run stopping ability. At BYU, it sounds like he was good but not great and can get out of position knowing that his athleticism allows him to still make plays. I know he will primarily be used in coverage so I'm not too concerned about his run stopping abilities right now.

3. Tarvarious Moore, Outside CB: B
The more I learn about Moore, the more I like him. His athleticism and size are upper-tier elite, but lack of experience at corner is preventing this pick from being an A. Despite his physical abilities, it's still a gamble that he performs well at corner, so it causes a bit of apprehension. But, the 49ers have the infrastructure in place to help him succeed. If Moore pans out, this pick could be a huge steal in the draft and give us a pair of solid, young corners for the next several years.

4. Kentavius Street, DE: C-
This pick was a bit of a head-scratcher given that the Niners have depth along the D-line and lack of depth at other areas on the team and this, coupled with the ACL injury, makes this a low grade. What's preventing this grade from being a D is the physical ability and potential Street has. I like his seek-and-destroy-style of play, run stopping ability, and ability to disrupt the pocket. I feel like these skills fit well at the Big End position where he can be Solomon Thomas' primary back up there for the foreseeable future (once Thomas moves there after Armstead leaves). I think Street is a nice project pick and it sounds like the value is right (reports show that the Niners, along with several other teams really liked him). I don't hate the player, I just saw this as a luxury pick and I don't think we're at that position yet.

5. D.J. Reed, Slot CB: A
Like Moore, the more I learn about this guy, the more I love the pick. From the time he stepped foot on K-Stat's field until his last snap, he was an eraser of the opposing teams best corner. He played in a conference where they throw it all over the field and he was the best in the conference for multiple years as preventing big plays. Reed is a flat out baller with the swagger to back it up. Like enough swagger to win a jawing match with Chad Johnson. I love his story and the chip on his shoulder he plays with. His coverage ability and his athleticism should give him the opportunity to take K'Waun Williams role as the slot corner away from him very quickly. While I think this pick has a bit of redundancy to it with Williams signing an extension and Ward getting playing time at slot this year, but what's great about this pick is it gives Reed a full year with low expectations to really hone his skills and be flat out dominant in a year or two. Also, he is a fantastic kick returner with big-play ability. Him, paired with Pettis will give us serious play-making ability in the return game that we haven't seen in a long time.

6. Marcel Harris, SS: C
So at first, I hated the pick. I didn't understand why we were taking a safety and one that was recovering from a serious injury. But as I was thinking about it, I was beginning to see that this was a nice pick. Our depth at safety isn't great. After Colbert and Tartt, we have Chancellor James and Don Jones, not fantastic. Marcel Harris will come in a push both of them for playing time and will also provide solid depth for special teams. Harris was a multi-year starter at SS for Florida and was by all accounts pretty good. I've read reports that, before his injury, he was rated as a 4th or 5th round pick, so we got great value with the pick. As long as he can bounce back from his injury, I think he has a great chance at being the third safety on the depth chart and a solid contributor from a depth standpoint.

7. Jullian Taylor, DT: B
Like the Street pick, this was more of a luxury pick given the depth on the line, but in the 7th, I think this is the right time to make picks like this. Taylor's size (6'5 280) and movement skills are very intriguing. I like his run stopping ability and the way he can disrupt the pocket. I think he will need to clean up some of his lack of technique due to his reliance on his athleticism, but overall I like his chances of being a useful player along the interior of the line. I think he profiles best at Buckner's position and has a similar playing style to Buckner and Armstead. I think Taylor is a great addition to the D-line and will be a solid depth piece.   

7. Richie James, WR: B+
His athleticism is off the charts, but his size is a big concern. I love his play-making ability and his makeup, but his size and durability issues are a ding to his grade. He seems like a guy who will give Trent Taylor a run for his money for the next several years and could end up being the primary slot receiver. His hands, speed, and separation are really good, but from all the reports I've read about him, he needs to stop relying on his physical talent and get better at route running and overall technique. I think this will keep him off the field for most of his first year, but when he starts improving his route running, look out. This dude could be a big-time play-maker. 

 

Overall Grade: B+
I think this class as whole shows the Niners commitment to getting more athletes on the team, which I love. I thought the late round picks were great and the 3rd round is where we found some of the best talent in the draft. I'm a little concerned that we didn't take an OG in the draft as we don't have much young talent there and I still feel like we could've taken another outside CB, I don't love what we have behind Sherman, Witherspoon, and Moore. With that said, I think we found some immediate contributors and soon-to-be starters that will make this team much better. I'm excited about this class and I think coupled with last year's excellent draft, Lynch is building himself a talented, fast, and young team. 

 

 

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On 4/30/2018 at 12:11 PM, John232 said:

My favorite picks.

 

love:

1. Fred Warner

2. DJ Reed

Like

3. Richie James

4. Tavarius Moore

meh picks 

5. Mcglinchey

6. Pettis

7. Julian Taylor

Dislike

8. Street

9. Harris

This is pretty darn close to how I would rate them.

McGlinchey - As much as I've criticized the value of McGLinchey I'd consider moving him up to "like". I think his floor is "OK NFL starter". I think it likely he will turn into a "better than OK but not great" NFL tackle.Of course he could be even better than that. I've been big on the "we can't afford to miss on our high picks" notion. So that has to make him a "like" for me.

Pettis - I would move the Pettis pick to dislike. There's just no wasy I can justify giving up pick 74 for a guy that I didn't think was the best WR, let alone best player, available. I liked Kirk more, and Miller could turn out better, and Pettis could possibly have fallen to 59. Even if someone else took Pettis we could have had Wahington at 59 who I like too, and then used 74 on some other position. Heck we could have had both Washingto and Gallup for the price of Pettis. I should add I like Pettis - the player, just not Pettis - the pick.

Moore - I don't think he would be getting anywhere near the attention he is if he hadn't run a 4.3 something 40 at his pro day. But pro day times are almost always about a tneth faster than combine times. So I think of him as a low 4.4 guy. At that speed no one wouild be drooling over his speed. Funny that a tenth can make that kind of difference. He has skills. But taking a 4.4 safety with the hopes of converting him to an NFL CB is hoping for a lot. I think it was Y2 who said this was big gamble that will make them look brilliant, or not. I'd be happy if he could be a great deep safety.

7th rounders - Somehow I always find something to like about our 7th rounders even though guys like that rarely turn into much. This year I'm really excited about both of our 7th rounders.

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