John232 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 After last years draft, I decided I kind of wanted to do a series of mocks because the mock draft I did prior to last years draft, was pretty damn close. Obviously didn't have Foster, but Akhello, Thomas and Kittle were all guys I had pegged going to the 49ers. Foster probably would have been my number one pick candidate HAD we traded back into the mid teens. Obviously that's a null point now. So for the sake of brevity, i'll only go over major acquisitions and the draft. Mostly because this will probably not reflect a single thing that happens. I honestly did this because I'm deathly afraid of starting a new career so I needed to do something to keep my mind off of it. But hey, maybe this mock brings up some interesting conversation. At the very least we can look back and remember to never listen to my opinion on anything. Next time I do this, it will be after free agency and before the draft. One that's a little more focused on the draft and it's prospects. In doing this, I realized how incredibly hard it is to fit every prospect worth drafting IN the actual draft and to the right team. Some other thoughts on this draft since i've been scouring scouting reports and watching tape here and there: Linebacker has a huge drop off in the later rounds but is pretty nice 1-4 There's not a lot of elite talent at safety, but a lot of guys who might go later than they should, feel's deep, but not top heavy. Figuring out where receivers are going to go is a nightmare, and probably will be still even after Free Agency. I would bet money a ton of lineman are going to get over drafted based on how bad line play was this year. QB is going to be a wasteland after round 2 or 3. I think this might be one of the deeper 1-5 tech classes. Lot's of guys to look at the later rounds. this TE class appears to be god awful. Apologies for any errors, took me a couple days to put this together. My mock off-season: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bNrNXwKE7DgvfjGUCeLsTuwnOMoJnRXq0c0BCiha5-Y/edit?usp=sharing Resigned: JImmy G: No **** Tank Carradine: I think he tests the market and comes back on a 2/12 (6) a year. I doubt he garners much attention because he's average best, he's older and the injury history is real Leon Hall: Cheap veteran option to backup the nickel spot. Brandon Fusco: I think he takes a similar deal to that of Zane Beadles. 4.5/year at 3 years with an ETO after the second year. He was surprisingly good and can swing to LG as well. Garry Gilliam: I don't have any tackles being signed, but I would not put it past us to sign one to push him. I think his swing ability keeps him on the roster but he's not a lock. Ledger Douzable: Good mid-season pickup. Will definitely earn a contract to at least get him into camp. May mak the Roster Louis Murphy gets resigned but like Douzable, as a guy to keep in contact with the team. Doubt he makes the 53 man roster though. Trade: Arik Armstead and our 7th for Aqib Talib: Obviously, having AA would be nice. He's at least average and flashes some athleticism on plays. Not to mention he's young and still on a rookie contract. Denver needs to desperately clear cap if they want a shot at Cousins. Acquiring AA and dealing Talib sort of kills two birds with one stone. They absolutely need more down lineman in Denver and obviously they rid themselves of the Talib deal. It's interesting to read opinions on Talib's situation. personally, I'm totally fine inheriting his contract, i would hate acquiring Talib if it meant re-signing him to a long term deal. This also seems to be the main reason why Denver will cut him as oppose to trade him. No one wants to deal with him until they can sign a new contract. or at least that's sort of the whispers i'm seeing. Personally, I think we start with AA as a trade piece and see if that's enough to coax him out of Denver Free Agents: 1) Ziggy Ansah: Obvious no brainer as to why we sign him. I think given his overall solid play (not great), he's going to ask for top 5 DE money, and I think we'll be the team willing to give it to him. However, given his injury history and Paraag's ability to stagger and incentivize payouts, I wouldn't be too worried about his cap hit. Furthermore, I don't see us doing anything more than 5 years, and probably adding an ETO after his third. Ansah may not push our pass rush into elite territory, but I have no doubt in my mind that he makes our defense MUCH better. I think a comparable deal would be Oliver Vernon 2.) Ryan Jensen: We had some god awful play at certain positions last year. Center might have been up there as some of our worst. Jensen seems like a match made in heaven. He played pretty well last year, plays in a similar scheme, swings to guard and most importantly? He's improved every single year. The Ravens may very well make room for him at the cost of other important players to their team, but they're up against it cap wise so I wouldn't count on it. Also, I thought this picture was adorable, so I used it. 3.) Justin Pugh: Injuries have been a huge problem for him the past couple years, but Ron Stone coming out of retirement would have been preferable to whatever our guards decided to do during games, it certainly didn't resemble football, closer to dancing with the Stars. That said Pugh, by all accounts seems to be a solid player who is only 5 years into his career. Between Fusco and Garnett coming back and adding Pugh, I would feel pretty comfortable adding a guard who might not be elite, but is at least solid when he plays. I don't think (or hope) we break the bank on him. I think we're probably looking at around 8.5, but like Ansah, we'd probably see a good portion of his contract incentive based. 4.) Frank Gore: Yes, this is a wildly homer move, yes I wanted him to leave for Hyde, yes I feel like a horrible person now. But I think there's an actual logic to this too. Breida, is efficient and has burst, but I doubt he's a bell cow. Furthermore, Blitz pickup was not one of his strong suits. Mosert is just a ST'er and those guys are replaceable. I'm pretty sure Joe Williams was about to get cut until they IR'd him, so we have no idea what we have in him. Frank Gore is still as steady as they come, he provides a deft hand, leadership and still possess skills that should Barkley go down, we will need. Whether it be as a receiver out of the backfield, blitz pick up, or consistency between the tackles he can be a fixture in our offense should we need him for it. Plus, it'd be fitting for him to end his career here. 5.) Koa Misi: Defensively, outside of our general lack of pressure and corner play, our SAM backer position was pretty awful. Eli Harold is just awful. I don't know that he does a single thing well other than looking like a football player. I mean...he's ok at setting the edge, but i'm not including tackling in that...he just knows where to sort of be half the time. Regardless, a massive upgrade is needed here. Albeit, it's not the most important position on this defense, but important enough to where this team should be making a concerted effort this off-season. Bring Koa Misi. Miami is tapped financially, they're going to let go of a lot of guys just to make room for Jarvis Landry. Not to mention guys like Jay Cutler, Will Hayes, Matt Moore and Nate Allen. It's not pretty. What's also not pretty is Koa Misi is another neck injury away from retiring. A lot of Miami fans think he should have retired this past year. He's a FA and I say we take a flyer on him and give him a shot. Some other guys to look at for the SAM role: Junior Gallette, Barkevious Mingo, Jeremiah Attachou and Trent Murphy. I would personally like the last two as other options as well Draft (no pictures this time around) 1.9: RB Saquon Barkley: Do I think it's likely he drops here? no, but is it possible? Absolutely. I think a lot of football aficionado's will look at this pick and cringe a bit but they shouldn't. Barkley is truly in the elite ranks of RB prospects. There's no question he's up there with AP, Zeke, Fournette and Gurley. Does he have some bad habits? Sure. But those not beyond fixing. He certainly doesn't have any physical limitations or character issues (he's pristine in these two categories). This offense is in need of explosive players, even with Jimmy G. Adding in someone like Barkley with a schemer like Shanny and a QB like Jimmy G and you might end up with something resembling the greatest show on turf and that doesn't happen without a back like Marshall Faulk. We have our Kurt, now let's get our Faulk. It's also worth noting that Nelson, Ridley and Chubb all went before this pick. At this point Edmunds, Ward and Josh Jackson are the only other guys I'd probably be ok (not happy) with picking over Barkley. (Look at this beautiful man @big9erfan 2.59 WR Auden Tate: This became a lot harder. Some other guys that would be options in the second, like Harold Landry, Arden Key, Ogobonnia and Will Hernandez all go ahead of this. Also worth noting that Christian Kirk, James Washington and DJ Chark all come off the board before Tate too. Personally, if it plays out that way i'm ok with it! I'm a pretty big fan of Auden Tate. He's 20 years old, he's 6'5 and 225. His Ball skills are already incredible and he uses every millimeter of that frame. His volume production...is not good but it was incredibly efficient. Florida State's offense was a train wreck this year when it came to QB play and that did nothing but hurt his numbers, but when Tate's number was called, he made the most of it. 6 Touchdowns on 25 receptions last year and 10 TD's on 40 receptions this year. He's already proved he's an elite red zone target by college standards and that's something we desperately need in this offense. He's still raw, and he has a long ways to go before we can depend on him to be the number one guy on this offense, but luckily, he's not going to be rushed into anything and at 20 years old, he's still a ball of clay for Shanny. Gotta love that. 3.70 WLB Jerome Baker: So i'm pretty concerned with Malcom Smith being a 3 down linebacker for us and I haven't come to terms with it. Unfortunately, Malcom Smith will be on this roster through the 2020 season, but it might be a good idea to get his replacement now given the injuries that plague our linebackers. Jerome Baker is undersized and didn't quite meet expectations... but he is fast, he can cover and he can lay the wood. He is by all accounts, a good prospect with very good upside. But given his small frame and less than stellar production this past year, it's possible he drops to the 49ers firs third round pick. And with our emphasis on speed in our defense, grabbing someone like Baker helps solidify the linebacker unit and gives us a guy to groom until we can kick Malcom Smith out the door. I've seen Deion Jones as a comparison 3.74 C/G Frank Ragnow: Looking at who was left on the board, I had a very hard time passing on him for anyone else. Ragnow is an absolute stud who can play guard and center. In my mind, he's sort of a happy surprise for Lynch and Shanny at this point in the draft. This gives him the ultimate backup on the interior and a guy who can take over for Fusco OR Pugh if injuries get the best of him. Ragnow is absolute stalwart in the middle of the line and moves incredibly well for a 6'5 interior lineman. He might even be worth looking at as a tackle 4.124 CB Tarvarus McFadden: I don't trust anyone with this last name typically, but I think it might be worth making an exception here. Athletically and frame wise, he's definitely up to snuff. But he did not have a good year. Consistency appears to be his biggest bugaboo. I'm not sure he drops to us in the fourth, but given the rest of this corner class, I think it's a definite possibility. Mike Hughes, MJ Stewart and Donte Jackson seem primed to jump ahead of him during the pre-draft process. Regardless, he's an ideal fit for this defense and someone who can sit and learn the ropes while Talib does his thing. Some other possible corners to look at in this round would be someone like Holton Hill, Kevin Tolliver, Quentin Meeks and both VT corners (Stroman and Fancyson) 5.134 DE Chad Thomas: At this point, it sort of becomes a bit of a gambling game. Chad Thomas, like McFadden, had issues when it came to consistency. But the athleticism is hard to ignore and athletes like Chad Thomas don't always drop to the fifth round. However, my understanding is he never lived up to his 5 star potential, but was still a fixture and leader on the defense. I've read some concerns regarding his music career, as it appears to be pretty legitimate and that may turn off lynch. But there's no denying our need for depth and someone who could provide useful in a rotation and possibly make Ansah expendable sooner, rather than later.In the games that I watched, I saw some nice tools. He's strong, he can run through blocks if he has an angle and reads and reacts very well. He plays in control as well. He's also a willing hand fighter and holds strong at the point of attack. Pass rushing..he's a work in progress, doesn't seem to have any go to moves, when he does get pressure or a sack, it's usually by brute force. He is able to get his inside shoulders under the hands of lineman if the lineman is too high, and that's where the strength comes in. So there's some presence of mind to dip and bend, but he's not natural at like a Harold Landry is. That said, he has the tools and if he can show some development and consistency, we'll at least have another good rotational lineman on pass downs. 6.170 SAM Josh Sweat: Where he goes in the draft will almost completely depend on his medical evaluation. He had reconstructive surgery on his his senior year of high school after a torn ACL and dislocated knee. Injuries have been a constant issue up until the end of the 16 season, where his meniscus was trimmed and then the turn around began. He played every game this year and came out unscathed. From a tape and physical traits aspect, he could be a second round pick. He doesn't have tremendous dip around the edge, but he can beat tackles on burst, length, strength and speed. His open field speed in chasing plays down from the backside will pop. He screams SAM backer, but would not be surprised if he played both the SAM and LEO positions. The other thing that made me think he'd be a great SAM is he is rock solid at the point of attack and setting the edge. At this point, he's better against the run than he is the pass. Pass rushing skills need to be developed if he want's to contribute there at the next level, but I don't doubt that he could become a very good starting SAM at some point, should health allow it. 7.214 S Dane Cruikshank: With Ward pretty much never being healthy and Reid leaving, padding the safety position with some young depth would be fair move. I also expect us to sign some vets here as well. Regardless, Cruikshank sort of fits a similar profile to Colbert from what i've read. Plus athlete who could some college playing time, but might be a bit hard to project as a pro. Regular season 53/Depth Chart: QB: Jimmy, Beathard RB: Barkley, Breida, Gore, Williams FB: Juice TE: Kittle, Celek, Hikutini (Paulsen playing being the Dujuan Harris award winner again) LT: Staley LG: Pugh, Tomlinson C: Jensen, Ragnow RG: Fusco, Garnett RT: Brown, Gilliam WR: Garcon, Tate WR: Taylor, Bourne WR: Goodwin LEO: Ansah, Dumerville, C.Thomas 3tech: Buckner, Blair, Day 1tech: Mitchell, Jones RDE: S. Thomas, Carradine SAM: Koa Misi, Josh Sweat, Dekota Watson(STer) MIKE: Reuben Foster, Brock Coyle WILL: Malcom Smith, Jerome Baker CB: Talib, McFadden CB: Witherspoon CB: Williams, Leon Hall FS: Colbert, Ward (Ward will see plenty of time on the field) SS: Tartt, Cruikshank P: Pinion K: Gould LS: Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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