Teams San Francisco 49ers - The Niners

[Jukesy85]

Most of the phantom drafts that I have seen project Nelson to be gone before the 49ers get to pick. We might need to address our O line deficiencies through free agency rather than the draft.

Darnold, Rosen, Allen, Barkley, Fitzpatrick, Chubb, and Key should be 7 of the 8/9 (depending on the coin flip) players taken before our first selection. Just have to hope that one or two teams take other guys like Mayfield, Ridley, James, Josh/Lamar Jackson, Payne, McGlinchey etc. I'm fairly confident Nelson can last until our pick but you never know.

Like with most years it doesn't look like the interior OL depth is too great. Braden Smith (Auburn) looks a good second day prospect and is good at both run and pass blocking. Might almost be worth going for both Nelson and Smith...Billy Price and Frank Ragnow are okay second/third day prospects but don't fill me with near as much confidence as Nelson does - I'd almost be willing to trade up for him! Hopefully teams go a bit QB crazy and we see 4-5 go off the board before our pick. Mike McGlinchey may be a back-up pick, can start on the interior then take over at LT when Staley retires. Maybe Connor Williams will really fall off too and we can grab him on the second/third day. Mitch Hyatt could be a good late OL prospect as well on the third day.

I'm not in love with the WR class this year so I think FA is the way to go in recruiting a new first/second receiver to pair with Garcon, Goodwin, and Taylor as our four primary WRs. Ridley has good skills but his production leaves a lot to be desired. Other guys like Sutton, St. Brown, Kirk, Campbell, Cobbs, Washington, Miller etc don't fill me with confidence either, so maybe draft one or two guys late who have good skills and production like Gallup, Wieneke, or Lazard. In terms of free agents, Jarvis Landry and Marqise Lee could be good picks.

Definitely reckon we should invest in one or two good FA corners. Malcolm Butler and Kyle Fuller, maybe?

 

[sydney eagle]

Darnold, Rosen, Allen, Barkley, Fitzpatrick, Chubb, and Key should be 7 of the 8/9 (depending on the coin flip) players taken before our first selection. Just have to hope that one or two teams take other guys like Mayfield, Ridley, James, Josh/Lamar Jackson, Payne, McGlinchey etc. I'm fairly confident Nelson can last until our pick but you never know.

Like with most years it doesn't look like the interior OL depth is too great. Braden Smith (Auburn) looks a good second day prospect and is good at both run and pass blocking. Might almost be worth going for both Nelson and Smith...Billy Price and Frank Ragnow are okay second/third day prospects but don't fill me with near as much confidence as Nelson does - I'd almost be willing to trade up for him! Hopefully teams go a bit QB crazy and we see 4-5 go off the board before our pick. Mike McGlinchey may be a back-up pick, can start on the interior then take over at LT when Staley retires. Maybe Connor Williams will really fall off too and we can grab him on the second/third day. Mitch Hyatt could be a good late OL prospect as well on the third day.

I'm not in love with the WR class this year so I think FA is the way to go in recruiting a new first/second receiver to pair with Garcon, Goodwin, and Taylor as our four primary WRs. Ridley has good skills but his production leaves a lot to be desired. Other guys like Sutton, St. Brown, Kirk, Campbell, Cobbs, Washington, Miller etc don't fill me with confidence either, so maybe draft one or two guys late who have good skills and production like Gallup, Wieneke, or Lazard. In terms of free agents, Jarvis Landry and Marqise Lee could be good picks.

Definitely reckon we should invest in one or two good FA corners. Malcolm Butler and Kyle Fuller, maybe?

From what I have seen of phantom drafts it might be just possible for the niners to get either Chubb or (more likely) Key with our first pick. Would be interesting if it came down to a choice between one of those two or Nelson for the niners first pick !

 

[Jukesy85]

Looking at the top free agents at our positions of need (in a semi-rankings style). We have $110mil + to spend, gotta resign Jimmy G and a fair few other guys but after that should still be a lot of money left over.
RB: L. Bell, D. Lewis, I. Crowell, R. Burkhead. Not too much here if we don't resign Hyde, Bell would be an incredible get, but very difficult, while the other three could definitely be handy starter or timeshare RBs.
WR: J. Landry, J. Gordon, A. Robinson, T. Pryor. Not too much here either, but I reckon we have to aggressively pursue at least one of these guys to go along with Garcon, Goodwin, and Taylor.
Interior OL: A. Norwell, J. Pugh, J. Mewhort, J. Sullivan, W. Richburg, T. Swanson, M. Slauson, J. Kline. Some more depth here, and I'd say we need to target one of these players and try to draft Nelson. I like Norwell and Richburg most of the lot.
Edge Rush: E. Ansah, A. Clayborn, T. Murphy, A. Okafor, K. Ealy, D. Ford. Should probably target one of these guys as well, although not an immediate and glaring need. Ansah probably the best of the lot, but I also like Trent Murphy's versatility to play DE and OLB.
LB: N. Bradham, M. Foster, D. Davis, P. Pozluszny. One of these guys would do nicely. Pozluszny would be cheap and really help the run defence, whiel Bradham is excellent in coverage.
CB: M. Butler, EJ Gaines, R. Melvin, T. Johnson, P. Amukamara, K. Fuller, D. Dennard, TJ Carrie, R. Cockrell, M. Claiborne, N. Robey-Coleman, A. Colvin. Very deep at corner for this free agency period and there are no excuses to not sign one of them, if not two. Witherspoon and Williams were decent in 2017 but all the rest were just awful. Gaines and Melvin would be great.

Realistic free agency goals: Landry, Norwell, Ansah, Bradham, Gaines, Melvin
Back-up targets: Gordon, Richburg, Murphy, Pozluszny, Fuller, Dennard
Best case scenario: Bell, Landry, Norwell, Richburg, Ansah, Bradham, Gaines, Melvin, Fuller

 

[Brasher]

Looking at the top free agents at our positions of need (in a semi-rankings style). We have $110mil + to spend, gotta resign Jimmy G and a fair few other guys but after that should still be a lot of money left over.
RB: L. Bell, D. Lewis, I. Crowell, R. Burkhead. Not too much here if we don't resign Hyde, Bell would be an incredible get, but very difficult, while the other three could definitely be handy starter or timeshare RBs.
WR: J. Landry, J. Gordon, A. Robinson, T. Pryor. Not too much here either, but I reckon we have to aggressively pursue at least one of these guys to go along with Garcon, Goodwin, and Taylor.
Interior OL: A. Norwell, J. Pugh, J. Mewhort, J. Sullivan, W. Richburg, T. Swanson, M. Slauson, J. Kline. Some more depth here, and I'd say we need to target one of these players and try to draft Nelson. I like Norwell and Richburg most of the lot.
Edge Rush: E. Ansah, A. Clayborn, T. Murphy, A. Okafor, K. Ealy, D. Ford. Should probably target one of these guys as well, although not an immediate and glaring need. Ansah probably the best of the lot, but I also like Trent Murphy's versatility to play DE and OLB.
LB: N. Bradham, M. Foster, D. Davis, P. Pozluszny. One of these guys would do nicely. Pozluszny would be cheap and really help the run defence, whiel Bradham is excellent in coverage.
CB: M. Butler, EJ Gaines, R. Melvin, T. Johnson, P. Amukamara, K. Fuller, D. Dennard, TJ Carrie, R. Cockrell, M. Claiborne, N. Robey-Coleman, A. Colvin. Very deep at corner for this free agency period and there are no excuses to not sign one of them, if not two. Witherspoon and Williams were decent in 2017 but all the rest were just awful. Gaines and Melvin would be great.

Realistic free agency goals: Landry, Norwell, Ansah, Bradham, Gaines, Melvin
Back-up targets: Gordon, Richburg, Murphy, Pozluszny, Fuller, Dennard
Best case scenario: Bell, Landry, Norwell, Richburg, Ansah, Bradham, Gaines, Melvin, Fuller

Good take....however the one point I'd differ on is the need for an edge rusher....I think it is a huge need for the team and will go a long way to establishing the roles of the rest of the front seven going forward...guys like Solomon and Armstead and even Buckner to a degree are playing out of position or without a clear defined "natural" role. In FA if the 49ers signed one interior lineman, one of the DEs (I want Ansah) and as you pointed out one maybe two DBs ahead of the draft then the 49ers could actually afford to go BPA at 9/10 or even trade down a little with a team if a QB someone coverts is still on the board.

 

[Brasher]

From what I have seen of phantom drafts it might be just possible for the niners to get either Chubb or (more likely) Key with our first pick. Would be interesting if it came down to a choice between one of those two or Nelson for the niners first pick !

I think Chubb will be gone and Key is a head case....do not want after the Aldon Smith experience.

A lot of draft movement to go before the draft though so who knows....maybe Chubb could go and do something like hit a cat before the draft.

 

[Jukesy85]

Good take....however the one point I'd differ on is the need for an edge rusher....I think it is a huge need for the team and will go a long way to establishing the roles of the rest of the front seven going forward...guys like Solomon and Armstead and even Buckner to a degree are playing out of position or without a clear defined "natural" role. In FA if the 49ers signed one interior lineman, one of the DEs (I want Ansah) and as you pointed out one maybe two DBs ahead of the draft then the 49ers could actually afford to go BPA at 9/10 or even trade down a little with a team if a QB someone coverts is still on the board.

Oh don't get me wrong we definitely need somebody there, but it's not as big of an issue as saying interior OL (to replace Kilgore and Beadles/Tomlinson ), LB (Harold and Coyle), and CB (Johnson and Hall). I'd rather have a good player playing slightly out of position like those last three first round DL guys instead of having to play Harold and Coyle (in the 4-3) or one of them in nickel packages, or having one or two bums on the OL who'll struggle to protect Jimmy and Hyde (or Bell/Lewis/Burkhead/Crowell), and as we know money isn't limitless and that salary cap space will fall before we know it.

I like Ansah, you'd imagine he'd want a fair sum of money which may or may not be available, in which case it may be worth targeting a cheaper guy like Murphy or Ealy.

In terms of priority of the players I'd be very interested in, I'd go with:
1. Bell
2. Norwell
3. Gaines
4. Ansah
5. Landry
6. Melvin
7. Bradham

 

[00Stinger]

Need a new RB, WR & CB to start with.

Throw the cheque book at Bell

 

[sydney eagle]

Need a new RB, WR & CB to start with.

Throw the cheque book at Bell

Remember we still have to sign Garropolo (which won't be cheap), but with the sort of money that the Niners are reported to have I suppose it won't matter. I fully expect Lynch and co to do what they did last season and try out a whole lot of free agents and keep the ones that they like.

 

[sydney eagle]

"Jukesy85" Are any of the wide receivers that you mentioned tall ? One complaint I have seen about the 49ers receivers is that they are mostly on the short side. They could do with this generations Dwight Clark.

 

[00Stinger]

Remember we still have to sign Garropolo (which won't be cheap), but with the sort of money that the Niners are reported to have I suppose it won't matter. I fully expect Lynch and co to do what they did last season and try out a whole lot of free agents and keep the ones that they like.

Surely the last 5 weeks showed that they should/will throw the cheque book at Jimmy G

Now give hime some better offensive weapons and watch him thrive

 

[sydney eagle]

Surely the last 5 weeks showed that they should/will throw the cheque book at Jimmy G

Now give hime some better offensive weapons and watch him thrive

I hope so. A decent centre and another offensive lineman who doesn't get pushed around as easily as Beadles and Tomlinson,a big bodied wide receiver, and a running back (if Hyde leaves) would be good thank you.

 

[sydney eagle]

If the niners go defence what are the chances of them picking up Roquon Smith(linebacker from Alabama )? Apparently played alongside Foster when he was at Alabama and several mock drafts suggest that he might be available at the Niners first pick (if we win the coin toss). I realise that he doesn't fit one of our most pressing needs, but he is a player who could be available .

 

[00Stinger]

I hope so. A decent centre and another offensive lineman who doesn't get pushed around as easily as Beadles and Tomlinson,a big bodied wide receiver, and a running back (if Hyde leaves) would be good thank you.

I would let Hyde leave personally, I'm not a big fan of his at all.

I've seen Courtland Sutton predicted for us in a few mock drafts. I'm not a college expert at all but he comes in at 6ft 4 and 95kgs so he fits the bill perfectly for a big bodied WR

 

[sydney eagle]

I would let Hyde leave personally, I'm not a big fan of his at all.

I've seen Courtland Sutton predicted for us in a few mock drafts. I'm not a college expert at all but he comes in at 6ft 4 and 95kgs so he fits the bill perfectly for a big bodied WR

MM he does sound tasty ! I don't know whether you check out a site called "niner's nation" or not but I find it useful as a guide to what the niners fans are thinking.

 

[Brasher]

Sutton only if they trade down. Picking 9 or 10 means franchise No 1 WR which I doubt Sutton will ever be.

Plenty of big bodied WRs that I'd target in the mid rounds though....I want Equanimeous St. Brown even if it just for that name and a fan jersey would look great with his name on it. 6'4" 207 pounds, fast, good route runner, suffered under diabolical QB play this year.

 

[sydney eagle]

I just read an interesting fanpost at "Niner's Nation" outlining why Quentin Nelson should be the teams first pick in the draft. With so many needs we won't really have any idea who the 49ers might draft until after free agency. I wish the draft would hurry up and get here !

 

[Brasher]

I just read an interesting fanpost at "Niner's Nation" outlining why Quentin Nelson should be the teams first pick in the draft. With so many needs we won't really have any idea who the 49ers might draft until after free agency. I wish the draft would hurry up and get here !

3 months of mock drafts to deal with!!

I would love Lynch to secure three of the following in FA, a starting edge rusher, a corner, a SAM LB and an interior lineman.

Then draft in the 1st which ever one of those he misses out on....then repeat the same positions over the next three rounds.

The mystery is what the injured reserve list yields this off-season, there is at least a starting guard (Garnett), wide receiver (Garcon) outside linebacker (Smith), a strong safety (Tartt), combo CB/FS (Ward) and an unknown quality feature back (Williams) sitting there. That's a quarter of our starters right there.

 

[00Stinger]

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/...49ers-could-still-find-qb-needy-trade-partner

 

[sydney eagle]

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/...49ers-could-still-find-qb-needy-trade-partner

I wouldn't want to trade back TOO far, but if they could replicate what they did last year (trade back one spot and grab extra picks) that might be okay. One player I like who might be there at 10, but might not last much longer, is Roquon Smith who would certainly fill a position that needs upgrading. If they trade back more than one or two places however he probably won't be available and they would have to look at someone else. It all depends on what happens in free agency however.

 

[sydney eagle]

3 months of mock drafts to deal with!!

I would love Lynch to secure three of the following in FA, a starting edge rusher, a corner, a SAM LB and an interior lineman.

Then draft in the 1st which ever one of those he misses out on....then repeat the same positions over the next three rounds.

The mystery is what the injured reserve list yields this off-season, there is at least a starting guard (Garnett), wide receiver (Garcon) outside linebacker (Smith), a strong safety (Tartt), combo CB/FS (Ward) and an unknown quality feature back (Williams) sitting there. That's a quarter of our starters right there.

Yeah ! If we can get those players back (and Williams is as good as the coaches think he is) as well as address the teams other (numerous) deficiencies then the pkayoffs become possible and from there who knows ?

 

[sydney eagle]

Looking at the top free agents at our positions of need (in a semi-rankings style). We have $110mil + to spend, gotta resign Jimmy G and a fair few other guys but after that should still be a lot of money left over.
RB: L. Bell, D. Lewis, I. Crowell, R. Burkhead. Not too much here if we don't resign Hyde, Bell would be an incredible get, but very difficult, while the other three could definitely be handy starter or timeshare RBs.
WR: J. Landry, J. Gordon, A. Robinson, T. Pryor. Not too much here either, but I reckon we have to aggressively pursue at least one of these guys to go along with Garcon, Goodwin, and Taylor.
Interior OL: A. Norwell, J. Pugh, J. Mewhort, J. Sullivan, W. Richburg, T. Swanson, M. Slauson, J. Kline. Some more depth here, and I'd say we need to target one of these players and try to draft Nelson. I like Norwell and Richburg most of the lot.
Edge Rush: E. Ansah, A. Clayborn, T. Murphy, A. Okafor, K. Ealy, D. Ford. Should probably target one of these guys as well, although not an immediate and glaring need. Ansah probably the best of the lot, but I also like Trent Murphy's versatility to play DE and OLB.
LB: N. Bradham, M. Foster, D. Davis, P. Pozluszny. One of these guys would do nicely. Pozluszny would be cheap and really help the run defence, whiel Bradham is excellent in coverage.
CB: M. Butler, EJ Gaines, R. Melvin, T. Johnson, P. Amukamara, K. Fuller, D. Dennard, TJ Carrie, R. Cockrell, M. Claiborne, N. Robey-Coleman, A. Colvin. Very deep at corner for this free agency period and there are no excuses to not sign one of them, if not two. Witherspoon and Williams were decent in 2017 but all the rest were just awful. Gaines and Melvin would be great.

Realistic free agency goals: Landry, Norwell, Ansah, Bradham, Gaines, Melvin
Back-up targets: Gordon, Richburg, Murphy, Pozluszny, Fuller, Dennard
Best case scenario: Bell, Landry, Norwell, Richburg, Ansah, Bradham, Gaines, Melvin, Fuller

One name that gets mentioned a lot that you left out is Jensen (Nose Tackle), although I think that he may have had concussion problems in the past.

 

[sydney eagle]

Well iy appears that the 49ers have signed Jimmy G. Now on to the trade and draft to fix the teams other needs !

 

[00Stinger]

Well iy appears that the 49ers have signed Jimmy G. Now on to the trade and draft to fix the teams other needs !

for the richest contract in NFL history too!

 

[AJ_2000]

Jimmy G (not Isiah Thomas) is getting a Brink's Truck!

Huge deal for starting a handful of games, but I'm a believer sogood to have him secured.

 

[AJ_2000]

And with the signing of Jimmy G I do want to temper the Superbowl conversation.

To me talk of them winning it next year are misguided, it's really how many in a row they'll win is more relevant