NFL Your Team's Mid-Season Draft Review

[Brasher]

I'm interested in knowing how your own (or any other team you care to comment on) 2011 draft is working out.

Anyway, for the 49ers:

1 (7) Aldon Smith DE
2 (36) Colin Kaepernick QB
3 (80) Chris Culliver CB/S
4 (115) Kendall Hunter RB
5 (163) Daniel Kilgore OG
6 (182) Ronald Johnson WR
6 (190) Colin Jones S
7 (211) Bruce Miller OLB
7 (239) Mike Person OT
7 (250) Curtis Holcomb CB

Contributing:

Aldon Smith, Kendall Hunter, Bruce Miller, Chris Culliver, Colin Jones. Smith is playing as a situational pass rusher and is already proving to be the disruptive force the 49ers have coveted ever since Charles Haley packed his bags for Dallas. Leads the team with 6.5 sacks and is an outside chance for DROY honours.

Culliver has earned his place as the 3rd corner onto the field and has shown the faith the coaching staff has in him by having him play Megatron in man coverage recently. Miller is the 49ers starting FB and showed his worth by catching the only TD last Sunday against the Skins. Hunter is proving to be exactly the change of pace back that the offense needs (sparked the comeback against the Eagles) and to spell Gore.

Jones has been cut, put on the practice squad and resigned for special teams duty.

The key point with the rookies are they are being given a chance to play under Harbaugh whose coaching staff prides itself on player development unlike the previous Nolan/Singletary regime who always seemed loath to play rookies.

Jury is still out.

Kaepernick is busy holding the clipboard and that's a good thing. Played briefly in the Bucs blow out and showed some progress after looking out of his depth in preseason play. He has every opportunity to succeed under Harbaugh and even Alex Smith's tutorlage.

Mike Person and Daniel Kilgore were drafted for offensive line depth and represent project/development types given their relative draft position and again represents this coaching staffs belief in their ability development players. Given what the 49ers gave up (draft positions) and the relative youth and high round draftees who are currently starting these guys are an investment that we won't know will work out for another couple of years.

Curtis Holcomb is a physical speciment who was injured in training camp and subsequently put on IR. Another project but as the 49ers last pick well worth the punt.

Gawn.

Ronald Johnson was drafted as a potential slot receiver and was generally a well received pick on draft day. Only one of the draft class to not make the roster (didn't even get to practice squad) as he never got it together in training camp and clearly did nothing to suggest to the staff that he would turn it around.

Summary.

The 49ers had 10 picks and on draft day the knock was that there were a lot of projects and guys being asked to switch (Smith, Miller), or had little experience at (Culliver), their college position.

In reality, 4 guys are making significant contributions every week, another couple are playing roles on game day and there are a handful of guys who will be developed (hopefully) into NFL starters and contributors.

Overall this draft class is turning out to be one of the better ones for the 49ers in recent history....dare I say almost Walsh-esque!

 

[Scully2Folau]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Not even going there for the Pats... haha

 

[Brasher]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Not even going there for the Pats... haha

The Pats make draft selections? How long has this been going on?

 

[manureid]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

The Pats make draft selections? How long has this been going on?

They just keep ontrading all the picks they get from the Raiders....

 

[Sven]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Round 1 (Pick 12) Christian Ponder QB
Ponder took over starting duties in week 7 after McNabb was benched. The team is 1-1 under Ponder and he has provided a much needed spark for the Vikings offence. Ponder looks to be the real deal and the Vikings can move their attention to other team needs in the 2012 draft.

Round 2 (Pick 43) Kyle Rudolph TE
Kyle Rudolph was drafted because Visanthe Shiancoe is a free agent at the end of this season. He has played mainly in 2 TE sets so far this year and things are looking good for a promotion to the starting TE next year.

Round 4 (Pick 106) Christian Ballard DT
Ballard basically replaced Jimmy Kennedy as the teams situational pass rush DT. He has been used sparingly so far this season.

Round 5 (Pick 139) Brandon Burton CB
Is buried on the depth chart as the teams 6th CB, has been used on special teams.

Round 6 (Pick 168) DeMarcus Love OT
Is definitely a developmental guy, has been inactive all season.

Round 6 (Pick 170) Mistral Raymond S
Has seen some time on special teams but looks like he could develop into a starting Safety.

Round 6 (Pick 172) Brandon Fusco C
Fusco has played at RG for a few series with Herrera hurt and has jumped above DeMarcus Love in the OL pecking order.

Round 6 (Pick 200) Ross Homan LB
Didn't make the final squad and wasn't signed to the practice squad.

Round 7 (Pick 215) D'Aundre Reed DE
The teams 4th DE, has been inactive all season. Has a great pre-season but is buried behind Jared Allen, Brian Robison, and Everson Griffen.

Round 7 (Pick 236) Stephen Burton WR
Burton was promoted from the practice squad when Bernard Berrian was cut. Burton is a physical receiver with consistency issues, has been promoted to see if he's worthy of keeping on the squad next year.


The Vikings first two draft selections are definitely keepers and should feature on the Vikings team for many seasons. For the rest it's a question of wait and see with Ballard and Fusco the best performers.

Apart from Ross Homan I'd say the Vikings draft was pretty good considering the large number of low round picks.

 

[toddys10]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

1st Round (Pick 32): OT Derek Sherrod
Began training camp as the starting Left Guard where he had no prior experience, throughout camp and the preseason it was clear he was too raw and not ready to start, especially at Guard. T.J. Lang took over at LG for Week 1 and Sherrod became the backup at Tackle. His first action in the regular season against the Falcons when Clifton went down, played his natural position at Right Tackle and played very well, was pleasantly surprised. Will most likely become the permanent starter at Tackle Clifton retires this year or next.

2nd Round (Pick 64): WR Randall Cobb
Exploded onto the scene Week 1 against the Saints, returning a kickoff 108 yards for a TD and also catching a TD pass on offense but he has failed to recapture that same magic since. Buried at #5 on the depth chart, does not see a lot of action on offense and mainly contributes on special teams returning kicks. Had a few issues with fumbles, but other than that looks promising as a returner. Will have a larger role on offense once Donald Driver retires either this year or next.

3rd Round (Pick 96): RB Alex Green
Looked promising out of college, but has not really been given an opportunity to show what he's got in the NFL. Behind Ryan Grant and James Starks on the depth chart, was only active for 4 games this year, mostly playing special teams. Injured his knee against the Vikings and was placed on IR. Look forward to seeing him come back next year too see what he's got.

4th Round (Pick 131): CB Davon House
Looked pretty raw coming out of college, but also had some huge potential and upside, like this kid a lot. As I said he's still very raw, needs coaching up and develop. Has only been active for 1 game this year and only played special teams. Will probably continue to play ST for a couple of years while working his way up the depth chart at CB. Will at the very least hopefully be a solid nickelback in a few years.

5th Round (Pick 141): TE D.J. Williams
Do not know a lot about this kid, apparently very versatile, is a good blocker and solid pass catcher. Stuck at #4 on the depth chart at TE, has not shown anything this year on offense, has mostly played special teams.

6th Round (Pick 179): OG Caleb Schlauderaff
Traded to the Jets before the start of the regular season.

6th Round (Pick 186): LB D.J. Smith
Again, don't know a lot about Smith. Is the backup at inside linebacker behind Desmond Bishop. Can't say I've noticed him all that much this year.

6th Roud (Pick 197): LB Ricky Elmore
Cut before the start of the regular season.

7th Round (Pick 218) TE Ryan Taylor
Burried at #5 on the depth chart at TE, has not taken the field at all this year.

7th Round (Pick 233): DE Lawrence Guy
Placed on IR before the start of the regular season.

 

[trueblue_91]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Jimmy Smith- Was injured on Special teams, first play of the season and can't seem to find his way as a starter despite being hyped up as a great shutdown CB, have not seen that much of him

Torrey Smith- Exploded onto the scene, first 3 catches all TDs. Has lightning speed but needs to work on his hands. I guess we all saw what he could do against the Steelers, great to have him

Jah Reid- have not seen much of him thus far personally

Tandan Doss- can't seem to find his way onto the field thus far

Pernell Mcphee- Great pass Rusher and has made an impact thus far, lots of potential here. Great late pick up

Tyrod Taylor- Showed promise pre season, backup QB to Joe Cool

 

[Galactic]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Not even going there for the Pats... haha

Its a fair call.Not a total cringe of a draft though. Some nutters are even calling for BB's removal of late..........try and gain some mental composure if possible, ffs perhaps? Even if rare,2 straight loses and they start to go a little funny.....Anyway the list is as follows.Ill insert a quick comment with my view of how I think they have panned out so far. Hard to gauge anything other than on field play here.

1st Round – Nate Solder, OT, Colorado Good pick.Loads of upside, cant really even complain when his peers have failed to live up to him at times.

2nd Round – Ras-I Dowling, DB, Virginia Showed great things.If only he didn't appear to be made of glass.On IR currently

2nd Round – Shane Vereen, RB, Cal Missing in action, completely MIA

3rd Round – Stevan Ridley, RB, LSU Has had bursts and played way more than our other RB pick. Has potential and showing some positive things. Our run blocking has totally sucked at times for our RB's.

3rd Round – Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas Waiting and watching, great arm on him but made some typical rookie mistakes in pre season.



5th Round – Marcus Cannon, OL, TCU Feel good story hope he kills it when his chance comes.


5th Round – Lee Smith, TE, Marshall Who?Oh yep....GONE

6th Round – Markell Carter, OLB, Central Arkansas GONE

7th Round – Malcolm Williams, CB, Marshall Was Drafted then dropped early.Now due to us being in a desperate need of db's just signed him a couple of weeks back to the practice squad.

The Pats make draft selections? How long has this been going on?

Its at moments like this we ponder what may have been



Picks traded away:
1st Round (NWO – 2012 1st, 2011 2nd)
3rd Round (OAK – 2012 2nd)
4th Round (OAK – 2012 2nd)
4th Round (SEA – Deion Branch) (via DEN (Maroney) if higher than NE pick)
6th Round (DEN – Laurence Maroney)
7th Round (ATL – Quinn Ojinnaka)

They just keep ontrading all the picks they get from the Raiders....

I really do hope our days of trading with you guys have not left with Al.

Good thing we aren't doing FA

 

[dmac_55]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Cowboys 2011 Draft

Rd 1: Tyron Smith OT
The second youngest player in the NFL IIRC and is starting at RT. Has quick feet but will need to build some strength to improve pass blocking.. Could potentially have a franchise tackle here if he continues to develop.

Rd 2: Bruce Carter MLB
Was suspended for the first 6 games, and returned in week 7 for mainly special teams. Last week he played a role on defence and did quite well in S. Lee's absence. Will be fighting for a starting position with some veterans when Lee returns.

Rd 3: Demarco Murray RB
Absolute stud since Felix went down with injury. Is a legitimate two way threat and was lining up in the slot and out wide against Seattle, as well as averaging nearly 10 Y/Rush. He reminds me of A. Foster with his skill set and he will definitely be the RB1 even when Felix returns.

Other picks include Bill Nagy who started at C for the first 4 games before being placed on IR, and Dwayne Harris (WR) spending majority of the time on special teams.

At this stage could not be more happier with Murray. Getting two rookies into the offensive line will pay dividends if they continue to develop.. Was a major weakness at the beginning of the year. No judgements yet on Carter, but would love to see him develop and form a strong MLB core with S. Lee.

 

[drd23]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Jimmy Smith- Was injured on Special teams, first play of the season and can't seem to find his way as a starter despite being hyped up as a great shutdown CB, have not seen that much of him

Torrey Smith- Exploded onto the scene, first 3 catches all TDs. Has lightning speed but needs to work on his hands. I guess we all saw what he could do against the Steelers, great to have him

Jah Reid- have not seen much of him thus far personally Has been active every game as the 3rd OT

Tandan Doss - can't seem to find his way onto the field thus far

Chykie Brown - Very raw and is only seen on ST if ever

Pernell Mcphee- Great pass Rusher and has made an impact thus far, lots of potential here. Great late pick up

Tyrod Taylor- Showed promise pre season, backup QB to Joe Cool. Cant really ask much more out of a late 6th round pick

Anthony Allen - Is the 3rd RB behind Rice and Williams. Has seen the field for a few garbage time carries. Showed enough in pre-season to make fans think that he could potentially become a good power back to compliment Rice

Pretty much correct, additions inline. Every one of our draft picks made it to, and is still on, the active roster

 

[trueblue_91]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Pretty much correct, additions inline. Every one of our draft picks made it to, and is still on, the active roster

Yep, really good draft for us in my oppinion. I really see a lot of potential in Torrey Smith, can't personalyl judge Jimmy but others say he will be good. Mcphee has been a real nice suprise thus far as well

Doss is the one that puzzles me, apparently he has great hands yet he can't make it up the depth chart at all. Maybe he should be playing in the slot? (apparently lacks speed)

 

[Brasher]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

Round 1 (Pick 12) Christian Ponder QB
Ponder took over starting duties in week 7 after McNabb was benched. The team is 1-1 under Ponder and he has provided a much needed spark for the Vikings offence. Ponder looks to be the real deal and the Vikings can move their attention to other team needs in the 2012 draft..

In ten years time will be seen as the best QB of his class.

 

[dmac_55]

Re: Your team's mid-season draft review.

He definitely won't have the best nickname tho.. The Red Rifle is spraying bullets everywhere in Cincinatti..

 

[Mooster7]

The Kansas City Chiefs 2011 draft hasn’t made the same impact as did the 2010 class. Our Number 1 pick, Jonathan Baldwin injured his thumb in Summer Camp and didn’t play until quite recently. Our Number 1 from last year, Eric Berry is on IR so for the first six games we were without our last two number ones. And it showed.

ROUND 1: Receiver Jonathan Baldwin. As stated above, Baldwin was out until our 6th game with a thumb injury. Rumor has it that he came into camp (late) with a diva attitude. The Chiefs don’t put up with s**t like that, least of all RB Thomas Jones who is rumored to have kicked Baldwin’s ass in a locker room brawl resulting in the broken thumb. Don’t know if it’s true, but I chose to believe it. With a new attitude adjustment, Baldwin has been playing quite well. With the tragic loss of RB Jamal Charles to a knee injury, Baldwin coming in has helped the Chiefs enormously. RB Jackie Battle has picked up quite a bit of slack, but it’s been the air game that has toted the cart for the Chiefs in the games we have won this year. Fielding Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and Jonathan Baldwin the Chiefs have the first respectable overall receiving corps in decades. Too bad TE Tony Moeaki is on IR.

ROUND 2: O-Lineman Rodney Hudson. A project in development. He might be the guy who eventually replaces the 150 year old Center Casey Wiegmann. The day Casey leaves will be a sad day. Hopefully Hudson is absorbing knowledge and wisdom from the grizzled old veteran Wiegmann. IMO there is no other Center in the league who can teach a journeyman how to have a long, productive and valuable career.

ROUND 3: Linebacker Justin Houston. The kid has tons of talent, speed, strength and promise. From what I’ve seen of him he still lacks for football smarts. He’ll be a good starter in the coming years, but for now he’s a package guy, I think. They have Andy Studebaker behind him in depth, but Studebaker is clearly the better man for now IMO. I’ve noticed on 3rd downs, Houston plays too soft and doesn’t defend the 1st Down marker FFS. Nice tackle, Justin. First Down though. He’ll develop nicely and become one of the best linebackers we have. No doubt about this. I’m fond of him, but that fondness is for what he’s going to be, not what he is at the moment.

ROUND 3 B: DE Allen Bailey. Another project. Not a bad player at all, but barring injury or a breakout, he’ll be behind Tyson Jackson for a good while. Not a bad depth person.

ROUND 4: DB Jalil Brown. Long development project. Not a bad player to have on special teams. Especially when you need your “hands” guys out there. He’s getting some play due to injuries in the Chiefs secondary and he’s not exactly overwhelming. Doesn’t mean he won’t be a good player or even a starter some time down the road, but my five bucks says he’ll be a career Special Teamer and nickel or dime guy at best. I have no problem with this pick though. Special Teams are becoming far more important than they ever have been before, and Brown is a good dude to have on your team attitude-wise.

ROUND 5: QB Ricky Stanzi. He showed flashes of brilliance in the pre-season but is not ready to be a starter in the NFL. I’m one of those who actually likes Matt Cassel and hopes he’ll take the next step. But even those who don’t like Cassel will generally say that he’s a better option than Stanzi at this point. Stanzi is an old school QB pick. Not a First Round magic man. Get a guy with lots of talent and potential on the cheap in later rounds, and have him hold the clipboard for three or four years. Develop him into your system. Remember, Tom Brady was one of those guys.

ROUND 6: DT Jerrell Powe. A project. He’s behind two guys (Gregg & Gordon) whom I don’t find inspiring in themselves if that tells you anything about Powe. You’ve probably heard many times that the time to judge a draft is three years down the line. Powe is a wait and see.

ROUND 7: FB Shane Bannon. Didn’t make the team. That’s not necessarily a reflection on him. The Chiefs are heavy with Backs. It would have been difficult for 7th Rounder to get a spot in Kansas City. However, as far as I know Bannon hasn’t been picked up by anyone else. He went to Yale. Yale people don’t exactly possess the Mid-West vibe, ya know? I wish him well, and he’s got an Ivy League education going for him if he never plays a snap in the NFL.

Overall grade: B. Mostly because this year’s draft doesn’t compare with the A+ draft we had last year. Again, we’ll know more in three years.

 

[larkis]

The Rams draft class?

Disappointing, severely disappointing.

Our picks past round 4 are no longer on the roster or on I/R.
Pettis can't make the game day roster
Salas can't catch
Kendricks couldn't do the one thing he was recruited for
Quinn was disappointing for 5 games, missing the first one.

 

[wadeallday]

1st round. Corey Liuget DE - 8 tackles and zero sacks. You decide.

2nd round. Marcus Gilchrist CB - Has great potential, took Antoine Cason's starting job and has been both good and bad. Beaten of some routes badly. rookie mistakes?

2nd round. Jonas Mouton ILB - IR before season

3rd round. Vincent Brown WR - Just coming onto the scene the past few weeks as he was injured to start the season. Could be the Chargers #2 by seasons end.

3rd round. Shareece Wright CB - Hasn't played at all but that should be changing very soon with Jammar falling off the face of the earth and Cason in a slump.

6th round. Jordan Todman RB - Released. Shown little, Expected to be signed back onto practice squad.

6th round. Steve Schilling OT - been on the practice squad all season. Played one snap.

7th round. Andrew Gachkar LB - Good pickup so far for a 7th rounder, Mainly a special teamer at the moment.

 

[Dagless]

The Rams draft class?

Disappointing, severely disappointing.

Our picks past round 4 are no longer on the roster or on I/R.
Pettis can't make the game day roster
Salas can't catch
Kendricks couldn't do the one thing he was recruited for
Quinn was disappointing for 5 games, missing the first one.

For a rookie Dlineman who didn't play for all of the 2010 season, I thought Quinn had been playing stellar football.

Inconsistent, but out of all the positions on the field, DE is the largest jump from college to pros IMO.

 

[drd23]

Inconsistent, but out of all the positions on the field, DE is the largest jump from college to pros IMO.

That has got to be one of the most overused lines when taking about guys in their rookie seasons

I've heard that said about QBs, WRs, CBs, OTs and 3-4 OLBs and you've just used if for DEs.

RB is about the only position that I've never heard it said about

 

[Dagless]

That has got to be one of the most overused lines when taking about guys in their rookie seasons

I've heard that said about QBs, WRs, CBs, OTs and 3-4 OLBs and you've just used if for DEs.

RB is about the only position that I've never heard it said about

I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it

I reckon it's the hardest position to cement a role in for first round draft picks at the least (In first year).

 

[Exe Gesis]

They say it about RBs too in terms of pass protection, blitz pick-up, and receiving skills (the whole 3rd down back aspect), and also in terms of being patient in the hole, not dancing, being more north-south, due to having to adapt that the general speed of defenses is a lot faster than in college.

Look, the reality is, every position in football there's a large jump from college to pros. Be it kicking/punting to fullback etc. There is the physical leap, having to compete against uniformly taller stronger faster pool of competitors, there's the X&O's leap, there's the training leap (they do so much more in the pros per week than college), there's that whole "rookie wall" thing, there's the off-field distractions and money. Of course, you'll get players who step up easier or quicker than others, but they're the exception not the rule.