2005 NFL Draft, 49ers style

1st pick (#1 overall): Alex Smith, QB, Utah

You all know most of my thoughts already. We had to take him, and I guess I'm glad we did (now, I just hope we can sign him -- and relatively quickly). I would have loved Braylon Edwards, but you just can't have Rattay carrying the torch of this proud franchise. Anyone picked here would have been too high in my opinion, so the value isn't great, but seeing what happened to Rogers (falling to 24) pretty much shows the Niners were stuck without any legit trade offers, and there was really only one choice. He may bust, but we had to do it.

Grade: B


2nd pick (#33 overall): David Baas, C/G, Michigan

I'm not going to pretend. I know absolutely nothing about him. And to boot, I don't really understand or appreciate anything about OL line play to begin with. Granted, it's not a very exciting pick from a fan's perspective (we'd all love WRs and RBs and CBs every pick), but I hear the trenches are pretty important as far as winning football games and we certainly do need to protect our new sizeable investment. I think the Niners have more important priorities (secondary), but I'll view it as a positive sign that Nolan is trying to establish the offensive line as a true strength of this team. Add Bass to our only splash in free agency in like 6 years, Jonas Jennings, we've got Newberry (stud) and two young guys with a lot of potential in Kwame Harris and Justin Smiley, and maybe Kevan Barlow will actually be a top 10 RB in the NFL as I predicted steadfastly (and horribly wrongly) before last season.

Grade: B-



3rd pick (#65 overall): Frank Gore, RB, Miami

Head-scratcher. I still think Barlow just laid a dud last season, so I don't really see RB as a need -- at least compared to our defensive woes. Then again, we won 2 games, so every position can be upgraded. Kiper seemed to like it, but all I know about Gore is that he gets hurt constantly and never really impressed me all that much when he was healthy. The good news is I'm feeling better about Baas the more I hear. Gore could be a steal, but I just don't think the Niners can afford to be taking any sort of risks considering the position they are in.

Grade: C


Day 1 recap: solid, not spectacular. No jump-off-the-wall picks, and those who know more than me seem impressed.

Grade: C+

Update.....

apparently we traded into the third round, which I like. I like it a lot. I forget who we picked, some OL from Oregon. I don't like that. At all. But I'm drunk, so I withhold further judgment. Sabado Gigante is on, but not yet happening.


........................

Day 2:

Nothing really amazing, and I'm not really qualified to comment on any of these players since I recognize them not at all. Except Rasheed Marshall, but I know him as a QB, not a WR. Two tight ends in a row is sort of inexplicable....but we lost our longsnapper last week to Detroit so maybe that's what we're looking for. Anyways, here are my flashpan reactions (info stolen from ESPN to save time):

3 30(94) Adam Snyder OG OREGON
Philadelphia traded the 94th pick to San Francisco for the 102nd (4th) and 175th (6th) selections.

We traded to get him (and kind of got ripped off, IMO), so let's hope it's worth it. I like that we're protecting Smith, but OL is not that big of a need...at all. Grade: C+

5 1(137) Ronald Fields DT MISSISSIPPI STATE

I know nothing about him, but I like that we went DT, especially if we're gonna try to play a little 3-4. Grade: B+

5 38(174) Rasheed Marshall WR WEST VIRGINIA

He was a good QB, and I liked him. No idea how he'll do at WR, but I probably would have preferred an actual WR. Still, there's something about the pick I like (call it the Curry factor, RON WHO?). Grade: B

6 31(205) Derrick Johnson CB WASHINGTON

Good. We need secondary help. Grade: B

7 1(215) Daven Holly CB CINCINNATI

I like this even more. Don't know why, but something about a CB from Cincy seems really good to me. Cool name points too. Grade: A-

7 34(248) Patrick Estes TE VIRGINIA

WTF? Eric Johnson had a great year and I think this dude had 7 catches last year. Total. Granted, Heath Miller, but still. Oh well, it's late anyways. Grade: C

7 35(249) Billy Bajema TE OKLAHOMA STATE

Same as above -- guess we really wanted to shore this position up, eh? Still, it seems like we just gave up here at the end, not sure I like that. But hell, it's not like they are supposed to make the team (except, considering the situation we're in, 7th round is still important) Grade: C


OVERALL DRAFT GRADE: B-