Let’s examine Trent Baalke’s draft resume.
According to the Niners media guide, Trent Baalke has called the shots on draft weekend the last two years. Here’s what it says about him: “Prior to being named the 49ers GM, Baalke served as Vice President of Player Personnel for the team in 2010, as he oversaw all aspects of player personnel, including the team’s draft process. For the first time in his career, he commanded a NFL team’s draft room, and netted eight selections that went on to make the team’s opening-day roster.”
There have been rumors since 2010 that Baalke didn’t really want to draft Taylor Mays – Mike Singletary commanded him to pick the Trojan. I don’t know anything about that. Baalke’s resume says he commanded the war room and takes credit for all eight of those 2010 draft picks, so I’m giving him the credit for Mays and everything else.
Let’s brake down each draft pick he’s made the last two years and give him an overall grade.
2010
1st round – 11th pick: Anthony Davis. Baalke traded up two spots, costing the Niners a fourth round pick, for 20-year old right tackle expected to start right away. Stunk right away, of course. Improved, and could be one of the best right tackles in the league in his prime. He’s certainly athletic enough, and he’ better than the next RT drafted in 2010 – Bryan Bulaga. Grade: B+.
1st round – 17th pick: Mike Iupati. Can’t miss left guard who’s been good since Day 1. Still, Baalke missed out on Dez Bryant and Rob Gronkowski. Grade: A-.
2nd round – 49th pick: Taylor Mays. Traded to the Bengals in August for a seventh rounder. Baalke missed out on Ben Tate, Toby Gerhart and Javier Arenas. Grade: F.
3rd round – 91st pick: NaVorro Bowman. All-pro inside linebacker last season. The 8th linebacker drafted, but the best one in hindsight. Baalke knocked this pick out of the park. Grade: A+.
6th round – 173rd pick: Anthony Dixon. He’s failed as a short-yardage back in his young career, but he has the size and athleticism to be good. He’s going to have to beat out Brandon Jacobs in training camp. This is doable – Jacobs is the softest big running back in the NFL Grade: C.
6th round – 182nd pick: Nate Byham. Baalke drafted him to be a blocking tight end and missed out on stud wideout Antonio Brown, whom the Steelers drafted 13 picks later. Byham tore his knee up the first day of training trying to catch a pass in the flat with no one around him. Grade: D-.
6th round – 206th pick: Kyle Williams. The best wide receiver available, but Baalke should have draft WR Antonio Brown with his previous pick. Grade: B.
7th round – 224th pick: Phillip Adams. Played 13 games as rookie, but broke his ankle at the end of the season and got cut the following training camp. Baalke missed Cal CB Syd’Quan Thompson, whom the Broncos drafted 1 pick later. Apparently Baalke doesn’t watch Cal games. Grade: D.
2011 Draft
1st round – 7th pick: Aldon Smith. Pushed the defense over the top. Grade: A+.
2nd round – 36th pick: Colin Kaepernick. Backup last season; could be the third-stringer this year. Baalke drafted him to be a three-year project, so it’s tough to judge him until 2014. Grade: INC.
3rd round – 80th pick: Chris Culliver. Instead of drafting Prince Amukamara in the first round, Baalke picked a pass rusher and waited until the 80th pick to address the Niners’ biggest need – cornerback. Culliver was a very good nickel back his rookie season and has the potential to be a No. 1 CB one day. Baalke gets bonus points for recognizing the potential because Culliver was a safety in college. Baalke dominates the third round two years in a row. Grade: A+.
4th round – 115th pick: Kendall Hunter. Productive right away as a change-of-pace running back. Not good running between the tackles, but excellent on outside runs, big-time potential in the screen game. Grade: A.
5th round – 163rd pick: Daniel Kilgore. Baalke traded up to draft this interior lineman whom the coaches like very much. He could start as early as this season at right guard. He’s slotted for the center job after Jonathan Goodwin leaves Grade: A.
6th round – 182nd pick: Ronald Johnson. Didn’t make the team out of training camp on a team desperate for wide receivers. Small and slow. Baalke missed on Stanford wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who had a very good rookie season for the Seahawks. Baalke has a history of drafting terrible Trojans. Grade: F.
6th round – 190th pick: Colin Jones: Good special teams player right away, which is exactly what Baalke wanted. Grade: B+.
7th round – 211th pick: Bruce Miller. Defensive end in college who is already a very good NFL fullback. Can block, catch and run. Grade: A+.
7th round – 239th pick: Mike Person. Made the team his rookie year and appears to have a future as on the Niners as a versatile backup offensive lineman. Think the next Adam Snyder. Grade: A.
7th round – 250th pick: Curtis Holcomb. Ruptured his Achilles tendon the first day of training camp. Grade: INC.
Before I give give you Baalke’s draft GPA, let me explain how I calculated it. I weighted all draft picks the same. Why should Baalke get less credit for drafting NaVorro Bowman in the third round than if he had drafted Bowman in the first round? That wouldn’t make sense.
Baalke’s job is to make every pick an A+, so I graded him accordingly.
Baalke’s draft GPA: 2.9
That’s a low B, and that’s because he has two F’s and two D’s on his report card. The good news – three of those awful grades came in 2010, so Baalke’s improving.
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Disagree on Byham. He was impressive and looked promising as a rookie. It is not Baalke’s fault he got injured. He deserves a higher grade or an incomplete for that pick.
If we do not draft Fleener, I predict Byham makes the team and has an impressive season as a blocking tight end in our running game.
Nice blog choice.
Many of the 2010 were Singletary’s picks. Taylor Mays was all his. Balke didn’t want him, and it actually caused a little bit of a rift. Ronald Johnson was their WR’s coach fault, who was really pushing him.
With all that said, you can’t put the same grade weight on late round choices because most are hit and miss. If you get a guy who doesn’t pan out, it’s not near the same weight as getting a guy in the early rounds who doesn’t pan out.
So you’re arguing that later round picks should be weighted lower? That doesn’t make sense in the case of Bowman and Culliver.
Grant:
You obviously did not study math, nor have you taken a statistics class. There is NO WAY you can straight line the grade, then assign A or F to the majority of the picks. Additionally as posted earlier, GM’s are graded on first 2 round picks, as they are supposed to be starters. Later rounds you hope for a diamond in the rough.
There is NO WAY you can assign Mike Person and A, he made the team, but he has never started a game.
To give Bruce Miller an A + is a joke, an A+ would be an All Pro that got rookie of the year ( similar to Aldon Smith who did not make the pro bowl but got rookies of the year, thats an A +.
Next time have your editor help you get an intern that understands math and statistics, this way your article will caryy a little more credibility.
A final example is assigning Ronald Johnson an F grade for a 6th round pick WR, basically negating the Aldon Smith A grade, which all 9er fans did not want at the time.
Baalke is an A-/B+ so far. Lets hope he improves upon that.
Bowman/Culliver were 3rd round picks.
3rd round is the high mid-round (3-5). Not a later round (6-7) Grant.
And I think you should try to stay away from using stats. Claiming that Hill’s 3rd down conversion was 3 seasons worth(48 games) and not the actual 19 games (less than 1.25 seasons, so you pulled out over 2.75 seasons out of no where) suggests you should just leave that whole part of football out of it.
Which is a good idea for everybody else as well.
I think 6th and 7th round picks that make the roster and contribute or provide solid depth are A grade selections, whereas 1st and 2nd round picks you expect them to contribute early so they only get an A if they contribute at a high level. In stats, it’s called weighting.
i agree his grade of byham doesnt make sense. the guy has a good amount of upside. and grant just dodged ur comment about that, how rude
I agree on Byham. The Niners got production out of him his very first season 2010, as a blocker. Byham was injured in the 2011 Training Camp. Not 2010 as the article insinuates.
Byham was slated to be a bigger contributor this year (before his injury) and displayed better hands than anyone had thought. At the very least, the grade for him should be a C. Or perhaps INC.
Also, I don’t think it’s wise to grade Kilgore at an A yet. He’s played in fewer games than Byham and about as many games as Kaepernick. How does he get an A?
Simple answer, Kilgore doesn’t. He’s an “INC”. That’s the only rational grade for him at this point in his career. Same with Mike Person. Person was inactive almost his entire first season. How he gets an A and Byham gets a D- escapes me.
Good article otherwise, though.
I agree with you on all accounts except for Taylor Mays. It’s obvious he was Singletary’s choice by the benching of Michael Lewis (MM at Comcast has all but confirmed this). There was no reason to bench Lewis and start Mays who ended up getting benched later anyway. So I don’t think you can put that on Baalke. Which moves his grade up to a B+
PS – The Ronald Johnson choice I read was really pushed by the WR coach since he coached him at USC. Not that it made a difference to Baalke but it’s what I read.
It all ends up on Baalke’s resume. He shouldn’t let people pressure him into drafting player he doesn’t like if that’s the case. That’s on him.
Remember Grant,Baalke was NOT the GM until just before the 2011 season. He had to cooperate with his HC,who in 2010 had just as much authority as Baalke had when it came to getting players ? If Baalke wanted to be the long term GM he had to not rock the boat with Sing and cause Jed problems.So if Sing REALLY wanted Mays,then it was either rock the boat and say no or keep things between him and Sing calm…and let Jed concentrate on getting a new stadium etc,instead of needing to step in to smooth things over between his HC and Head of player personnel.
@ Grant:
Further to what TIM said, do you know who had final say on personnel during the 2010 draft? Forget what the 2011 media guide says, who had the trigger in 2010?
Dear God, please forgive me for invoking a Nolanism.
I know he shouldn’t have caved… but if Singletary was in your face giving you the crazy eyeball look all puffed up I bet we’d all cave
Singletary had final say on personnel written into his contract. Baalke didn’t have the upper hand. That’s why last year’s draft was the first true showing for Baalke.
Baalke, not Singletary, commanded the war room in 2010 according to the media guide.
I think Ding Dong is right Grant.
Another faux paux by JoYork. Why would you give final say to a first year HC that was only a LB coach??! The winning method blueprint was in the 9er archives (aka BW’s plan) and they chose MS!!? I still don’t get it!
Based on this formula I think a 2.9 is damn good. I think a 4.0 is impossible… 1) a good team will have some throw away picks because their roster is already stacked, 2) every team makes bad picks in the later rounds because there is less to lose in those rounds and fewer good options available… so I don’t think picks like Ronald Johnson, Nate Bynham, and Phillip Adams should reflect so poorly on Ballke’s overall record… I mean if he picked Ronald Johnson in the 3rd round… that would be an F… plus, Phillip Adams for the last pick of the draft ended up being pretty good… And Dixon… I think the team has gotten more than C value out of him for a 6th round pick.
I give you Taylor Mays, that there was a bad pick… although it sounded so good at the time.
1. It’s Anthony Davis,
2. Giving Balke an A- for drafting one of the best guards in the League over Gronk makes no sense, Gronk wasn’t even a 1st round pick, hindsight is always 20/20 and Iupati as is good a Guard as Gronk is a tight end and He is a much better Guard than Dez is a Wr. Also Tight end wasn’t even a need in 2010 so drafting him would have made no sense at all, and you would have graded him D for drafting some random player, and letting Iupati and Gronk go.
And you get an F for spelling Grant. Pick it up !!
Give him a brake. :P
LOL Adam…Grant needs spel chek !
In this case – “brake” for “break” – it’s more of a parapraxia than a misspelling; we should accordingly be querying what repressed desire is struggling to break into Grant’s consciousness. This slip just might be crucially revealing of Grant’s “real” take on Ballkey – or on DS – or on us . . .
Or did you mean his “reel take ? :)
@Max
How did I get involved here?
@Tim – LOL! Yeah, since I have an unconscious, too, I might very well have intended to write “reel,” Shakespeare’s old dictum that “Life in the blog is but a movie” perhaps hiding behind my thought and informing it. Tim, been meaning to ask: are you in education?
@DS – Perhaps from my darker heart echoes of Freud’s letter abbreviations for the unconscious, preconscious, and conscious constrained me to think of your letters, DS, and of the person they stand for and over whom to form a cathexis is so easy. (Actually, you came to mind because Grant, whose repressions are the subject of my comment, had to caution you for abusive language (“fraud” “suck”) and because I just plain get a kick out of you – as Frank Sinatra once said.)
What’s the coaches’ opinion of Person?
I agree for the most part except on Byham. Sure he missed on Antonio Brown, if you assume Antonio Brown would have just as effective with Smith as he is with Big Ben. Anyway, Byham’s blocking impressed the hell out of me in his 2010 rookie season. I look forward to seeing how they get him into the fold in 2012.
Brown is a stud. He’s a mini Victor Cruz.
Victor Cruz was an UDFA… the whole league missed.
Yeah, but look how high the tiny Kendall Wright is project to get drafted. He wouldn’t have been drafted that high before Victor Cruz.
Victor Cruz isn’t the 1st small WR to make an impact. Guys Like Percy Harvin, Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson are small guys that were drafted in the 1st or 2nd round. Kendall Wright is rated highly because he was a playmaker in college and on film shows a lot of traits that suggest he could have similar success in the NFL. He is rated as a 1st rounder for these traits, not because of Victor Cruz.
brown is better than cruz……..at kendall wright made his draft stock what it is…not cruz or brown……your hilarious grant
grant you would impress me more if you had said that the niners should have drafted antonio brown right after the 2010 draft
I’m not trying to impress you; I’m just giving accurate grades.
you mean inaccurate grades right?
Thanks for the choice of subjects Grant !!!
I think Baalke deserves a bit higher grade than you gave him ,as Benny said, an overall B+ sounds about right to me.
Wow you give an D- because a Byham gets a knee injury. Wouldn’t that be INC as well? What if the guy comes back and is a stud? Seems a little impetuous.
Byham will not be a stud. Baalke missed out on the stud with that pick – Antonio Brown. Byham was a bad pick.
I concur that Baalke should be held accountable for all the picks, with or without outside advice, as you asserted earlier.
He should not be judged on players he missed such as Antonio Brown. Draft grades should be given on the actual player drafted.
Other than the miss on Brown, please expand on why you believe Byham to be a bad pick.
You can’t discount the players drafted shortly after. That matters.
Baalke didn’t take BPA, he drafted for need – blocking tight end (and was that even a need? Walker’s a good one.) Baalke got one who can’t stay healthy and he missed out on a stud WR. That’s bad.
Grant, my only disagreement is the D- for Byham. Due to the injury he should also be an incomplete at this point.
I understand that Brown has become a stud, but Byham might fill the blocking TE role they filled with Peele last year.
The blocking tight end role is an easy role to fill and in hindsight, 6th round in the 2010 draft was not the time to fill it for Baalke. It’s easy to sign veteran blocking tight ends to one-year contracts every year.
Byham is a blocking tight end with soft hands. Those are not a dime a dozen.
To say someone with a fluke blown knee as someone who “can’t stay healthy” is a bit of a stretch Grant.
Just listen to the great Eric Branch
“but he’s also always struck me as having soft and reliable hands for a guy largely defined by his blocking. Another plus: He’s scheduled to earn a base salary of $490,000 in 2012.”
-E. Branch
A veteran on a 1-year contract would cost more with less upside. I’m not lobbying for a strong grade, but a D- is too low. Wait and see this year.
I never noticed the soft, reliable hands. He tore up his knee on a non-contact play – I was staring at him when he did it.
You should call up EB, he’ll give you the straight dope about the soft hands.
A single non-contact knee injury strikes me as a fluke. Would you disagree?
I do disagree. It seemed fluky in the way that each Stephen Curry ankle injury looked fluky. He just jumped up and when he landed on the grass he crumpled to the ground. It was a basic jump. Something must be wrong with that knee, but I’m skeptical like that. I think Byham will prove to be injury prone. We’ll see.
“I was staring at him when he did it.”
No wonder he got hurt Grant. He was intimidated by your glare and lost concentration. It’s all your fault you big bully.
Fair enough. That is fascinating that you were there to see it. Having seen an injury like that up close myself, it is not a pretty sight.
Having witnessed the incident, would you be impressed if he did come back to play at full strength this year without sustaining further injury?
I would very impressed.
That was the first football injury I’ve seen up close. It was awful. We had to stand there silently, Harbaugh blew his whistle and ordered the team to keep practicing and Vernon Davis knelt next to Byham as he writhed in pain. I’ve always had deep respect and admiration for Davis since then.
I remember reading about Davis kneeling beside him. That impressed me as well, he has really matured into a leader. Seems like a real turnaround from the young defiant player we drafted to the man he has become.
Thanks for the dialogue Grant. You may have one of the greatest jobs in the world.
I’d say there’s no question. Thanks as well.
The 49ers weren’t the only ones that missed on Brown. In fact, if Brown was considered so good, all 32 teams (including the Steelers) should have been trying to draft him higher. I disagree that Byham’s grade should be impacted by the fact that Brown was selected after him – just grade him on his own contribution as a 6th rounder. So far, he doesn’t get a high grade anyway, but injury obviously impacts on that.
Grant – You are aware Bynam played in 14 games in 2010 when you were NOT covering the 49ers? Did you go back and look at tape of that season or did you just base everything off his short lived training camp in 2011 due to injury?
wow you really do love antonio brown don’t you, and really hate byham….byham is a blocking stud and has decent hands. if you like brown so much, please go write for the steelers
well next time your next to byham why dont you tell him how much you hate him and dis like him because the 49ers drafted byham over brown…please do so grant…….so if the niners drafted brown and the steelers got byham and byham was a stud there and if that was the case brown would have had a decnt season with the niners…then injured in pre season. then you would be mad that the 49ers drafted brown instead of byham….
Using your criteria Grant the 1985 draft would have been a complete bust. That year we got only one player out of seven drafted. Thats about a 0.5 GPA but by any TRUE measure that draft was an A+++.
Overall I think that Baalke has done better than a 2.9 especially when compared to a guy like Terry Donahue.
Oops! I forgot Bruce Collie from the 85 draft who was a serviceable pick for a couple of years.
Collie was serviceable until he got caught for steroids. He went downhill quickly once was off the juice.
I do agree Baalke job is to have an A+ but that is just un-realistic would be dog gone hard to just get an A-. The Ronald Johnson pick to me was the worst one. Taylor Mays eh I think a D- would work after all we did get a 7th round pick for him. I think Baalke deserves a good solid B and rising.
2.9 is close to a solid B, and he’s clearly rising.
He got executive of the year Grant. That should count for some serious extra credit man.
If Baalke finds a gem in the rough with next years 7th round selection from the Bengals, then it would be an instance of grade replacement.
Replacing an F with an A or a B could really bring up his overall GPA!
Disagree with the Kyle Williams grade. Should be no higher than a C. In fact given the mental breakdowns in college coupled with the meltdown in the NFC Championship game I’d give him a D- .
Fair argument. He might have been the best player available, though.
IMHO Williams is a very good player and a good draft pick. A couple mistakes in a big game (where he was playing out of position as punt returner,more fault on the coaches than on him imho),don’t tell the story on a solid player like williams.
I agree. It’s too bad he’s already had four concussions, though. I doubt he has a long future in this league.
Yep,I had forgotten about the concussions in College. That would have made him a more risky pick and that alone should make Williams a lower grade for Baalke. But if he stays healthy he is a veryt good and reliable player (except in one big game,where he might have been the hero and not the goat,if the QB had seen him open for a sure TD).
williams is good…….he had a injured shoulder in the nfc championship game….after ginn and williams….who would you have put in….williams did not say he was injured to the media but his dad cae out and said it and williams did not like that…..williams wants no excuses for what happened but he was injured and out of position.
@Jons Niners
I don’t know if I’d say he is good (have not seen enough of him to really make my own personal decision). But the rest of your post is spot on. Williams did what a Pro player and a standup guy would do. That does not happen automatically.
Look what MC said after the game. The only player to not point the finger at himself while he had the worst game among all the starters, probably a Niner player in that game. And he pointed the finger at everybody else. Not noticing the 4 fingers pointing back at him.
Rookie boy could teach our #1 WR a few things about taking personal responsibility and not pointing at others for your obvious mistakes (even going back to the NO game).
Okay, I’m scared now — I’m agreeing with TIM. As I watched the season unfold last year, I became more and more impressed with Williams. I wouldn’t rush to have him back fielding punts any time soon, but I thought he was rapidly becoming a clutch receiver. I hope his progress continues.
Perhaps the concussions explain the way he stood there – just stood there – and watched a rolling punt hit him in the leg.
#@%&*!
“7th round – 224th pick: Phillip Adams.”
I thought they were holding out some hope on this kid making it back and contributing, no? Maybe I’m thinking of Jones.
Doh! My bad. He’s not around anymore. Musta been thinking of Jones. :P
That’s my excuse anyway. Ha.
Errr… Holcomb.
K, I need a nap. :P
Hey Grant,we need a delete button . :)
This is my way of proving that I’m not right ALL the time.
Did all that on purpose, yeah… that’s the ticket.
:P
He did catch on with the Patriots last year for a while. I’m not sure if he is still there.
He’s not. lasted 3 games before being cut in favor of antwan molden
Grant, I think this is a unique and thoughtful piece. One of the things you do is make us think about the Niner team we love. I can’t wait to see TB’s next picks. Thanks. Btw, the piece is a fun read.
Nice assessment Grant, but a poor grading scale. Grading NFL players on a school report card system just doesn’t work in my book. Too many intangibles.
Does Baalke get extra credit points for “drafting” Jim Harbaugh as his first action as GM ?
+1
I’m probably splitting hairs but that’s more of a free agent signing.
Tim, do you really think it was TB that hired JH? Really?
“Baalke commanded the war room according to the media guide…” Baalke was indeed in charge but he also is the type to get the coaches who they may like. Your statement however is a cop out. If you want a real and true assessment you need to ask Singletary and Baalke or people that was there. Other wise your writing as a writer and reporter is flawed and some what fictional. Besides, you know the drill, the only true assessment that can be made is only after the draft.
As for your scoring method. actually scoring big with later picks should be worth more as it is harder to assess late round picks. First rounders should be technically more of a lock.
If Baalke missed Aldon Smith in the first round, his resume would be permanently stained. If he missed Bruce Miller in the seventh round, no one would hold it against him.
Why does everyone keep saying Baalke was in charge during the 2010 draft ? Did Sing have a clause in his contract that gave him final say in the draft or didn’t he ? If he did then Baalke did not have the final say on Mays. I am sure Sing would bow to the knowledge of Baalke and the scouting staff on most selections,but if Sing really,really wanted Mays then Baalke couldn’t say no,if Sing had that clause. It’s your job Grant to find out the facts,not just read the media guide. After all the media guide probably gives false heights and weights for players too…do you always believe everything you read ?
Remember Grant,Baalke was NOT the GM (the boss) until 2011.
If Baalke’s taking credit for the 2010 draft, I’m giving him credit.
With that answer you should be running for political office Grant . :)
So are these grade based on performance or what everybody thinks?
these grades are base on grants opinion and his opinions only….
Its sad that KW still gets blamed and gets a bad rep, coaching error to have him in that position, hope his health holds up and he gets a chance to redeem himself, room to grow, but solid pic in my book
He wasn’t out of position. He was the backup all year and returned punts in college. It was his fault for taking chances and not having proper ball security. Hopefully he learned from the experience and comes back stronger. I like him a lot as a WR. KW makes plays.
It was the coaches fault for leaving him in there after he dove for that one early punt and luckily caught it at his shoe tops and didn’t fumble.
He is a very good WR and often made nice plays.
Who were they going to put back there?
Anyone who could do the one thing that is required of every punt returner,catch and hold onto the ball,and THEN if you can ,get some positive yards.
I used to get mad when Sing would have different punt returners back there who had NO chance to break a return.Their response to questions about that were that the they wanted someone who could catch and wouldn’t fumble. When Williams was making his several mistakes in the Championship game all that came back to me and I was no longer so mad at Sing and his staff for those decisions,which I was angry about at the time.
I don’t think it’s fair that you’ve given each draft pick the same weight. A 1st round pick should thus receive more “units.” Busting on a 1st rounder has by far greater implications than busting on a 6th rounder. Likewise, hitting on a 1st rounder should count for way much more missing on a 7th rounder. But because everything’s weighted equally, a poor 7th rounder will negate an outstanding 1st round choice selection.
So Taylor Mays should carry more weight in Baalke’s draft GPA than NaVorro Bowman?
I would put Taylor Mays in the Singletary GPA.
@htwaits then you have to put Davis, Iupati and Bowman in the Singletary GPA.
Baalke was either in charge in 2010 or he wasn’t.
Right. He wasn’t any time Sing had a different idea. Who do you think is in charge now when the issue is about quarterbacks?
I think you have it all wrong. Early rounds graded as they perform. Starter = A. Pro Bowl A+. Getting lots of plays in rotation B/B+. Bench warmer w
ith potential C. Get traded away for any value D. Cut F.
Rounds 3 and later add one full grade. Example: Starter=A+. Getting lots of plays in rotation A.
When you can pluck a player from the bottom of the draft that turns out to be a valuable starter or major time player you have really accomplished something. So get a higher grade.
I think the early round picks should be weighted more than the picks in the latter rounds. If a GM misses on his 1 round picks consistently he’ll get fired real quick because those guys get more money. Not as much as they used to b/c of the new CBA, but still enough to weight them more than the late round picks. A GM wouldn’t take nearly as much heat for missing on 6th round picks because when you have a deep team already, its a given some guys arent going to make the roster. Maybe use the same table that is always referenced used when considering how many picks you need to trade up. Don’t think he should take the heat for guys getting injured either. Bynhum could end up being a serviceable TE for all we know. We drafted Bear Pascoe in the 6th a while back and let him go. The Giants picked him up and he ended up scoring a TD on us in the NFC championship game last year. Dixon would be a B- in my book because he was a 6th round pick and he does contribute on ST. Plus he’s hilarious and just a fun guy to have on the team. Balke is killing it in the 3rd round, can’t wait to see who we take there this year. I’ll have big expectations haha
You need to weight the grades. Not getting a usable player with a high pick should cost a lot, but getting a really good player with a low pick should really raise the grade. Similarly, getting a stud in the first round shouldn’t greatly change your average, but drafting a Taylor Mays should really bring your average down. But even with Mays, I’d say Baalke should get an A- or an A.
He’s yet to draft a stud offensive skill player.
He hasn’t really tried for a stud. You get studs in rounds 1 and 2.
Of course he has not gotten 1, the attempts are 0. How could he have drafted a stud.
The Steelers drafted Antonio Brown – a stud – in the sixth round of the ’10 draft. Baalke had three draft picks in that round, and he picked Kyle Williams.
Grant, Do you still think he will go after Fleener in Round 1? ESPN’ latest mock draft has him going at 32 to NY.
Yes, I believe the Niners will draft Fleener @ 30. Who does ESPN predict Baalke will draft?
The WR from Georgia tech – Hill.
Who do you think Baalke should/will draft if both are available? I think it’s Fleener and Fleener.
If both are available I go with Fleener. His combination of size and speed would make him a matchup nightmare. Plus it gives them great leverage with Walker next offseason.
A 6th round pick is not an expected stud player Grant. If he is, great!
Matters how you define stud though Grant. All these guys look great with their shirt off. All run faster than you or me. They all look like studs.
So, perhaps before you continue using the term, you need to define the term.
I’d be surprised if the 49ers don’t take a WR or Fleener with their 1st pick. I’m pretty sure I read they interviewed most of the WRs at the combine that could be available around #30.
I think what would be interesting is if one of the top 3-4 OLB prospects falls to #30, whether they consider it. The draft is deep at WR and you can never have too many quality pass rushers. We’re an injury to Aldon Smith away from being in the same position we were in after 2009 and 2010 (i.e., the same defense that desperately needed an Aldon Smith)
@DS, “Matters how you define stud though…perhaps before you continue using the term, you need to define the term.”
How about you define it for us so that we are using it how you feel we should?
@Jack
It’s Grants blog. He introduced the word. His job to define it.
I am still waiting for him to define “elite QB” as well. That would be a very hard one to do and a good blog topic if he does it properly.
That definition would have to include every elite QB who played and exclude any non-elite QB who played. That can be hard. But considering how often he and others just throw that term around all the time, it is VITAL to define. But it has not been.
If the Press Democrat wants to pay me to define it I will. But it is paying Grant, so it’s his job to define the words/terms he uses. Not mine.
Bottomline is if his drafting continues to be this good or even a little less, he’s light years ahead of McCloughan or anybody else since the Walsh years. I’d grade him out at a B+/A- so far.
I agree with the overall grade that you gave Baalke but I don’t get how you give unproven guys like Person and Kilgore A Grades. That makes zero sense whatsoever.
Valuable low round picks.
GC, until they are starters they can’t be graded. They are barely backups at this point.
Grant, I went a bit further on the GPA calculation than you did. Since you assigned “+” and “-” to the grades, I used the following conversion: A+=12, A=11, A-=10, B+=9, B=8, B-=7, C+=6, C=5, C-=4, D+=3, D=2, D-=1, F=0. I also did separate calculations for ’10 and ’11 (I’m an old retired guy with a little too much time on my hands). The results (–> means “rounds off to”):
’10: 5.875–>6, a C+
’11: 9.75–>10, an A- (the two Incs in ’11 were ignored)
combined: 7.8125–>8, a B
You said “so Baalke’s improving”. I would say from a C+ to an A- is drastic improvement. Give credit where credit’s due…
Now, will he do as well as he did in ’11 every year? That would be difficult. Our roster is vastly improved, there’s much more depth than there used to be, so making the roster will be a more difficult task for an incoming rookie than it has been in the past. For this reason, for this season and perhaps next, I advocate combining draft picks to trade up to select a player that is likely to make the roster, instead of keeping seven draft picks, most of which will be used on players unlikely to make the roster.
TB will be moving around in this draft like he did in last years draft…….look for the 49ers to move up for someone like wright or decastro.
Grading 4th round,and later picks using same criteria as earlier round picks, and having those late round grades carry same weight as earlier round grades doesn’t make much sense to me, just my opinion.
@DRTY49:
I don’t think that is what Grant did. I am pretty sure that he applied a different criteria to later round picks to arrive at the grades for those picks. Once the grade was calculated (using criteria appropriate for the round in question), the grade was given equal weight in calculating the overall GPA.
Love the article. Disagree on Davis being better than Bulaga. I think most people would reverse that. For example the bleacher report (nfl-1000) ranking the league’s right tackles puts Davis at number 2o, while Bulaga is at 2. Almost every scouting report at the time had Bulaga ranked higher than Davis as well. Add to that the forgone 4th round pick and I think we’re looking at a B- or C+.
I didn’t watch Bulaga much last year but when I read your response it made me think twice. I assumed Bulaga was also better than AD. I could be wrong though. I like Anthony Davis a lot and I think he has great potential. He made great strides last year and I expect more of that from him.
I think that Bulaga(SP ?) was supposed to be the more NFL ready but with short arms and too slow, etc,while Davis was raw but had the best long term outlook by far over Bulaga.If you don’t really judge draft picks until the 3rd year,especially O linemen,then Davis should be head and shoulders over Bulaga.
Davis is the enforcer on the line.
Ya I never liked the fact that Bulaga had short arms.
If Baalke can repeat the success of the 2011 draft in 2012 he will receive an A for his overall draft gpa.
Hey Grant, it would be awesome if you did this same analysis for the Raiders and then allow us to gloat at our GPA being higher than theirs. It would give us a counter number to their 40 times.
HAHAHAHA. I love the reference to the 40 times. The Raiders are whack!
You missed on Byham…they wanted a big TE for blocking purposes and that’s what they got. The fact he was injured before last season’s certainly not Baalke’s fault. To say he should’ve taken another player, that’s not really your call. If the GM drafts the kind of player that’s needed, that’s not a fault, necessarily, that’s just getting what he and the head coach feel is right.
Maybe we bloggers should vote on you…what you missed. Nobody’s perfect, not Baalke, not you. Your opinions are just that…and as you’ve seen, many disagree with yours. You come across as very opinionated…and that’s your perogative, I suppose. But, you might do well to recognize there are gray areas in any evaluations, no matter if it’s a GM, head coach, or players. For me, the BL is this team, consisting of a number of players Baalke drafted, was 14-4 last year. I don’t know about you, but that surely works for me.
I think it would be interesting to see A Baalke Vs. McCloughan comparison…
I would rather forget McCloughan,like I am still trying to forget Donahue.
it could have been worse like that april fools joke 49erswebzone did about hiring mcmillian…….man they had me mad for about an hour until i realized it was a april fools joke
Just get really drunk and then read Mel Kiper. That would be the McCloughan grade.
McLoughan had no idea how to draft past round 1.
baalke has done miracles compare to what scot, nolan and sing did or tried to do. even donahue wow so many bad people in charge, one after another.
i think this grades are very bias to say the list, Davis a B+, he has been a starter for 2 years and is still struggling? i would say B- more accurately. Dixon a C is too high imho too. byham gets knock for not drafting antonio brown? if thats it then the draft could of, should of… williams like dixon has made the team but has not done much, this year he had couple nice games but nothing to warrant a B rating after 2 years.
hunter an A, he only had 470 yards and 2 TD.. a B would be right. kilgore and person have not played, how they deserve an A is beyond me. jones is also not even a huge special team player, a B+ is too high..
his draft overall have been good, i would say top 15 in the league, he is getting starters in the 1-3, quality backups the rest of the draft. outside of 1 trojan and couple 6 or 7th picks who didn’t made the team/ got beat by a better player or got injured everyone has been or is projected to be good
BTW i had to LOL bout the Syd’Quan Thompson bash, 240 picks pass up on him and baalke is getting blame for passing up on him
I disagree with the D- for Nate Byham and the D for Adams. I almost wonder if you intentionally gave him a low grade on Bynham instead of an Incomplete as you did for other injured draft picks so that Baalke would end up with a GPA under 3.0. You can’t assign a grade for a player you haven’t seen. Seems very contrived to me.
In addition, the whole Incomplete grade concept is very inconsistent. There is no rationale for giving Adams a “D” if he was injured and Holcolmb an Incomplete. Any injured player should be given an Incomplete until he plays in a regular season game or is cut from the team.
And the young Mr. Cohn dies it again, great topic, good insight and overall assesment. I would echo many here on the Byham asessment as I think he showed some flashes before getting hurt, and also think the Kilgore grade was a bit generous, as we haven’t seen enough to call that one an A+ yet.
Also, I think it would be interesting to use your scale on the previous regime, as I’m sure the Kentwan Balmer, Glenn Coffee and Chilo Rachel picks are far worse than Baalke’s wiffs. Ok, I just puked a little!
Shea McClellen, OLB Boise St. if available at 30 should be the pick. He’s related to Justin Smith and has the relentless blood flowing through his veins. Matched with Aldon Smith would make an opposing offense passing down a study in futility. How valuable are these guys? Very! Could we get away with drafting Fleener and then trade up for McClellin early 2nd Round if he’s there?
I love auto correct Grant does it again, not dies, sorry Grant, much love!
Let’s just cut through the fog here and tell it like it is. Baalke had a really good draft in 2010,except where he was over ruled by sing or begged by the WR’s coach to draft Johnson.
He had a GREAT draft in 2011 when he was in charge fully for the FIRST time ! He also had a great year in hiring the Coach of the year and in free agency he pulled a few rabbits out of his hat (last year and this off season !)and was himself the executive of the year in the NFL !!!
Looks like an A grade to me !
GC, thank you for posting something new.
I’ve disagreed on a few of your grades and added what I believe the grade should be:
1st round – 11th pick: Anthony Davis. Baalke traded up two spots, costing the Niners a fourth round pick, for 20-year old right tackle expected to start right away. Stunk right away, of course. Improved, and could be one of the best right tackles in the league in his prime. He’s certainly athletic enough, and he’ better than the next RT drafted in 2010 – Bryan Bulaga. Grade: B+. Should be: Grade B-
ADavis has played well at times but was too inconsistent with both CRachal and ASnyder on the right side. Needs more consistency for the arrows to be up permanently.
6th round – 173rd pick: Anthony Dixon. He’s failed as a short-yardage back in his young career, but he has the size and athleticism to be good. He’s going to have to beat out Brandon Jacobs in training camp. This is doable – Jacobs is the softest big running back in the NFL Grade: C. Should be: Grade D
Has not panned out as a backup to FG. Tends to dance and they should have seen this tendency prior to the draft.
6th round – 182nd pick: Nate Byham. Baalke drafted him to be a blocking tight end and missed out on stud wideout Antonio Brown, whom the Steelers drafted 13 picks later. Byham tore his knee up the first day of training trying to catch a pass in the flat with no one around him. Grade: D-. Should be: INC
Can’t blame NB for his injury. If it is chronic, the blame is on TB.
6th round – 206th pick: Kyle Williams. The best wide receiver available, but Baalke should have draft WR Antonio Brown with his previous pick. Grade: B. Should be: Grade C-
Has played well at times, but when he needs to play big, he tries too hard and mistakes occur. Needs to prove his worth by first making the team in 2012.
3rd round – 80th pick: Chris Culliver. Instead of drafting Prince Amukamara in the first round, Baalke picked a pass rusher and waited until the 80th pick to address the Niners’ biggest need – cornerback. Culliver was a very good nickel back his rookie season and has the potential to be a No. 1 CB one day. Baalke gets bonus points for recognizing the potential because Culliver was a safety in college. Baalke dominates the third round two years in a row. Grade: A+. Should be: Grade B+
Played well as GC points out but until he is a starter, can only give TB a B+.
5th round – 163rd pick: Daniel Kilgore. Baalke traded up to draft this interior lineman whom the coaches like very much. He could start as early as this season at right guard. He’s slotted for the center job after Jonathan Goodwin leaves Grade: A. Should be: Grade INC
Not enough data on him as an NFL player in general to give this pick any more than an INC. Is he a starter? TBD.
7th round – 239th pick: Mike Person. Made the team his rookie year and appears to have a future as on the Niners as a versatile backup offensive lineman. Think the next Adam Snyder. Grade: A. Should be: Grade INC Same as DKilgore above.
Great job Grant. Even greater job for Balke. The man seems to surprise us every year with his draft fan. I’m looking forward to the draft. Unlike other years past when we didn’t care what the draft yielded. Just wanted to know who they wasted the 1st pick on.
Jordo, your best post in months. Keep it up!
Not weighing the draft picks based on the round (if not the position in the round) is not the right approach. GMs get fired for missing on first round picks. They do not get fired if a 7th round pick does not male it. For example, if Alex Smith had been a 4th or lower pick, the view and discussion about his career would be very different.
@ Grant:
The problem I have with your grading system is that no one hits on every pick. Even Bill Walsh missed on many picks, including multiple picks in a given year. Assigning an individual grade to every pick almost guarantees multiple Ds and/or Fs each year.
Wouldn’t a better system start with setting a league wide baseline for the number of hits and misses experienced by the average GM/per year, and then judging Baalke by how he did compared to the average GM?
Claude:
According to the NFL Baalke was THE executive of the year,so he was the top dog ! They are all getting graded and judges by him now !
Of course this is not just based on the draft but all his actions as GM.
“Judged” ,fat fingers!!!
He still drafts a bit too BParcellsish for me. But he has done a good job so far with a few blips.
A point I brought up as well Tim
God. I am starting to effect how you think now. Thru some Jedi mind tricks, I happened to effect you to write what I would write later.
Or, you were online earlier and just happened to write it first.
I like the first possibility more though.
: – )
Exactly, Claude. Also, a sixth or seventh round bust isn’t nearly as big a problem for a GM, as a first, second, or even third round bust would be.
Grant,
Can you explain why a first or second round bust isn’t worse than a sixth or seventh round bust? They just aren’t the same. Ronald Johnson not panning out simply isn’t as damaging to the team as Taylor Mays not working out [unless the Matts are full of crap, I don't know how you can say you don't know that the Mays pick had Singletary's fingerprints all over it].
Good to see this again…Can’t wait!
http://www.49ers.com/news-and-events/article-2/Workouts-Resume-at-49ers-Headquarters/62664cd5-bb57-4ef8-8561-3df9c81de0fd
grant really hates byham and really loves brown………..obviously
It was an interesting exercise, Grant, but it only takes you so far. And I can illustrate. Go back and do the same math on Walsh’s first two drafts in 1979 and 1980. Obviously, two A+ in Montana and Clark. An A- in Keena Turner. A bunch of Jim Stuckey / Earl Cooper Bs and Cs. A whole lot of James Owens Ds. A lot of David Hodge Fs who did not make the team. Final GPA somewhere south of Baalke.
Obviously, this points out the limitations. And draft where you get athe best QB ever and a 500-reception WR is an A+ in hindsight, even if Walsh drafted grade school girls the rest of the rounds. Just saying.
I have a feeling that if we are sitting at #30 and fleener is there we might get a call from the colts willing to trade up for fleener to reunite him with luck.
What do you think they’ll do at rb? There’d be a few good ones there with there 2nd.
I think both Wilson and Martin will be available in the 2nd round.
Here is a list of top 50 prospects – according to NFL.com. Let’s see how Baalke grades out this year:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82814011/article/richardson-ranks-as-no-3-overall-prospect-in-2012-nfl-draft?module=HP11_hot_topics
Baalke gets two shot at the top 61 players. Not much to see there. How about 3 through 5.
Byham is a B. Phillip Adams was playing very well when he had the Buster Posey ankle bread, at worst an inc, should be a B. Are we watching the same film?
grant is not watching film at all.that’s very obvious don’t you think? I don’t even think he is watching the 49ers…. I think he is just speaking his mind and his opinions and no one agrees with him.
But you keep reading and posting(whining), don’t you?
takeow can you give a D- for Byham based on his injury Grant? He had a good rookie season. Having Byham will allow Vernon Davis to be more of a threat on the field because he will take over the blocking duties when needed.
That should be how can you. No idea why it’s takeow. My phone is messed up or something.
I think the draft grades should put into account the studs baalke found in the later rounds. It’s easier to find studs in the earlier rounds rather than late. Every team knows the big names. The teams that find great talent in later rds are the one that need to be graded higher. Just the fact he found Culliver and Bowman in later rds has to push him up to a b+. the real sign of a good scouting department is finding diamonds in the ruff, like Brady, terrel Davis , victor Cruz , etc…….
good topic grant. giving the eyeball test to your grade it seems low. i’d put it at more a solid B. i dont think that baalke’s job is to make each pick an A+, its to draft a talented and coachable guy that fits the system that Harbaugh runs. The coaches make the players A+. But most importnat thing for a GM is to hit on early picks and some late round picks. When i say hit, it doesnt have to be finding a tom brady in 6th round, but at least a solid player that contributes a la eric heitman. And a couple “intangibles” about baalke are 1)he is very good w the media from a fans perspective as he gives nothing up and 2)he has great chemistry w harbaugh. that latter can’t be stressed enough cause you need a great GM/Coach combo to succeed otherwise you have a pioli/haley type situation (not that haley is a great coach). last thing is that you have to judge each pick individually in terms of weight. when the texans pick m williams they were heavily criticized but i would say they got the better pick, likewise for baalke to draft say anthony davis was pretty much expected by draft niks. But him picking aldon came out of nowhere and took balls according to draft niks or culliver and bruce with the idea of converting them was pretty clutch. Baalke picking colin k was no suprise either. i think the best example was when scott picked crabtree, they praised him heavily for a great draft when scott did nothing al did the heavy liftin on that with crab producing medicore #s at best. getting crab at that spot was a duh move but say scott picked mike wallace that pick instead that would be a bad ass move that would be a HUGE risk. so thats what i mean about judging each pick individually.
@ Lott, if that is the case then we’d get their 1st next year plus a third or fourth this year. I’d do it fast!!! Most likely they’ll finish near the bottom again next year.
Most experts say you can’t truly judge a draft unt they have 3 seasons under there belt. Something to talk about tho!
Based on your grading system and the reality that draft picks do not all work out, it would be best to compare to all other gms? A b minus may be something of a great thing if making this comparison.
First of all, Phillip Adams had a promissing rookie season as both a corner and a return man. His injury is not Balke’s fault. But he clearly wasn’t the same player when he returned.
Secondly, giving “A’s” to Kilgore and Person is ridiculous! If you gave Kaepernick an incomplete, how can you give an “A” to a guard who doesn’t contribute on special teams and was in for all of one play all season?! I know the coaches seem to like him and he probably has potential, but so far that hasn’t been seen on the football field. (Previous regimes said great things about Rausawn Woods in the offseason, to name just one example, and how did that work out?) Before you give him an “A” for being a valuable late round pick, remember, they had to sacrifice an extra pick to get him, and though he’s pencilled in as a starter, they are actively looking at guard free agents. (And who knows, coaches talking him up now might just be a draft smokescreen. The coaches were actively talking up Alex Smith, but all the while they were secretly pursuing Peyton Manning, so don’t read so much into what they say, and DO put more weight on what the players actually did.) Person is even a bigger stretch: he didn’t play last year but is pencilled in as a back-up next year, that is, if he beats out Alex Boone. At BEST, he’s an incomplete.
Now I could quibble a little bit about a couple of others (Byham so low? I don’t think injuries should affect Baalke’s grade as much as you do, and I wouldn’t grade Colin Jones quite so high, but your point with these guys is at least defensible.
But totally indefensible is your quibbling about the drafting of one of the top 2 or 3 guards in ALL football: this caused Trent to “miss out” on Dez Bryant?! You couldn’t pay me to take that loser! For all his physical talent, he’s a knucklehead who needs a babysitter to keep him out of trouble. You’ve got to be kidding! Yes they took a flyer at Randy Moss, but he’s on a non-guaranteed one year deal. Pay guaranteed first round money to Dez Bryant? Even with his production, that would have been foolish!
This is how you grade? Really? And yes you weight the higher round picks heavier than the lower round picks. They’re worth more…hell there’s even a trade value chart for draft picks.
Anthony Davis gets a B+???? The guy was ran around by pass rushers in all of 2010 and through most of 2011 (I just watched part of the Thanksgiving game again yesterday and saw Davis run around twice!). He’s a good run blocker and got a little better at pass blocking, but HE’S STILL A LIABILITY AS A PASS BLOCKER.
Byham gets a D? He played in 2010 and was a decent blocker and caught a pass or two. Good lord what do you want for a 6TH ROUND PICK???
Adams actually had a decent game or two at Corner near the end of 2010. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM A 7TH ROUND PICK????
Kilgore and Person are graded A’s??? THEY HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING. Yeah, I liked what Kilgore did against 2nd and 3rd stringers in the 2011 PRESEASON. But Kilgore played ONE SNAP and Person played NO SNAPS during the regular season. Kilgore grades a little higher because the Niners are confident in having him COMPETE for the starting right guard spot…but he’s not anointed or anything.
This post is exactly how I see it. How Baalke get such a bad grade when a 7th rounder doesn’t pan out?? They reason why they’re drafted in the 7th round in the first place is that they didn’t have enough talent to be drafted earlier. What is the percentage of 7th round draft picks that make the cut for an A compared to the percentage that don’t even make the team?? Sure there are steals, but to keep blabbering that we should have drafted Antonio Brown, this player, that player, that’s all hindsight. As if anyone even had a clue Antonio Brown was going to be that good, could any of you guys have really, really predicted that??
If anybody thought Antonio Brown was all that, he would not have been there in the 7th round.
That is a fact.
There is no way the Niners use the 30th pick overall to select TE Coby Fleener. They already have 2 starting TE’s in Davis and Walker. Bynam returns to be the blocking TE and Conrad Reuland who they loved last year provides depth. Why draft another when there are more pressing needs. Even if he is the best player still on the board, you trade down and acquire picks that provide further depth at WR, ILB, OLB, and corner.
whoa! great piece Grant, i just disagree with the final grade. 3 solid starters in 2010, and at least 2 (more if Culliver or Kaep start) in 2011 – check out Walsh’s draft history or any other coach and this ranks up there with their better years, and even great’s like Walsh just whiffed on a draft or two. I say the early read (given that most analysts like to wait 2-3 years to evaluate a draft) is that he’s 2 for 2, and hopefully in a few more years we’ll know whether to include Baalke’s name as one of the better talent evaluators in the game’s history.
Grant good analysis on the draft picks. I wouldn’t give Kilgore and Pearson an A But then again players like Bynum or Holcomb haven’t had the chance to do much of anything at all to contribute so it evens out.
I give the 2010 draft grade a B- but the 2011 grade an easy A. Given the fact that usually not every pick in a draft stays on a team or can contribute right away or even turns out to be a good player or pick……except a Walsh draft of course :)…….I think the niners had the best 2011 draft so far and a top 10-15 draft in 2010.
How would you grade each draft so far and also relative to other teams drafts?
@DS
That was a great link about the concussions. Dont mean to change the topic here but maybe you can re post the link so others may share in the discovery.
@undercenter
Sure
There is a story about kids and concussions and head injuries that was on the NEWSHOUR a few days ago.
If anybody is tired of the AS stuff and wants to take a stab at something football related and important to us all, check it out. It is rather lengthy at about 13 minutes or so, but it is well worth your time.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june12/footballhits_04-02.html
Here is how I would grade him. First off, a couple of corrections. These 2 players should be INC since they haven’t played a down as far as I can tell:
Daniel Kilgore
Mike Person
I assume you gave them A’s since the GPA was looking awful before.
Also, the way I would weight a draft, I would give much higher value to the first round picks, as that is what will break the team if they don’t succeed. So here is my system, 7th round pick worth 1 point, 1st round pick worth a factor of 7. So an A for a first rounder would be 7×4 = 28.
Based on this, the GPA is ironically still 2.9, but without rating 2 rookies who haven’t played a down as A’s. I suspect when you grade on a curve (consider that most GMs miss more than Baalke), and it would still be an A.
Kilgore and Person get A’s? Combined playing time Zero, sorry if I’m wrong about the number, maybe they were on the sidelines for a game or a kick-off return. I had a hippie teacher in college and he gave everyone an A for the course without exams.
I can’t agree with the Byham grade. For a sixth round pick to make the active roster and contribute on game day is above average; a B grade.
The norm for 6th round picks is the practice squad or the street. The fact that the Steelers got an A+ later on doesn’t diminish the value of the 49ers pick and Byham’s injury doesn’t either. Byham wasn’t injured in TC as a rookie – he had already put in a productive season on the active roster. That’s above average for a 6th rounder.
The same thing goes for Philip Adams. He made the active roster and contributed as a 7th round rookie. That’s above average.
Taylor Mays was without a doubt an F whether or not Singletary had control. Baalke was acting GM – if he gets the credit for Iupati and Bowman then he gets the blame for Mays.
As an aside – I’m surprised to see so much defense of Baalke considering he just tried to replace the Precious again.
Absolutely!
Grant,
You might have answered this earlier, but how can you give Kilgore and Persons an “A” when they haven’t done anything? I can see if you said C+ or even a “B”…I think those grades are too generous.
As for a Byham, I disagree. That dude is a serious blocking tight end. You can’t hold an injury against him unless he’s proven to be injury prone, which nothing points toward that. An ACL can come from one awkard movemennt, but it can’t be an indictment against him. I think Byham makes the team this year even if we draft Fleener. Byham has solid hands and he’s a better (stronger/bigger) blocker than Delanie (I like D. Walker). I think Byham, deserves at least a C+ if not a “B”. Or he and Persons & Kilgore should get INCs since we don’t really have a large enough body of work.
I think you need to weigh the picks. An ‘A’ pick in the first round should be easier to get than an ‘A’ player in the 7th round (let alone someone who makes the team).
So if you give each grade a number (A = 4), then multiply that by the round you get a total score (an A player in round two would have the formula of 4 (grade) x 2 (round) = score of 8. Round 7 an A player would be 7×4 = 28.
Add this up and assume a perfect score is 156 for 2011 ( 8 drafts weighted), and they end up with a total of 126 points. That’s 80%. Or a grade of B for the whole draft.
So this makes more sense to me, and validates Grant as smarter than me because he got to the same number with less work! :)
This is off-topic but I just found a great video of the guys who took the 49ers to a 13-3 record last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV94kJZriy0&feature=player_embedded#!
The techno music is a tad annoying but the highlights of the 2011 49ers defense are fantastic.
Ahh heck – I wasn’t far enough into to notice the NSFW lyrics. Grant, you might want to delete that link. Some really foul rap song is second up.
Grant is probably the most efficient sports blogger if ratio of quantity of reader posting to blog material is the metric.
This is a very relevant topic. However, I disagree on using equal weights for all draft picks, and also the grades Grant has given to some of the picks. I’ll do my own analysis if I find time. Meanwhile Smileyman on Niners Nation will be doing a decade-long draft review starting with the 2002 draft. Definitely worth a read.
http://www.ninersnation.com/2012/4/3/2921753/49ers-2002-nfl-draft-review-grade
Also, Football Outsiders is doing their 6-year evaluation of the overall draft. Vernon Davis is one of the best picks.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-draft/2012/2006-draft-six-years-later
The NFL average is about 40% at best of players even making the team. Sing pushed for, and got, the two OL in the first round of 2010 along with Mays. When you figure that of Baalke’s 18 picks, 13 are on the team and contributing, with an INC for Holcomb, he’s hitting on 70% of his picks, or almost TWICE the league average. Now go back and read all of the “what the h*** is he doing?” from the “experts” last year, and now who looks brilliant.
I give him a solid “A”.
Williams will finish his career a more accomplished player than Brown, says the Homer herein.
So Trent Baalke gets a 2.9 GPA, then what do all the other GM’s in the league get? Let’s put that into perspective and see which other GM’s have a higher or lower GPA. That would be the better indication of how Baalke is doing. Grant might be trying to say that Baalke has a low GPA, and from first glance it looks bad, but when you compare his grade to the rest of the class, and he’s getting the higher draft GPA than other GM’s, what does that tell us?
Simply saying Baalke has a 2.9 doesn’t really tell anything. All GM’s are bound to make picks that won’t ever mean anything cause most players in the draft you’ll never hear about again. How does a GM even get a 4.0?? They’d need to draft an impact player for every single pick they make. Who has that kind of record??
Exactly.
Grant needed some mechanism for throwing out the lowest one or two grades per year Baalke. If Baalke didn’t deserve an A grade last year, what does a GM need to do to get an A? Also, the better the team becomes, the more difficult it will be for draft picks to make the team, much less contribute right away.
Also dont agree on Byham, we need a power blocker as one of our TE’s
and thats what he is, with pretty good hands, and great attitude and work ethic.
I think you will be changing that grade down th road
btw..has Byham given up his # to Manningham yet, I’d be intrested to hear how that process works
And the Mays thing, you know thats on Sing
I vote that be striken off the record
@Grant
“Baalke, not Singletary, commanded the war room in 2010 according to the media guide.”
The media guide is a public relations tool used to sell the product. It’s relationship to reality is accidental at best. Ask Barrows or Maiocco.
As a math major with a Master in math and a football fan, I’m telling you right now you need to listen to the guy that wrote the quote I’m posting below my comment. To try to refute his recommendation anymore is to show your total ineptitude of simple mathematical logic. In another word, you have no business using numbers to analyze anything. I’m not debating your individual grades for each pick, it’s the the way that you give an overall GPA based on those grades that is astoundingly idiotic that makes me want to write this comment. It’s equivalent to college professor giving his students letter grades on their HW, their pop quiz, their exams, and their midterms, then averaging out each of those grades equally to give you your final grades. So say if he assigned 5 HW and you didn’t care to do them, you would have gotten 5 F and so even if you got A on your final, 3 midterms, and 1 quiz you’d still get 5 F’ss, 5A’s and your average score for the class would have been a C. What I’m trying to say, if it still isn’t abundantly clear is that you just gave a guy 2.9 GPA which is incredibly misrepresented largely due to 2 Ds in around 6 and 1 F in round 7 which everyone knows are mostly miss round. There’s 2 simple way remedy this, one is simply give the lower rounds less value to their grades. Just like teachers give small value to students homework compare to their midterm, quiz, and finals. The other way is to simply grade the later rounds with lower stardard. You can’t use the same standard in the early round to grade the later rounds. It’s like saying the last pick of the whole draft if he didn’t end up making the team or starting for the team you give him an F, well he’s the last dang guy to be pick what did you expect?
“Grant:
You obviously did not study math, nor have you taken a statistics class. There is NO WAY you can straight line the grade, then assign A or F to the majority of the picks. Additionally as posted earlier, GM’s are graded on first 2 round picks, as they are supposed to be starters. Later rounds you hope for a diamond in the rough.
There is NO WAY you can assign Mike Person and A, he made the team, but he has never started a game.
To give Bruce Miller an A + is a joke, an A+ would be an All Pro that got rookie of the year ( similar to Aldon Smith who did not make the pro bowl but got rookies of the year, thats an A +.
Next time have your editor help you get an intern that understands math and statistics, this way your article will caryy a little more credibility.
A final example is assigning Ronald Johnson an F grade for a 6th round pick WR, basically negating the Aldon Smith A grade, which all 9er fans did not want at the time.
Baalke is an A-/B+ so far. Lets hope he improves upon that.”
“As a math major with a Master in math”
After reading your post – no, you do not have a Master’s in anything. Even a math major needs a basic knowledge of grammar.
But nice try Mr. Internet Tough Guy.
I work with a ton of phd’s in the aerospace industry, and many of them have difficulties in grammar. Maybe if Linh knew his grammar was being graded in a blog, he would have produced a better product for Mr. Internet Grammar Police Officer.
Linh, you nailed it. However, Grant is not interested in getting it right, but in getting dialogue flowing on the blog. He is doing an excellent job of that.
@Linh
Grant thought that Hills stats of 3rd down conversions, of which there were 19 (19 games), equaled 3 seasons worth (48). When clearly it equals less than 1.25 seasons. No where near 3 seasons worth.
19 does not equal 48. Not in this or any other lifetime. At least to the people in the world that know simple math and reasoning.
Have you read the article on nfl.com! Williams was pushing for his defense to hurt several 49ers such as Alex Smith, Frank Gore and K Williams with a bounty!!! This guy is a sick puppy and a disgrace to the game of football. Its completely understandable to play good physical defense and hit with power but to single out players and plan to injur them is just plain wrong!
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82819b3a/article/williams-urged-saints-to-injure-specific-49ers
@Chicago49er:
It was the hot topic on Sirius-Xm’s NFL channel this morning. Here’s the audio from parts of Williams’ speech to the defense the night before the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fhnn9kbqQUA
Donte Whitner is amused by the irony. Pierre Thomas? Not so much.
How could you not watch the games and wonder?
I don’t know if the quote was from the Preseason game or the playoff game. Either way Williams deserves to be skinned alive.
Freakin a-hole. Intentionally instructing his players to turn peoples heads sideways. Hey moron. That would kill them. He should be facing criminal charges, never mind NFL banning for life.
NFL Football players are among the strongest people in the world. They could actually do those things. You can’t go around telling people who could actually do those things, to do them.
I actually had not finished watching the video when I posted above, so it was the playoff game.
Not that it matters at all.
Claude thanks for the link
Chicago49er,
A scathing report that may have legal implications. G.Williams may be asked to go before a senate committee to defend himself. The other issue involves players who were the ‘goons’ in this ugly scheme. G.Williams should go to prison and S.Payton needs to withdraw his suspension appeal because this comes to roost on his lap.
Sad indeed.
AES, I am on the same page with you. I played football (Safety) in High School and College but never experienced any of the coaches offering money to hurt a specific player. To be frank, in the heat of the battle there was some inappropriate words exchanged but we never planned some devious action to hurt a specific player in order to injur them!!! I am shocked by the pittsburgh steelers saftey stating that football is a physical game and NFL should not punish the Saints for offering bountys!
Are you kidding me! Yes this is a violent and extremely physical game and the players are instructed to knock the living out of each other but NOT with specific intention to injur another player for money!!! I believe NFL should open a criminal file against Williams and Payton should be giving the option to drop the appeal or be banned from the NFL as well. This is a very serious and unexceptable issue.
Why can’t Grant dig something like this?
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AtfF_LqtKvD8LmWvTwdh7w1DubYF?slug=ms-silver_gregg_williams_speech_saints_49ers_bounty_040412
Grant Cohn’s blog GPA:
Interest — B+. Sometimes appears to post positions insincerely for the sake of hits. Overall, topic is interesting, but it’s the Niners — how tough can that be.
Style — B+. Sometimes lapses into his father’s need to irritate.
Knowledge — C-. For a guy who gets to spend all his working hours on football, seems to not really understand the game, team dynamics or coaching priorities very well.
Maturity — D. Sometimes lapses into adolescent, wise-guy responses. Lacks courage (and perhaps understanding) to enforce principles of courtesy and propriety on his blog.
Integrity — F. Has yet to figure out that substance and intelligent football commentary are more important than site hits.
Career Path — D. Needs to emulate Maiocco more and Lowell less.
Grant’s overall blog GPA: 1.7.
@dr
That is pretty bad.
I think I could have sleepwalked and got better grades in school. GPA of 1.7. That is below a C-.
Either you are being too harsh or Grant needs to improve a ton.
+1000.
@CK
Dude, Grant has been whistling your tune since the Title game. I thought he would at least have you on his side.
: – )
DrsGrosse and DS,
I am so sure that you two boneheads were so successful at 24.
Neal disagrees.
I know I am right.
@DS,
Welcher
Get a dictionary Neal
You don’t know the word. Don’t use it.
@DS,
You remind me of Dick Cheney, you probably have a very little dicky and you are always wrong.
whatever
Grant, time to move on to another topic. This one ran out of steam 500 hits ago. How many times do we to know that your stats did not jive with the Alex Smith Defense Committee?
Harbaugh’ calculative QB genius is all that will matter come TC, PERIOD!
Please move on….
@AES
There are 205 hits as of this post.
Did you mean to post on the last one?
My humble apologies Grant. You did start a new topic.
Still sleepwalking this morning!
Grant, Some of the comments you have started to receive on the blog amaze me. Opposing opinions, if constructive, are great and should be welcomed. That’s one of the great thing about sports. But if a comment includes a personal attack — when a writer challenges someone’s core — I think you are within your rights to withhold it and ban the writer for a certain period of time, say, for a month. Personal attacks against anyone, including against you, should be banned. I’ll go farther: I think you have to do it. Otherwise, the rest of us will stop coming to the blog. That would be unfortunate, because your blog has been great.
This isn’t really a fair way to evaulate a draft. A 1st round pick should have the same weight as a 7th round pick. Each round should be weighed accordingly and giving the later round picks more weight when they succeed and less weight when they don’t. Also, the higher round picks should be penalized more when they don’t succeed and less when they do. To measure each round’s success the same just doesn’t make sense and isn’t a fair way going about it. That being said, Balke has done a much better job than the b- minus grade he’s been given here since all the higher round players have done well and especially since he’s gotten so many good players out of 4th thru 7th rounds picks. I’d say given how many players are not only still with the team but are actually solid, and some already pro bowl caliber players. Plus, so many of them are 1st string starters already too. He gets a high B+ to low A- grade in my opinion. I mean you can’t really do that much better than what he’s done thus far through the draft.
So this is just your opinion. Every GM misses out or picks someone that does not work out. Another article of you putting your beliefs above everything.
Nice work Grant. I do think misses in later rounds are more forgivable, as a GM has to take more risk and be more creative (Bruce Miller). I think Niners fans have to be happy with the job Baalke has done, particularly given the exceptional Bowman pick. I do think it’s a bit premature to call Kilgore and A, but lets hope that grade is deserved as we certainly need a talent upgrade there.
There are countless different ways to try to grade out a GM’s record, although its almost always (Al Davis / J.Jones exceptions) a collaborative effort. But yeah, if you take the credit, you take the blame too. The grading system Grant used is OK, especially because he explained his criteria and what he did and didn’t ‘weight’. The final grade though is out of context because other GM’s grades aren’t available for comparison. I’m not saying he should have rated other GMs, just that without that context its hard to judge.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-silver_gregg_williams_speech_saints_49ers_bounty_040412
This is interesting and might explain why Alex Smith was yelling in the direction of Gregg Williams at the end of the playoff game.
I wondered at the time why the camera panned from Smith to Williams after the game winner to Vernon Davis.
Was it a coincidence? Or had it leaked out to the Niners that there was a bounty on the offensive players? For that matter, did the FOX editors in the truck hear something about it? Sure seemed like they wanted us to know Smith was yelling at Williams after that play.
This was the ultimate kick in the shins, someone needs to tell Smith that the other team is gunning for him all the time – he played lights out in that last drive. ;)~
One other thing: Gregg Williams should be banned permanently. As serious as the league takes concussions, he’s going after Kyle Williams. Seriously?
I’m all for giving people a second chance but this guy was told to stop so he had his. Get rid of this clown permanently.
Here’s the audio: http://theusof.com/
Foul language alert – parents beware.
And if you love your Niners like I do, this will piss you off and make you want to punch Williams in the mouth. :)
Who cares about banishment Adam.
He needs to face criminal charges. Flat out informing his players to purposely hurt another person. That is a crime.
I’m surprised there isn’t a criminal investigation. (or maybe there is.)
The dude is basically Tonya Harding in khakis. What’s the difference?
@Adam
The difference is that Tanya basically worked with just 1 (or was is a couple of guys?) other person. And it happened over a very short time span.
Williams has worked with likely hundreds of players and it has happened over a very long time period.
I would charge Williams a lot tougher than I would charge Tanya. One act vs. who really knows (lots). And short time (Tanya) vs. long time (Williams) in how long the plan has been in place/acted on.
And, I’d kick out Peyton as well. No way does a HC not know. No way does a decent human being who has power and can actually stop it (that happens rarely) allow it to go on for so long. Of course he knew about it and supported it fully. If he did not, he could have fired the guy on the spot and looked for a new DC. They are not that hard to get. Maybe Jack Hammer could submit his resume.
Can’t get me out of your head DS? LMAO!
I just thought it would be a nice gesture on my part.
And you are Jack Hammer, right Jack Hammera?
What scrazy is that he knew he was under investigation before this. That is why he says in the Audio; “We do not apologize for the way we play”, turns we don’t either hehehe.
*turns out
Yeah that’s true so he’s had more than a few chances to clean this up.
I don’t see how the league figures they can give this guy a hearing for reinstatement any time soon.
Flush him and be done with it.
Yeah you have to think Williams is done in the NFL after this. It’s one thing to have the nudge nudge wink wink deal with the players, but to get caught audibly calling for opposing players to be intentionally injured is crossing the line.
I’m wondering if there’s video of this. The guy that recorded this is a documentary film maker.
What’s funny is this is like politics now. On the day the Saints appeal the suspensions and all that, this bombshell drops.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of SOBs.
You cannot blame Baalke on injuries to players. That’s baloney and a real setback for you as a columnist. Gotta give yo a D- on this one.
.
How do I grade? Well, you aren’t a rookie anymore. This is the typ of column you used to write. In other words it stinks, well below what you have been doing recently. More to the point, it is too heavy on the my-opinion scale and way too light on critical thinking skills. Come on Grant, you’ve regressed…
Unless you have a comparison to the other GM’s in the league the 2.9 is meaningless. 2.9 may mean that he is at the top of his class. I seriously doubt that, based on your criteria, there is a GM out there with anything close to approaching 4.0.
In your world the GM with the worst team would have the best chance of the majority of his draft picks making the team thus giving him a higher GPA. But if he is the GM of the worst team how good of a GM is he?
As an exercise you should grade the New England GM over the same period and see how he stacks up. It is pretty tough for a draft pick to make that team, especially in the later rounds, which would give a very good GM a very low GPA.
For me this was a totally useless exercise.
@Dennis
Football is not graded via GPA. It is graded by wins/losses and %.
A Grading option to judge something that is % is not appropriate in my view. When we talk about a team that is good or bad, we are talking winning %. And a team that has a 90% winning % is practically non-esistent most seasons. Maybe 1 team, but not very many. So, if you go by the grading system, the Niners season of 13-3 comes to 81.25%. That is barely even a B- Grade. The only way to get an “A” (using this method) is for a team to have lost no more than a single game all season (93.75%).
But anybody with a brain knows a 13-3 record (tied 2nd best in the NFL) is an A grade.
Which is why I proposed a point system instead of a traditional grade system.
@DS,
Once again, I agree with you, well, at least more than I do with Grant. There is no way that a 7th round pick should be treated the same as a 1st round pick. Actually, any player after the 3rd round making the team and contributing should be considered extra credit. Like they do in high school with college prep classes.
Sorry this is off topic. but is anybody else having trouble getting on to the 49erswebzone website. I know many go directly to the PD 9ers blog but its just so convenient to have every single 9ers story in one place
How I would have graded:
A point scale. 7 rounds, 7 points. Starting with the first round. You need to hit on this one, so I would make it worth 7 points.
2nd round = 6 points
and so on down to 7th round = 1 point.
Assign each pick a number that can not exceed the round max (so the first round pick can’t get 8 points since 7 is the max possible. And the 3rd round can’t exceed 5 points and so on).
It isn’t perfect by any means. Bowman looks to be outstanding, but it does balance out the importance of each round to pick the right guy. After all the higher the draft pick the more money you spend and the more you expect.
Add the sum of those points at the end by the total points possible (7+6+5+4+3+2+1 = 28), so like if the point total adds up to 21 it would be
21/28 = 0.750 out of 1.000. If this were an actual football regular season record it would be 12-4. Which is really good and likely a first round bye. I’d call that an A.
Rule of thumb is you give a draft class about 3 years before making an assessment. So far it looks like Baalke has done a good job, but the best players on this team for the most part were brought in by the previous regime.
It’ll be much easier to grade the two classes in another season or two.
Forget the draft, Baalke hired Jim Harbaugh, acquired Akers, Whitner, C. Rogers and was able to re-sign Dashon Goldson.
A+!! 16-0 on the DS scale :-)
To be fair Crab15, the blog topic is TB and the draft. Not the FA/re-signed players/HC hires which are separate events.
DS – That will cost you in the future.
Are you catching my drift, or am I being obtuse?
All blogs eventually get to AS Crab.
Nothing obtuse about that.
DS – Don’t disrespect me in here like that.
San Jose Mercury Newspaper has just posted an article with an audio link containing pregame speech before the 9er – Saints game.
Read the story after you hear the audio for a better understanding.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers/2012/04/05/saints-were-told-to-inflict-injuries-on-offensive-mainstays-before-playoff-tilt/
Thanks MCofSac. That’s a much more interesting and revealing topic than the last 5 here combined.
What do think, Grant? Post something on that – unite the 9er fan base instead of dividing them?
MCof Sac – Thanks for the link, saw it on NFL.com too. this is big!
Not sure I care for Rock’s tweet at end of article even though its prob true. He sure deleted it fast he must of realized he was a niner now.
I wonder how the plane ride home was after that game? Ha Niners were the harder hittin team that game.. Niners= Pure Class Saints=Pure Trash
@99999ers1
The players had to return their money?
Yeah that POS must of been pissed. After hearing that Audio they prob booked seperate flights.
On the other hand if we grade on a curve he gets an A+ compared to other draft gurus around the league.
With less than 3 weeks until the draft, to stay in the spirit, I’ve posted my latest mock draft update for Hightop. Please feel free to critique and chime in…
Mock 1.0:
1. V Curry, OLB/DE (Pass rush specialist for a couple of years then starter)
2. Chris Polk, RB (Great between the tackles runner and RZ guy)
3. Shaun Prater, CB (Special teams, Nickel/dime guy and potential starter)
4. Jeff Fuller Jr., WR (Big body, raw, needs maturing)
5. Jerry Franklin, ILB (ST guy and potential backup)
6. Sean Cattouse, SS (Best of the rest)
7. Mason Cloy, C (Best of the rest)
Mock 2.0 (after ABrooks re-signing):
1. CFleener, TE (possibility is also CB such as Johnson or Gilmore which is more realistic)
2. Stephen Hill, WR (may be gone so option is Polk or Turbin at RB it also depends on FA WR signings)
3. Shaun Prater, CB (Special teams, Nickel/dime guy and potential starter)
4. Jeff Fuller Jr., WR (Big body, raw, needs maturing)
5. Jerry Franklin, ILB (ST guy and potential backup)
6. Sean Cattouse, SS (Best of the rest)
7. Mason Cloy, C (Best of the rest)
I’ll come out with 3.0 mock after FA.
Mock 3.0 (after MM and RM signings):
1. Coby Fleener, TE (Speaking with my heart, otherwise draft SHill in this spot)
2. Chris Polk, RB (Runs inside, good blocker, can catch out of the backfield)
3. James Brown, G (Major upside with quickness and strength)
4. Tramain Thomas, S (Attacking turnover machine fits 9ers D style)
5. Jerry Franklin, ILB (ST guy and potential backup)
6. Sean Cattouse, SS (Best of the rest)
7. Mason Cloy, C (Best of the rest)
Mock 4.0:
1. KReyes, DT (DT/DE with power)
2. CPolk, RB (all-around back runs N to S)
3. NToon, WR (Moving up the white boards with positive pro day)
4. TThomas, S (Has a knack for hawking the ball)
5. They trade the 5th round pick for a 3rd round in 2013
6. JFuller Jr., WR
7. DDennis, OG
I’ve changed my mock draft to reflect FA signings. I also believe the 9ers focus is to keep the defense elite and they will draft a DL to take over in 1 -2 years for JSmith. BTW, I think CFleener will get drafted prior to the 30th pick and the 9ers won’t spend a draft pick to move up and snag him.
… who cares what you think? Are you paid to offer up your opinion? Leave this to the professionals. Thanks.
I don’t care for mock drafts at all pork. But that was totally rude to hof.
Of course, statistically, it is consistent with your behavior. So, I expected as much.
Pork, could that have been any more of a jackassed comment???? Who cares what YOU (or any of us) think?
You are a jerk sometimes, you know it? Guy put some work into it and has a right to his opinion. For that matter, who are you to tell other people what or what not to do? Here’s 20 bucks for the gas, now go make me a slurpy and I want a Lotto ticket while you’re at it…
See a therapist soon!
@hightop
That would be a good idea for pork.
Hofe – Agree, need to groom someone to replace “Cowboy” in 2 years. He plays so damn hard, his tank will be empty soon.
@GRANT @GRANT @GRANT
Are you buried under a rock somewhere???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You need to get on top of this Gregg Williams bullshi*. Like, yesterday!
5 of the team’s top guys were specifically targeted and your top post still reflects some inane exploration of Baalke’s draft prowess. We know Baalke is an A+ executive at the moment. Yawn. GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!
GW is all over the national media. Who cares…
It would be interesting to know what the team thinks, especially since it was Saints who were being rocked all over the field. I think lots of people care around here.
I’m sure they’ll be mum on the subject not wanting to enter into the fray that is at the Commish’s doorstep.
For my money, the picks of Aldon Smith, Bowman, Davis and to a lesser extent Hunter sealed the deal and vastly improved this 49ers team, propelling them to the NFC Championship game and within a whisker of the Super Bowl.
Especially Smith and Bowman- two guys who went under the radar of other GMs around the league. Baalke’s drafts of late are on par with what AJ Smith did for the Chargers many years back, single-handedly bringing the team out of mediocrity to a perennial playoff team in a matter of a couple drafts.
Way to be ALL OVER the Gregg Williams story Grant! Seriously, what rock does this kid crawl under when big stories like this come out?!? This isn’t the first time he’s MIA when something big hits…
Who are you?
?
A 49ers Fan, who has read the Inside the 49ers blog since the Maiocco days, but rarely posts…Just calling it like I see it.
Glad to see you posted about the story, better late than never..
Thanks..
After listening to the G.Wms audio I’m kinda glad its making the rounds of the national media right now, just before Payton & Loomis go up for their appeals. %+#*! those guys! With all the warnings, there’s just no way Loomis & Payton have ANY cover on what Williams was all about. %+#* ‘em! Bullseye on Crabs ACL? Classy.
@Brotha
It was pretty much any of our offensive playmakers. AS/FG/VD/KW as well as MC.
Whether you like these players as ones you want on a team is debatable. What is not debatable is the idea of hurting a guy to take him out and end his career/life. Which Williams strongly encouraged.
“So you’re arguing that later round picks should be weighted lower? That doesn’t make sense in the case of Bowman and Culliver.”
Its patently moronic to count all draft picks equally. Obviously, by the 7th round there is markedly less talent available. Thus if you find a role player in the 6th its a decent pick. On the other hand if your first round pick doesn’t rise above the level of role player its a bust. Logically you have to apply a sliding scale whereas a star found in the later rounds gets a higher grade than one in the 1st round. Likewise a bust in the 1st round should be a black mark but a 7th round pick who doesn’t rise above 2nd string is expected. This shouldn’t have to be explained.
This was posted at Bleacher Report after the draft last year. I like the Bowman evaluation the best.
By
Robert Wayerski
(Correspondent) on April 24, 2010
Round One, Pick 11: Anthony Davis, OT (Rutgers) Grade: B+
Round One, Pick 17: Mike Iupati, OG (Idaho) Grade: A-
Round Two, Pick 49: Taylor Mays, S (USC) Grade: B-
Round Three, Pick 91: Navorro Bowman, LB (Penn State)
Grade: D-
I hate this pick! Was Bowman a value at this point in the draft? Yes, but where are they going to use him. If they drafted him to play inside, it was a wasted pick because the team already has some depth at that position. If they drafted him to play outside, they passed on Everson Griffen, Ricky Sapp, and Corey Wootton all who could immediately help out the pass rush. The real reason this was a bad pick was that they passed on getting a CB like Brandon Ghee. The only reason I did not give this pick and F was that they traded back and got some extra picks to do it.
Round Six, Pick 173: Anthony Dixon, RB (Miss St) Grade: A
The Niners have needed a short yardage back and Thomas Clayton and Michael Robinson have not worked out so far. In the sixth round, Dixon is a good value.
Round Six, Pick 182: Nate Byham, TE (Pitt) Grade: B
Round Six, Pick 206: Kyle Williams, WR (Arizona St) Grade: D
This pick struck me as odd. Williams is essentially the same size and does a lot of the same things as Ted Ginn Jr…I do not see there being a spot for the WR on this team.
Round Seven, Pick 224: Phillip Adams, CB (South Carolina St) Grade: Pass
I am not going to try and breakdown a player from South Carolina State. The Niners needed a CB and they finally took one in the seventh round. I do find it interesting that they again passed on another Cal prospect, Syd’Quan Thompson who went directly after Adams at pick 225.
Pretty much sums up the fact that most people paid to write about sports don’t know much more than the average fan. I like Lowell’s stuff cause when he’s on no one can touch him. Grant has some good stuff too but this column is really weak. Better get into the grammar weight room Zigster and hit the bench. Three reps each of gerunds, past participles and finish off with a brisk run of passive voice and you’ll be writing just like the people I work with in State service… blech!
Mel Kiper is projecting the 49ers draft will be:
Round 1 Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
Round 2 Brandon Brooks, G, Miami (Ohio)
Round 3 Mike Martin, DL, Michigan
Do you really think Hill will be available @ 30? I don’t.
Brandon Brooks would be a terrific pic, though. Probably wouldn’t have to trade up for him, either.
The Mike Martin pick isn’t so hot.
I think he will be gone as well. I go Fleener 1, and Marvin Jones 3.
And another veteran guard signs elsewhere. Deuce Lutui signed with Seattle today.
if sing’s contract says he has final say then its a heated situation if he does not get his way (my personal read….sing could be very difficult about things going
his way) from where i sit …balke gets a pass on mays ..to have done otherwise put him in an awkward situation ..between a bullhead coach(whose contract gives him veto powers) and an owner whose main concern is a peaceful front office the will enhance his bankaccount…The career move is “mays”. at some level balke agreed with pete caroll when mays old sc coach passed on him. balke never really had a vote on this one