ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. was on a national conference call this morning. We're at the stage in the process where the individual workouts are wrapping up. Kiper said not a lot is going to change between now and April 26, the first day of the draft.

"The ratings are going to be pretty firm right now," Kiper said.

Kiper has been ESPN's top draft analyst since 1984. He is the president of Kiper Enterprises, which he founded in 1981 as a college student.

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But, first, the 49ers will have their local combine at the team's Santa Clara practice facility on April 18. This is when they can bring in some of draft-eligible players from the local colleges, as well as players who grew up in the area and went away to college.

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In last year's draft, the 49ers traded up to No. 28 to select offensive tackle Joe Staley. They gave the Patriots a first-round pick in 2008 (No. 7 overall) and a fourth-round pick (No. 110), which turned out to be defensive back John Bowie, whom the Raiders acquired through New England.

Then, the 49ers traded their second-round pick (No. 42) to the Colts, who used it to select left tackle Tony Ugoh. The 49ers received the Colts' first-round pick in 2008 (No. 29), along with the Colts' fourth-round pick (No. 126), which the 49ers used to select safety Dashon Goldson.

One year in, it looks as if those trades have worked out well for both the 49ers and Colts. We don't know anything about how it's going to work out for the Patriots because right now all they have is a draft slot.

Here's what Kiper had to say about it:

"Everybody criticizing San Francisco for Joe Staley and losing the seventh pick overall to New England, I would argue that Joe Staley is going to be a pretty doggone good left tackle as well. And in this draft, what left tackle would be equal to Joe Staley at that point? Ryan Clady? Chris Williams? I mean Joe Staley is pretty good. So would you rather have Joe Staley last year when he's already transitioned into the league and already had a season under his belt? Or would you rather draft a left tackle fresh that you'd have to pay that kind of money to as a seventh pick. Joe Staley was a late pick in the first round. I don't have any issues with that. They identified a guy they wanted.

As far as the Colts losing the No. 29 pick this year . . . "At that point you'd be hard-pressed to find a left tackle equal to Ugoh. Carl Nicks at Nebraska? I'd rather have Ugoh. You look at some of the other guys at that particular juncture, Oniel Cousins at UTEP? No way. Ugoh is much better. He's definitely significantly better than any left tackle who would be on the board at that point."

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Here are a couple questions the staff here at Instant 49ers asked Mr. Kiper . . .

Instant 49ers: Toward the end of the first round which offensive linemen will be in the discussion? Where do you see the 49ers going with that No. 29 pick?

Kiper: "If you're asking. 'Who's the best offensive tackle on the board at that point?' It's probably Gosder Cherilus from Boston College. And I say that because he was a left tackle at B.C., and he's not going to be a left tackle in the NFL. He's going to be a right tackle. (The 49ers) have Joe Staley to be your left tackle. Now you have Cherilus at right tackle.

"He did struggle some at left tackle, but I thought he got better late in the year. But he did struggle. He's a right tackle. He had a great year as a right tackle as a junior. He looked to be one of the top-15 seniors coming into this season based on how he played at right tackle. If he would've translated that to left tackle, he would've been a top-10 pick. That didn't happen. That's why people say he's a right tackle. Obviously as a right tackle, he drops down a bit. That's why he maybe gets into the late first round. I'd say a Cherilus at that point would be a guy you'd have to consider."

Instant 49ers: Who are the guys who could start off at guard and eventually move to tackle?

Kiper: "Cherilus is a guy you'd want to be your right tackle. Nobody else I see at that point . . . I wouldn't see Carl Nicks of Nebraska that high. Nobody has the versatility at that particular juncture.

"I'm going to give you a guy. I'm only saying this personally because I don't think a lot of people feel the way I do, and we'll see how this turns out three or four years from now. But I think Chilo Rachal from USC is a guy . . . and I'm not saying he'd go there (No. 29), if you traded early-to-mid-second - I think that's where most people think he'll come off the board. I say that because he was a guard at USC who played a little right tackle early in his career, at least worked at that position. At 6-5, 315, with very good feet, strong, tough kid, he could be a right tackle. Here's a guard who could be a right tackle.

"If you're asking who I think the better player is, he or Cherilus? I think he's a better player than Cherilus, but he's a guard. He can play right tackle. If you want to roll the dice there, you could take him. That would be another option, and a kid I'm very high on. Outside of the league, I don't think many observers have Rachal as highly rated as I do."

Instant 49ers: Of those outside linebacker/defensive ends who only have value to 3-4 teams, how many of those guys can step in and make an immediate impact?

Kiper: "The guy who'll have the biggest impact is (Vernon) Gholston, but he'll be long gone (when the 49ers pick). After Gholston, you'd be looking at probably Cliff Avril from Purdue, you'd be looking at Bruce Davis from UCLA, Quentin Groves from Auburn. If you want another guy. Marcus Howard from Georgia could be a fourth- or fifth-round guy. I mention him for the Colts because he's the kind of guy they want.

"But I'd say for the 49ers, I'd look at Davis, Avril or Groves to kind of fit what they're looking for. . . . I wanted to give you one other guy, Curtis Johnson, a defensive end/outside linebacker from Clark in Atlanta. He is another kid who fits the mold and would be ideally suited to be that 3-4 outside linebacker."