SANTA CLARA — The 49ers just drafted Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky with the eighth pick in Round 4. Let’s break down the positives and negatives of this pick.
POSITIVES
- Averaged 45.7 yards per punt in three years at Utah.
- Handled kickoff duties in 2017.
- Fills need at punter.
NEGATIVES
- Played home games at high altitude (4,200 feet), so his punts traveled farther than they will in Santa Clara.
- Opponents blocked three of his punts in 2018.
- 27-years old.
- Has had two shoulder surgeries.
- Not a defensive back.
GRADE: F.
This is the kind of pick a team makes when it just won the Super Bowl and has zero holes on its roster. The 49ers are not that team. They have holes all over their secondary. And yet, instead of taking a decent defensive back such as Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Julian Love, Kharl Willis, Kendall Sheffield, Amani Hooker or Sheldrick Redwine, the 49ers traded down and took a punter. Gross negligence.
If he’s good enough for Gil, he’s good enough for me. I like it! I like the cajones that Lynch showed by trading down and getting a starter to keep the wolves at bay. Good pick!
Wtf are u talking about
Gil Brandt
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Mitch Wishnowsky is the former Aussie Rules rugby player. He’ll change the position of the field for the 49ers. Tremendous punting talent in mold of Michael Dickson. I love this pick in Round 4.
What the Euck are you talking about Joey?
His reaction to being drafted by the Niners: “What? Are you kidding me?” My thing is this. Yes they do need a punter but was this guy a 4th rounder? We will never really know but it is highly unlikely he was on anyone’s board in the 4th round. He was likely a late rounder or UDFA on all boards.. I cannot believe they have yet to draft an O lineman.
Like I stated earlier this is a put up or shut up season and a strong Draft is very important.
new England were going to drasft him good pick solid I would have preferred cgjj but this is meant to be the best punter in the draft and with the new pass rush niners think the secondry will be greatly improved we will see
This guy is much better then Bradley Pinnion. That kid was awful. If he turns out good it was worth the pick instead of a secondary piece that has no chance of seeing the field this year. Facts!
I always said John us a bad, bad GM. He should be fired by next year. They could of had top players in this years draft Bosa top edge and AJ top WR or top CB or even top Safety. Instead they draft injury player Deebo not top 5 WR maybe tie for fifth. Then in the 3rd round draft another WR who has injury problems and not even ranked in top ten.
You can pick those players but not in rounds 2-3. Another draft and they are over reaching again for players. They could have top talent this draft but instead another waste of picks. And then theirs the punter, SMH
So they think Ward and Tartt will be good starting safteys
What makes you the expert. You probably complained about the kittle pick … time will tell if the picks were good or not. Its plain idiacy to grade a pick before seeing what they become in the league..
Nice value pick by the Bears taking Ridley.
The punter pick was horrific!
The worst part about it was seeing Shanny & Lynch in the war room high-fiving & laughing after they just picked a punter in the 4th round. They were celebrating like they had just won the Super Bowl! How embarrassing!!
Fewer than 100 total return yards over last 106 punts. Good pick by Lynch and will be the starter.
The Shanapologists will be out in full force.
Nope but the patronizologists sure are!
On cue…
When this team wins something of note, then you can gloat!
I never pretend to know more than Gil Brandt or the ones in charge, but you help yourself!
?
You pretend a whole lot!
There you go again!?
Was thinking the same thing. Goofs
You cousin Pins called and said to get clean.
They were high fiving each other because they jumped a team that also wanted him. Seems validated when the team picking behind them traded down right after he was gone.
Saw the high 5 too but thought it was for Jalen Hurd.
While I think you are hitting the panic button a little too hard, I do agree that taking a punter in the fourth round who has questions in regards to leg power is not a good move. He does have experience punting in excessive winds, so there is that.
The punter pick would’ve been good if it was the Niners last pick of the seventh round.
Yup.
Maybe we can pick up a back up punter then this year…
He wouldn’t have been there, He had a 5th round grade.
No he didn’t. This was a clown car draft pick. Lynch should have been fired for it, but his boss is a bigger clown car. Cheers to another decade of irrelevance.
Sure did. Kaepernick is the clown. Go back to binge watching Eeyore movies.
Late 5th would have made more sense
Rounds 2-4 were a train wreck with the talent on the board.
Greedy should have been 2nd pick
Horrible
Just painful to watch. Its like they think they can draft undeveloped guys and make them into stars. When they need to draft ready players at certain positions. We have missed out on such good talent over the 3 years. Unless they make a blockbuster trade then another losing season. JG, Jerrick, Kwon, Verret, Ward, Tarrt, and even Sherman all coming back from injuires and no drafted players in those spots.
Then drafting 3 players who are also coming back from injuires. The punter hes 27 years old, i mean we signed a younger punter who probably would of done good but drafting punter in the 4 round.
An F from Grant usually means “fabulous” in the long run…
If you need a punter, you take the best one available in the 7th round or you try out 15 guys as free agents.
My grade: Triple F-
Agree.
Misery loves company. Glad you were able to pick up the pieces and put your head back together.?
I feel like Humpty Dumpty right now.
I don’t understand why Lynch was allowed to orchestrate another draft when he so obviously failed overall on his previous efforts. What gives here?
Yup.
Taken for what it’s worth. Thank you for your input.?
I agree with Grant on this one, a effing punter in the 4 th round with so many other needs.
Raz,
This is a head scratcher for me. As much as I would like to get behind this pick, I can’t help feeling that Lynch bricked an easy lay-up.
I’m not as critical as Grant, but I certainly agree with his take that we left some good players on the board.
Wishnowsky may by the most athletic punter to come out since Ray Guy and Shanahan may be envisioning him being capable of doing a few things other than punting when he gets the ball.
But tbh, even if MW can ran for the occasional 1st down, it’s still head scratcher pick.
Sometimes thinking out of the box, can put you in one.
TBD.
Yea, I can’t argue with getting a starter in the 4th round or Gil Brandt’s opinion of it being a good pick. That’s just me.
Curiously, mighty Gil didn’t have him ranked in his hot 150!
Gil knows better than me. Maybe one day your opinion will mean more than where the suns rays never go.
And yet the punter wasn’t a top 150 for Gil.
But you have nothing….
Your quarrel sir is with Mr. Brandt. He has a twitter account. Go tweet him your disgust and see what he tells you!?You are a nothing! A pretentious little prick.?
Thanks for your input. Classy as always and your resorts to ad hominem and appeals to authority say everything we need to know about you!
Lol what a loser
Taking a punter this high reminds me of having a colonoscopy, you hate it, but you know you need to. ?
Good one, AES!
You should read on the recent literature on colonoscopies…
SY,
Too late for me to read. Been there, done that.
?
While I thought it was a little high if this guy can pin teams inside the 20 with regularity, which allows for our pass rush (since we’ll finally have one) to pin their ears back, then this pick could be a huge advantage in the long run and truly compliment our defense.
Like you I question the round in which he was taken. I think they should have taken CGJ with their 4th rounder and then MW with the 5th. It’s possible that they didn’t have the trade for the 5th locked down when the time came to pick in the 4th.
At least they got rid of that deadbeat Dakota Watson. He was injured almost the whole time we had him. Hard to believe the Broncos were dumb enough to trade back for him.
For perspective, Pinion was picked 165. Wishnowsky was just picked at 110. He better be really Franklin good.
Positives:
– 27 is 22 in Utah years
– He can kick with both feet. What is yet to be determined is if he can kick with both feet at the same time like a kangaroo
– Lynch prepared for drafting a high-altitude punter by lowering the oxygen level the draft room.
Classic!!
LOL. Thanks for lightening the mood.
Nice work
B2W.
;p
I think that kicking with either foot can bring a different spin on the ball and possibly change the trajectory a bit, perhaps just enough to turn a share catch into a muffed catch. Here”s hoping the Niner”s punt special team is very effective in recovering fumbled punts.
Lucky Sperm Jed’s moron factory just keeps rolling on. Look at the Steelers’ draft and then look at the 49ers’ draft, just as one comparison. This is why the Steelers are always in contention, and Lucky Sperm Jed’s moron factory is ALWAYS saying, wait till next year.
It is next year. We have an opportunity to win it all. Don’t give up before we even hit the field dude!
Wow! Win it all, I want some of the mind altering drugs you are taking. This team is the favorite to finish 4th in the NFC West again! Lucky Sperm Jed is a joke, and has hired nothing but jokes, except for Harbough, for the last 20 years!
Your missing the point Mr. Polo. Every 32 team has a dream right now of winning it all. That’s the beauty and promise of a new season. C’mon, don’t be that guy….
Don’t know about you Razor, but I am almost enjoying the squealing and whining that this pick is generating. Even if this guy is a bust, the reaction this pick is generating would still be worth it.
Jed York is the dumbest owner in all of sports. The average fan couldn’t do worse than Jed if he tried. Lynch is as unqualified to be GM as Singletary was to be HC.
Lucky sperm, how original. ??? 2010 called, they want their childish insult back.
They might as well draft the best kicker in the 5 round. Gould is not signing and 49ers say they aint trading him so will kick FG’s.
Just trade him and get picks. We aint going to be good anyways. They like to develope players so develop a young kicker
Gould will need to retire. They won’t trade him. Bad precedent.
He will sit out not retire unless hes a pro and will play 1 more year in SF
He’ll play or retire. Only choices he has.
He is just not resigning an extension. Does not mean he will sit out. He will draw his 5 mil and play this season and resign with some other team next year. I don’t think the team will franchise him two years in a row. Either that or they will trade him to Chicago.
Cohn is trying to act like the new Kawakami. Get off your pity pot. It might not be a sexy pick, but considering we punted Pinion I wouldn’t call this a “negligent” pick… ALL THREE PHASES. Also, I’m not very concerned with the punter’s shoulder surgery or age. This article is a joke.
TK was an obnoxious thorn in JH side, doing Baalke’e bidding.
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Grant can actually write, not spew venom.
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A 4-12 team should expect criticism, a SB team should not be stabbed in the back.
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The Niners just selected a punter in the 4th round, they seemed desperate. They should have been patient, and waited until the 5th round, or better yet, selected from a bunch of UDFAs.
This guy better be the best NFL punter from game one or the boo-birds will have a field day and rightfully so.
Gil Brandt
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Mitch Wishnowsky is the former Aussie Rules rugby player. He’ll change the position of the field for the 49ers. Tremendous punting talent in mold of Michael Dickson. I love this pick in Round 4.
Looking forward to see if this guy can perform. One thing for sure, for the most part this blog hates the pick. Me, if he is really good then I could care less where the draft position is.
I’m with you brother!
+1
Grade: F Lynch.
Just f’n kill me already. Why do I have to watch my team turn into a laughing stock over and over.
Drafted a WR when the league was snatching up Corners. Reaches for a 5th round prospect in the 3rd and then trades up into the FOURTH GODDAMN ROUND for a punter who likely could have been taken in the 6th and if not who cares if we had missed out on him. I just can’t.
Well if you hadn’t figured it out already I hope you have by now. John Lynch is f’n clueless. Worst GM in the league. Shouldn’t even be allowed to carry the title General Manager given how totally inept he’s shown to be at it.
Gil Brandt disagrees. I know, I know, he’s irrelevant now. You should really learn to have more respect for the elderly.
Glad you acknowledge that your only defense of the player are the ramblings of a senile old man.
Glad to see you’re just as pretentious today as you were when you made that cockamamey statement a couple weeks ago.
Just deflecting as usual.
Just own it like a big boy.
Exactly. I’m waiting, go ahead when you’re ready.
Atta boy!
Well that was close. What you meant to say was; “Yes, you’re right my only defense of this horrible horrible decision to take a punter in the 4th round is to cling to the words of an 86 year old man even though everybody else that is still currently active in league circles reports it as a ridiculous pick.”
Sounds similar to you and Grant’s assertion that Bosa is a horrible pick when in every league circle it was fantastic! Are you getting senile on me, CFC??
Exactly!
F indeed
Continuously reaching. Continuously reaching. That’s what happens when you don’t hire a true GM.
Oh, wait… the one time they didn’t reach but took the guy that fell to them: George Kittle.
Shanalynch have no ability to delay gratification
Exactly. F’in stupid lynch
Paste from earlier this morning…
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Was thinking last night the 49ers have conducted coach driven drafts. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it seems the 49ers over-target.
The last three off-seasons the 49ers seem to grab 5 over paid/over drafted players for every 1 that’s a bargain.
I’m not one of those guys that always screams “reach.” If a GM likes that player best, grab him even if he’s mocked lower.
But a pattern is developing. What Shanny wants, Shanny gets.
I once heard a GM say it’s best to target one, maybe two players every draft tops. By “target” I mean trading up or standing pat even if you think he will be there later. Target all the time and you miss out on value.
——–
We have the highest paid fullback by a mile… The highest drafted punter by a mile…
I love people grading a draft when it happens. There is no evidence to support any conclusion but that doesn’ Stop anyone.
This choice could be terrible or he could be a pro bowl caliber punter for 10 years or somewhere in between. No one knows, but what the heck it’s just a blog.
If they got the punter in the 5th or 6th round would it be ok with everyone? What if they felt he would not be there? I believe if he is a stud and can pin the opponents back to allow our defense to do their thing this pick is great.
We fill an immoderate need with a top prospect at that need. Or so we just grab a middle of the road DB to compete with the ones we have. Will that person even be on the 53 or PS or team???
We had limited picks and so far we picked 3-4 started with the 4 picks.
Listen I understand we need DB help and can’t count on what we have. How do we know the draft board has quality DBs and line depth? Maybe rounds 4-7 all average more or less the same grade.
6th at the earliest. Most punters should be 7th or udfa’s. If this was a team with everything else in place and the only true need was a Punter then I would say ok, use a 5th. Never ever would I used a 4th round pick on a kicker. Never. If you’re a good team your punter makes it onto the field 4 maybe 5 times a game, or even less!. Using a 4th round pick on a player that is so rarely on the field is just bad football business.
Did you have all that down on your resume? No wonder you’re in here instead of a war room.?
Still deflecting.
Still patronizing.
@razor
It’s hard not to come off patronizing in a forum driven by opinion. Things get lost in translation.
Coffee’s comments are understood and justifiable across majority of everyone including myself.
My point which is driven by your point to coffee (is he a professional scout)…is everyone else in draft a bunch of scrubs how do we know. I hated the Pinion pick as well but in this case we do not have a punter. At least back then we had an AP in Andy Lee. We need a punter, there are plenty of young DBs on the team. Someone has to step up….for crying out load.
Go Niners!!!!
Yep, I was behind the Pinion selection right from the start. You can ask MWD, as he was opposed just like he is against the selection of this punter. Opinions are fine, but so are context and reference points. I just happen to believe Gil Brandt knows more about scouting football players than I do, even if he is old and senile as CFC would have us believe….
Gil Brandt may be the best at evaluating individuals but he has no context with respect to the 49ers. Using your logic, if the 49ers drafted two punters whom Brandt loved you would support it. The GM who did it though would be taken away by the men in the white coats. In the context of the 49ers’ needs this was a stupid move. Someone quoted Bruce Arians yesterday: Draft for need and expect to get fired. Aside from Bosa you will go broke defending the idea that the 49ers took one other BPA. We 49er fans (aside from you apparently) have champagne tastes and our team has a beer pocket book.
Here’s the problem with drafting a punter. Even if he’s the best punter ever, he’s only going to be a few yards per attempt better than the worst punter in the league, who wasn’t drafted but was signed as an undrafted free agent. You don’t waste fourth round picks on that kind of production when the interior of your O-line is garbage, and your secondary is MIA. You certainly don’t waste fourth round picks on punters when you just registered yet another losing season and earned a top 5 draft pick. Additionally, there’s a rookie wage scale that’s now likely going to make this guy one of the highest paid punters in the league. I don’t care about Jed’s money going to waste, but I do care about how this will impact the salary cap.
To be blunt, there is no justifiable defense to this pick. It was idiotic.
Even if Wishnowsky averages 50 yards per punt, runs 3 fake punts for first downs and leads the NFL in punts inside the 10…it’s still a poor pick that high in the draft!
The Niners have higher-priority needs at other positions (like Grant noted), they choked the pick!
I loved the first 3 picks though.
Disagree. If he can give us field position leading to shorter fields to score; that’s a big freakin deal baby! Let’s go!
The DBs will offset the gains….
Razor –
Hopefully we won’t be punting as much next season anyways bro. Jimmy G is back with more weapons!!
Yeah, I will have to disagree with that assessment, as would the rest of the league if Wishnowsky did all of that.
Crab,
If MW can do all that, I’d have a hard time SMH at the pick.
AES –
?
Time to start talking about a new coach and GM.
This is your brain on drugs.
Yep so keep looking out for names. The GB coach Mike. For GM maybe from Pats
I have to believe there are 2 dozen retired soccer players out there who can do just as good of a job punting. This is truly unbelievable .
You don’t have to believe that, but then again the Buccaneers couldn’t find one so they paid market value.
This is not the type of pick a super bowl champ makes. NE would get their punter in free agency. This is a move Al DAVIS would make. Now it’s official why the Niners have been terrible since Harbaugh. And more important other than Harbaugh terrible under York leadership.
Harbaugh took a lot of guff from the FO and fans his last two years. The Org (sadly) will never give him his due.
Well….. will it b Corner at 10 n the 5th?!
Cardinals are having a great draft. Seahawks better than us, Rams no picks i dont think yet.
The Cardinals took a QB in the top 10, 2 years in a row, they have a lot of catching up to do, and I am not a fan of Hakeem Butler.
So if Thompson is available when the team selects, do they take him?
?No damn it!
Hey, he may have his issues, but at some point he’s worth taking. Is that a 6th round you think.
Wth. Let’s do it!
John Lynch just redeemed himself by selecting a punter in the 4th! Impressive. How can you go wrong with that?
Dang, except for their first pick which is going to set them back, the rest of the Cardinals draft has been really good.
Maybe they could draft a clue?
After 3 straight A grades through rounds 1-3, this pick is a wait and see for me. I’m not usually an advocate for taking a punter any sooner than round 5, but the 49ers were able to trade back and pick up a bunch of additional picks before they selected him. He fills a giant need, and if he ends up consistently changing field position like the Rams’ Johnny Hekker, then he’s well worth it, but that is a big IF.
My grades so far:
Round 1 – DE Nick Bosa: A+
Round 2 – WR Deebo Samuel: A
Round 3 – WR/H-Back/TE Jalen Hurd: A-
Round 4 – P Mitch Wishnowsky: TBD (my initial grade is a C-, subject to change)
Bosa -A- Due to injury concerns.
Deebo- B Because better options were available.
Hurd- D Because of red flags and injuries.
MW- D- A desperation pick.
Greenlaw- C+ Undersized but do not know much about him.
Matt Gay, I saw him hit a 66 yarder in practice.
4/27/2019 12:35 PM by Charlie Campbell
I give the 49ers a grade of D- for their pick of Mitch Wishnowsky. They could get a punter later and there are some really good players available for San Francisco instead.
Charlie Campbell<Gil Brandt
Shows what you know.
Care to compare resumes?
By resumes do you mean that you’re taking credit that the team has twice taken the player that pretty much every media outlet and talking head said we were taking and that you agreed with them?
I’m starting to see why you and Seb get along so well.
Razor has also nailed the last 3 draft’s first round pick, so I recognize his football acumen.
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He also stuck to his guns and kept his Bosa fandom strong, in spite of the pushback. He was proven right in the end, so I gave him kudos.
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Razor and I may be diametrically opposed in so many ways. He likes Trump, me not so much. He like heavy metal, I like the Grateful Dead. He like Blues Glues, I like Mango Haze.
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But we both love the Niners.
Thank you Sebs. Love you man.
;p
I think you’d be hard pressed to find a bigger advocate for Boza through this entire process than Razor. It’s easy (and lazy) to fall back on “well he was a popular pick” when Razor was much more vocal in his conviction than even most of the pro-Bosa analysts. That’s why he’s got every right to celebrate it.
Razor…Your resume says you spend all day everyday commenting on Grant’s 49er blog.
Sorry, but you had that coming.
?Nice try gentleman but compare Brandt’s resume with Campbell’s. Talk about your obvious deflection.
#Propagate. I’m retired and have the right to spend my time where and how I like. Good luck to you!
Greenlaw could be the Sam Grant wanted at #2.
Nick Bosa A (Obvious pick)
Deebo C (because AJ brown and Greedy Williams should have been the pick)
Hurd D ( passed on good safties and CB)
Mitch Wishnowsky F- (Punter)
Dre Greenlaw C+ (don’t know enough about him)
Ok, this is flat-out awesome.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/0ap3000001028578/Eisen-is-HYPED-for-49ers-punter-pick-in-Round-4
MWD –
Saw that…it was hilarious! Thanks
Eisen is still at it as I write this. “Decades, decades since we saw what we were blessed with today.”
Eisen needs to work on his 40 yrd time ?
We now have Deebo from Friday movie & Dr. Dre …is there a Snoop or Ice Cube in the 6th round?
If the guy turns out to be a Pro Bowl punter, isn’t that better than taking a marginal DB who is simply filling a roster spot?
+1
Totally agree. Hard to say who will step up in the mid and late rounds. They traded back and got some more scrub picks and released Watson. I’m sure they wished they could go back more but this is where they landed.
I’m not saying you can’t find gems in the late rounds. It is just that it’s rare. You have to anticipate moves and instead of waiting until the fifth they grabbed him one round early….. it is not the worst thing that could of happened. Grade C+, he is a stater. Let’s move on!
An F? Oh waaaaaaaa! What a baby. Not a clue. Thank God we have football people picking, not frustrated non athletes with a pencil, a forum, and a jealous grudge to display. So small. Grow up Coach.
Grant is simply plowing the same dead field that his know-nothing Dad did. There’s the tree, here’s the apple.
Lynch just suggested on ESPN that the team thinks Hurd can gain some weight.
hmmmm……Tight End #2 or H-Back????
I thought it was absurd how many people thought Hurd was going to be used as a wide out.
He said that after saying Hurd was around 235 (I think he said that number while he was discussing his time as a RB). So they must be envisioning the 240s for him. Kittle is listed at 6’4″ and 249 lbs.
More than anything, I want to see him run the ball in a RPO type of play where he can be a duel threat as a receiver too.
“I thought it was absurd how many people thought Hurd was going to be used as a wide out.”
Same.
Pump the breaks for a second.
I’m not a fan of taking a Punter either.
But it’s not like the pick was completely irrational. So let’s temper the outrage.
We’re talking about the 4th freaking round. At this point you pick players based on best value for the team. It’s not like you’re going to get a likely starter. I mean you hope so but you’re likely if you’re lucky to get a role player.
So at this point you have to weigh the pros and cons of drafting a likely role player at a more important position or a possible starter at a position of need.
The Niners likely got their punter for the future. An F Grade would be a complete swing and a miss strike out. Getting a punter is like bunting and getting out to move the runner up. IMO that’s more like a C- or C grade.
I lean more towards finding defensive backs….or maybe trading down and collecting a bunch of defensive backs to see what sticks to the wall after training camp. But I can at least understand the logic behind the pick.
I pretty much agree with what you are saying, but still would have preferred they take safety CGJ first, then followed by MW.
The voice of reason doesn’t speak to some. Oh how I miss BrothaTuna.
Cubus,
Are you still on the Lynch train? :)
I took your advice and stopped in the dining car for a few IPAs.
I would have preferred a DB too. Or a massive run stuffing 2 gap Nose Tackle. Hey, the Punter can run a 4.6 something…..that’s almost a Safety’s speed.
For some reason this regime has a knack for picking guys a round or more higher than the projections.
Difference between Lynch and Baalke is looks, the gift of gab and history as a player.
It all depends on the intel they have on other teams drafting. The draft analysis and prospect ranking that we all read on the internet is great for a rough approximation of the quality of a player and where they’re projected to be picked. But as you well know teams all have their own proprietary evaluations of players and rankings and have to weigh that against what they know or suspect of other team’s agendas.
But yeah from the outside looking in, it certainly does seem that the 49ers feel so confidant about their evaluations that they have no problem picking a prospect early relative to the general consensus of where he’s expected to be picked.
Niners are relying on intel from other teams?
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No wonder they are getting schooled.
all teams try to collect intel on other teams.
Seb, who said they’re getting schooled? Just curious. I must have missed that somewhere, but I have been feeding the horses and playing with one of my granddaughters. Beautiful day!
Making desperation picks due to intel from other teams.
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They should have selected Juan Thornhill in the second round, because Deebo was ranked 78,and they were picking 67th.
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They should have waited on Hurd.
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They should have waited in MW.
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The Niners should have leveraged that number 2 pick to get multiple second round picks, but was incapable of making a fair deal. Now, the finally managed to trade back in the third day, but that is too late. They even managed to bundle a pick and a player to move up, but only in the 5th round. Once again, too little, too late.
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Compared to what the Pats did, the Niners got schooled. Of course, the whole league is getting schooled by the Pats.
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Sure hope the Niners learn from their mistakes, or they will get schooled again.
I want to caution you on accepting the internet draft player analysis and projections as gospel. They’re a good frame work to start from but as I said, teams use their own intel to make picks. It’s why every year just about every team does at least one wtf move. Remember that the draft is a crapshoot so no established methodology has been proven consistently to work. That’s why I don’t understand getting bent out of shape because a player is drafted a round or so too high. It’s going to happen. Again we have variables that we’re not privy to: how teams view the quality of the player (look at how far Greedy Williams and D.K. Metcalf fell compared to consensus expectations) and what teams know about each other’s draft agendas.
Who said they’re getting schooled?
The Niners just “Skuled” the rest of the NFL
Other teams are showing how it is done. Niners seem to be flailing around.
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Other teams seem to be following a plan. Niners are high fiving over a 4th round punter.
They have the guys they like and overdraft to get them
Do you know of any egregious over drafts? I’d say your statement about being a round early is about right….maybe not quite a round early….but close.
He had a 5th round grade and BB just took one.
Solomon Thomas, CJB, Joe Williams, Street
The best goes on…
all of those guys were drafted within a round of when they were expected to be picked.
Solomon Thomas was mocked by several people to go top 5 and top 10.
Missing on picks isn’t the same as overdrafting.
Drafting ahead of where they are considered to be taken is the very definition of overdrafting! ?
That most are also busts which only aggravates the matter.
I can’t say that the draft is going the way I expected it either.
Given our lack of information, I only care about egregious errors. I haven’t seen one yet…..though the punter pick…..very nearly qualifies.
But in general, I take the Draft with a grain of salt.
One thing that occurs to me with the 2nd and 3rd round picks is that Shanahan is really going for a RAC type of offense. Much like Walsh did with the WCO. But instead of relying on the QB to distribute the ball based on quick reads for receivers and backs to run after the catch; Shanahan is going to use play action and then have his receivers run for their yards. Both Samuel and Hurd are either built like running backs or are former running backs….both have ball carrier/runner vision. The 49ers appear to be avoiding more conventional passing schemes with more downfield types of receivers.
Other than the first round….overdrafting by a round is no big deal. The draft is a crap shoot!
Good god people get some perspective!
Things will calm down after the draft, but I am not impressed with the Niners draft class, or their draft strategy.
If we could have (hypo) picked Bosa, QW and J. Allen some would argue that QW should have been the picked first.
Lynch and Shanahan are not going to please everyone.
Well, it’s a good thing we didn’t need to upgrade our DBs given that our Division opponents haven’t upgraded their WRS….?
Somewhere Ray Guy is smiling.
Rib,
+100
Projections are just that. Projections by people with an opinion. I guess it would be pretty easy if they just didn’t do any of there own research, and instead relied on the pundits, sport writer hacks, and blog amateur GM’s to make their picks. Just take the next number up because some know it all said so. The students grade the teachers. Yea, that’s a plan, (long eye roll)
This ☝️ DraftTec is not gospel…teams actually have their OWN draft boards.
Bill Belichick just picked a punter in the 5th round. Few would call him stupid. So maybe the punter in the 4th is not as bad as some seem to think here.
These so called “experts” in here know better, and they’ll continue to tell you they do.
Yes, Blaise, I, too follow BB on draft day since he is the best overall value-based talent evaluator cumulatively over the past two decades. I can imagine that many Pat armchair GMs are going ballistic that BB picked a punter ahead of the TE they need to replace Gronk…
BB does have trouble with drafting wide receiver’s though. We’ll see if Harry turns out better than Samuel.
He has his hits and misses like all good GMs. Harry is a smart, tough, hard-working player and will greatly benefit from TB12’s tutelage on route running. I followed him somewhat during his Pac-12 career.
They drafted N’Keal Harry, who can be used as a TE.
Pats had 10 picks, so they can afford to spend pick on a punter.
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Niners only had 6 picks, and spent their 4th on a punter.
Shame on Bill. Coach will give him a A.
What do you think about Corey Ballentine, CB, Washburn?
Fact:
Since 2007 only one punter has been drafted before the 5th round.
It was Bryan Anger from Cal in 2012. Jacksonville took him in the 3rd round. He is currently a free agent.
Just one punter in the last 12 years! That’s how rare that 49er pick was for Wishnowsky. Just sayin
Well Crab, with all due respect, and I always read what you bring here because you are clever, the Niners intel must have told them he’d be gone by their next pick and they WANTED him. Nobody on here can unequivocally state he would be available later into the 5th or beyond. The only thing that changes is that stat will now say “only 2 punters have been taken before the 5th round since 2007”. Let’s hope he becomes an All Pro. Just saying.
Juan,
And no one can unequivocally state that he would not be available either. Silly.
Your right yeast! I agree. I think in general when teams take players way off of where the so called experts have placed them, that obviously tell me they have info, substantiated suspicion, something that is telling them he won’t be there for there next pick. So they take him because the want him bad enough. So goes the draft. It’s a crapshoot. Hope it works out for them. All their picks. If they don’t , the negative nellies will pounce! That’s why I strongly agree with the folks who say give the players a chance (at least a season or two) before they sell them down the river, like Coach/GM GC does so often, like he knows what he’s talking about! Lol
Juan –
Thanks for the acknowledgement bro, yes I hope Wishnowsky becomes an All Pro too.
Don’t worry the geniuses in SC got a good one for the team. All the sycophants love him!!
And we didn’t need some of the other players available. None will amount to anything. We got a Pro Bowl punter (which usually is given to teams who stink).
So Niners drafted a younger, cheaper ST/LB to replace the one they traded?
There’s no other way to look at drafting a punter in the 4th round than awful. This was an awful pick. As Grant said, they are acting like they have no other holes to fill. Poor drafting, poor strategy.
It’s amazing how good the 49ers think they are.
Cocky! I like it!
why? because they don’t believe that a bunch of 4th and 5th round prospects are going to magically fix the team?
Shanahan can do it all!
He helps park on game day too!
Nailed it Scooter!
I can’t get on board with the pick even though he’s a fellow Aussie and I was actually hoping he’d be a 49er!
Im sure he’s a fine player, but we are on the same page on this. This crew has shown a propensity for this type of overreach! Very discouraging!
Saw Smith play twice this year live. The guy sitting next to me talked him up pretty good. He’s a football player. Solid pick. I’ll take football players from Texas anytime. They live and breath football down there. Red Zone improvement immediately. Only 2 TD’s in ‘18. That’s Stanford’s fault, not his.
The draft is a crap shoot. Won’t know who gets high/low marks for a few years. If the punter is another Ray Guy, well great choice. If not, well we could have picked another Taylor Mays.
“It’s amazing how good the 49ers think they are”! I coughed up my drink on that one. Isn’t that the definition of “the pot calling the kettle black”! Good one Coach! You are funny sometimes!
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Now all we need to do trade up for a future longer snapper to sit for 2-3 years and we’ll be set.
It’s too bad BT and Rocket don’t weigh on this draft. Would love to hear their takes…
From some other place…
“Wishnowsky was a Ray Guy Award winner as college football’s best punter in 2016, then he was a finalist for the award over his final two years. He was also a consensus All-American in 2016 when he averaged 47.7 yards per punt. He’ll likely handle kickoff duties for San Francisco as well.”
And you are bitching why? You ever read up on Aussie kickers?
They could have drafted Roberto Carlos in the 4th round and I’d still feel the same…
In 1980 the GREAT Bill Walsh and John McVay drafted Jim Miller punter in the 3rd round.
The reality is punter do get drafted before the 5th round and they do get drafted by people who know a lot more about football than any one on this blog.
People get so hung up on draft position. If the Niners took Montana in the 2nd round instead of the third were he was “projected” would you complain? It is performance that matters.
Oh man if only the internet existed back then. 3rd round? A punter!??? A barefoot punter??? Another 2-14 season. Send that Walsh back to Cincy.
Just got to hope (pray) that some of the many DB’s, OL, DL, and LB on the roster improve mightily over
the off season.
Will 49ers hand out rosaries to season ticket holders this coming season? Will there be prayer candles
we can light in the stadium corridors?
49ers remind me of the movie Major League. ‘I thought you said the team didn’t have any high priced talent’?
‘We don’t, he’s just high priced’
everyone freaking out about us not taking DB’s early is just silly! by my account we have 7 good players competing for 3 jobs!! The FO would be irresponsible to ignore those players and attempt to move on with out knowing what you’ve got with them!!!!!!!!
There was NO QUESTION the pass rush sucked and we lacked weapons at WR and TE behind Kittle ( maybe this is where they envision Hurd playing)!!!!!!!
what 3rd -7th round S’s are gonna come in and be better than Ward ad Tartt!!!!???? those guys are 1st and 2nd rounders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! use common freaking sense guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the only issue with ’em is inability to stay healthy!!!!!! they get 1 more chance….and oh, now we got a pass rush……so
the grade they earn in 2019 will be fair
fair criticism would be that they wait a year 2 late to fill holes……..but look at all the pass rushers we could have had/were linked to in mocks last year!!!! Davenport, who the saints traded up for…..looking like a bust! MMG mutch better pick, cornerstone 10 year tackle……
and instead we end up w Ford AND Bosa!!!!!!!
If Tart, Ward, Tolbert and the other kid disappoint in 2019 even with a pass rush…….well end up with 2 new S’s!!! drafted early or as prize free agents!
If Verrett, AW or TM cant hold down 1cb spot opposite RS……..then well have a new CB via 1st round or free agency!
you cant fill every hole 1-53 and upgrade spots taken by 1st and 2nd rounders with 5 picks in one stinking draft!
I would like to take another crack at the issue of the Niners drafting a punter in the fourth round. I found a video clip from NFL films about Ravens punter Sam Koch who apparently can do a lot of things with the football in a punt. The commentator likened Sam Koch’s punting portfolio to golf clubs in the bag.
He can kick in various ways: fade, draw and such to keep the ball’s trajectory uncertain and maximize the benefit for the Ravins.
If the Niners punter can kick punts with either leg and do other things affecting the trajectory of the ball and surprise the person fielding the punt, perhaps the Niners could almost see punting the ball as an offensive play to gain yards if the fielder misses but touches the ball.
Boomerangs, Knuckleballs, Hooks: How Sam Koch & the Ravens Changed Punting | NFL Films Presents
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