This is my Monday column. Trent Baalke has to be swallowing hard this morning. Blaine Gabbert, the quarterback Baalke acquired to back up Colin Kaepernick, has a passer rating of 17.6 through two exhibition games. Trading for Blaine Gabbert was Baalke’s worst decision as an NFL general manager, worse than his decision to draft A.J. Jenkins or to trade for Jon Baldwin or to invest in a red-shirt draft choice…
Here is my final seven-round 49ers’ mock draft: 18: Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State. The 49ers trade pick Nos. 30 and 77 to the Jets for No.18. If Dennard has been picked, the 49ers will take Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State. If he has been picked as well, the 49ers will take Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech. 26: Marqise Lee, WR, USC. The 49ers trade pick Nos. 56 and 61…
Jim Harbaugh says David Fales is a top-five quarterback prospect in the upcoming draft. I agree with Harbaugh. Here is my full top-five list. Please leave yours’ as well. 1. Blake Bortles, UCF 2. David Fales, San Jose State 3. Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville 4. Derek Carr, Fresno State 5. Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois
I interviewed San Jose State head coach Ron Caragher over the phone last week. Here is the transcript. Q: Most of the top QBs in the upcoming draft went to non-major-conference colleges. Is that a coincidence, or is college football evolving? CARAGHER: Quarterbacks can come from all different types of colleges. Even a backup like the guy from USC – Matt Cassell – made it with the Patriots. At USD,…
This is the complete transcript of my phone interview with Jeff Garcia. Enjoy. Q: What was your skill level coming out of high school? GARCIA: I probably wasn’t where I wanted to be from a development standpoint. I was still pretty light. I was only 165 pounds, really hadn’t filled out my body yet. Was still adjusting physically. I felt like mentally I could really grasp the game – growing…
I interviewed quarterback guru Terry Shea over the phone last week. Here is a transcript of that interview. Q: Are there ways that a non-major-conference college like San Jose State can aid or accelerate a quarterback’s development in ways a major-conference college like USC can’t? SHEA: Those smaller colleges have to find a scheme that will allow them to have some success. Those kinds of schools sometimes they’ll be a…
This is my feature on the allure of quarterbacks who went to non-major-conference colleges. For the past five years, every quarterback who was chosen in the first round of the NFL draft went to a major-conference college. Meaning a college in the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC or ACC. Forget that trend. Draft gurus expect three quarterbacks who went to non-major-conference colleges to get drafted in Round 1 this…
SANTA CLARA – Friday afternoon, I interviewed David Fales in a small group in 49ers’ the defensive meeting room after the 49ers’ local Pro Day. Here is a transcript of the interview. Q: How did San Jose State enhance your development as a quarterback? FALES: Going junior college and making that leap to Division I, obviously you’ve got bigger, faster athletes and the game is a little bit faster than…
SANTA CLARA – Here is what Trent Baalke said about David Fales on Friday. Q: What do you like about David Fales as a prospect? BAALKE: I like a lot of things about David. He’s a very composed, a very smart football player. You look at him statistically – he has won a lot of games. He won a shootout this year in the Fresno game which I happened to…
These are the picks I think the 49ers will make in the upcoming draft, not necessarily the picks I would make if I were picking for the 49ers. Trade pick No.30 to the Jaguars for pick No.39 and Jacksonville’s third-rounder in 2015. With pick No.39, the 49ers select JORDAN MATTHEWS, WR, VANDERBILT. The Jaguars trade up for QB Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers trade back for Matthews, who has the speed to…
Let’s do a mock draft. I’m sticking to the first-three rounds this time. Round 1, Pick 30: Davante Adams, WR, Fresno State. With so many juniors declaring for the draft this year, next year’s wide receiver class probably will be lean. The 49ers better grab a WR now. There’s a chance eight will get drafted in the first round this year — Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin, Allen Robinson, Marqise…
This is my column for Wednesday. The 49ers need a new quarterback. This is not to say the 49ers should give up on Colin Kaepernick — with the right coaching he may still have a future. But they shouldn’t go all in with him, either. The 49ers should hedge their bets, draft a quarterback who could back up Kaepernick as a rookie and could eventually take over as the starter…
Here is my Wednesday column explaining how to rebuild the Raiders. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. TO: Reggie McKenzie, general manager, Oakland Raiders FROM: Grant Cohn Reggie, as a favor, I want to help you rebuild the Raiders’ roster. First, let me commend the job you’ve done the past two years tearing down Al Davis’ and Hugh Jackson’s expensive mess. You’ve made the…
