San Francisco 49ers 2009 Draft Recap- Special thanks to new addition to P4P team, consultant Professor Paul on the West Coast

Although some fans/sites knock the draft for its failure to select an offensive tackle or a pass rusher, when the off season as a whole is looked at, the San Francisco 49ers did a nice job for the present and the future. A position by position analysis follows.
Quarterback: At first blush it appears the niners are at risk. They retained Alex Smith and Sean Hill, neither of whom are established NFL starters while adding Damon Huard as a free agent and drafting Nate Davis in Round 5. Davis was rated by many as the 4th best prospect at QB and one of the most productive in college. Smith was retained at a much lower cost revised contract which enables the team to take one last look at Smith when, hopefully, healthy while still not taking a major cap hit for his prepaid bonus money. Hill isn’t pretty but he has gone 7-3 as a starter, including 5-3 last year under Singletary. Finally, the team traded its Round 2 and Round 4 picks for Carolina’s round 1 pick in 2010, which positions them to maneuver in next year’s draft to try again for a franchise QB if necessary.
Running back/fullback: The team’s stated goal was to add a back to share the load with Frank Gore to enable the team to have a fresher Gore in the fourth quarter and late in the season. They accomplished this by adding Glen Coffee in Round 3. Coffee had a fine year for Alabama against SEC competition and is a good receiver and willing blocker. As an added plus the team signed undrafted free agent Kory Sheets who had a fine season for Purdue and was one of the fastest backs at the combine. He went undrafted because of perceived “character issues”. Finally, the niners brought back Moran Norris at fullback. Norris was Gore’s lead blocker during his best seasons but didn’t fit Mike Martz’ offense.
Wide Receiver. Michael Crabtree, recognized by everyone (except “the genius” in Oakland) as the best receiver in the draft and one of its top players fell in the niners’ lap at number 10 in Round 1, for reasons detailed endlessly in the press and blogosphere. Brandon Jones was signed as a free agent from Tennessee to replace Bryant Johnson who was not resigned after a disappointing season. They join Isaac Bruce who decided not to retire, Josh Morgan who showed flashes of brilliance before injuries derailed his rookie year and Jason Hill who made great strides in his second year under the tutelage of Isaac Bruce. Arnaz Battle also returns. He is my offensive “mine canary“ this year. (A mine canary was a bird sent into the mine with the miners. If the air became toxic the canary died before the air became so bad that miners couldn’t escape.) Here, if Battle makes the team it is a sign things are not going well. He should be no better than the sixth receiver and he is way to expensive for that.
Tight End. The niners added Bear Pascoe in Round 6. Pascoe was generally perceived as the best blocking tight end in the draft and replaces Billy Bajema who left as a free agent Pascoe will play in two tight end sets and is generally recognized as an upgrade, if for no other reason than his ability to catch the ball and his size in the red zone where he may prove to be a threat the niners have been missing.
Offensive Line. Going into the off season right tackle was generally seen as the area of greatest need. Jonas Jennings was perpetually injured, Barry Simms was “Mr. False Start” and Adam Snyder has proved to be a competent and versatile backup but an inadequate starter (at least at right tackle). The team signed ex Steeler Marvel Smith who, when healthy was a pro bowl caliber player. Unfortunately he has had a back problem and is a risk to replace Jennings on IR. Thus going into the draft it was expected by many that a tackle would be taken in the first round. In fact, it has been reported that the niners would have taken Michael Oher at number 10 if Crabtree had not fallen or if they were unable to trade down. The niners were clearly unimpressed with the tackles available in the second round on down, apparently believing that they provided no better insurance for Marvel Smith tan did Snyder. After the draft the team signed Alex Boone, a four year starter at Ohio State. Boone, an admitted alcoholic (up to 40 bears a day) was generally perceived as a 3rd or 4th round talent with alcohol related character issues. If he can remain sober (he attends AA) and if Singletary can motivate him he could be a steal. The remainder of the line appears more solid than they were given credit for. Staley moved from right to left tackle and progressed as the year went on, particularly after the seven step drop was significantly limited. Chilo Rachal, last years 2nd rounder took over at right guard after Singletary took over and looks to be a fixture for several years.
Defensive Line. It was generally perceived that the niners needed a pass rusher. In the 3-4 defense this is usually not a d-lineman but rather an outside linebacker. The linemen in a 3-4 are primarily used to occupy blockers allowing the linebackers to make plays. The existing group did this job well, particularly after Singletary took over and allowed D-coordinator Mike Manusky to simplify the defense into a more attacking mode. Thus it was not surprising that the niners didn’t draft a defensive lineman until late in the seventh round, although they were thought to be interested in B.J. Raji a huge nose tackle from Boston College. In Round 7 the niners took Ricky Jean Francois who they believe can play DE or DT. Francois, who left LSU after his junior year, was generally perceived to have 3rd round talent but for his immaturity and perceived character issues. The niners also added undrafted rookies Khalif Mitchell and Pannell Egboh. Mitchell is a huge nose tackle who was down graded for character issues and inconsistent effort. Egboh, on the other hand, has no character issues but had a down senior year, partly because of injuries. Prior to the season he was rated a mid round talent at DE.
Linebacker. The team resigned Takeo Spikes to play alongside Patrick Willis at middle backer. Parys Haralson led the team in sacks at one outside position and is thought to have double digit sack potential. Manny Lawson, a college DE was drafted in the first round 3 years ago with the belief that he could be a pass rushing linebacker. He missed the 2007 season with a knee injury and , as is oten the case with knees, was not fully back last year. While Lawson has become a solid backer he has not proven to be a productive pass rusher. While fans were calling for a pass rusher to be drafted in the first or second round, the team brought in former Bear Al Harris to coach pass rush technique and expressed belief in Lawson’s ability to provide increased pressure. The niners passed on all of the top backers in the first round and traded their 2nd round pick instead of taking any of the highly touted pass rushers still available. They currently have Ahmed Brooks, brought in last season after bein g cut by Cincy and Marques Harris, recently signed as a free agent from San Diego as backup outside backers, although neither has a history as a great pass rusher. I would not be surprised to see the niners pick up a pass rusher cut for cap reasons. In Round 5 the team selected Scott McKillop of Pittsburgh. The niners, and particularly Singletary (who should know) seem elated with this pick, believing that McKillop will replace Spikes in a year or two and play alongside Willis for years to come.
Defensive Backs. The niners seem deep at corner but flirted with several free agents before the draft and brought in 3 rookie free agents after the draft. This suggests that they are concerned about the eventual replacement for Walt Harris who will be 35 when the season starts. They say positive things about current backups Shawntae Spencer and Terel Brown but there actions suggest otherwise. At safety the team drafted Curtis Taylor of LSU in Round 7. He will compete for time at free safety. The team also added Jimmy Willliams, a former second round pick of the Falcons. I would not be at all surprised to see the niners pick up a player or two cut for cap reasons.
Two interesting developments came out of the off season for the niners.
First, the trade for Carolina’s 2010 first round pick gives the team great flexibility in the remainder of this off season or in next years draft. They have the ability to sign current franchised players such as Julius Peppers or Terrelle Suggs (which I doubt they will do); to trade up in next years draft to sign a top rated QB such as Sam Bradford from Oklahoma or Colt McCoy from Texas; to trade for a franchised QB in 2010; or to move up or down in the draft to fill needs. As an aside, the Carolina pick may prove to be higher than one might expect. Carolina has a tough schedule, including all NFC East teams.
Second, the team picked up a number of players identified as “character risks”, based in part in the belief that Singletary can motivate them. In addition to seventh round supplemental pick Francois and Rookie Free Agents Boone, Sheets and Mitchell, the team signed former Atlanta second round pick Jimmy Williams to go along with former Cincy third round linebacker Ahmed Brooks signed late last year. Each of these players seems to have the skills to make the team and contribute. If even one of them does, this will be a gift, since collectively they cost only a supplemental seventh round pick, little bonus money and no guaranteed salaries. Expect Singletary to have a zero tolerance policy for knuckleheads but to find some keepers.
All in all I think this has been a very strong off season. The team has quality starters at virtually every position ( We can argue about QB) and adequate backups at most positions. Going forward, thay are well positioned cap wise and with high draft picks to continue to move forward and fill any holes that prove to exist and to continue to upgrade the talent pool. This year, for the first time in a long time, it is likely that some quality players will be cut for reasons other than character and salary cap.