2008 NFL Mock Draft: San Francisco 49ers

Previous Five Picks

24) NFL-Tennessee_Titans-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Tennessee_Titans-220308">Tennessee Titans: Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina

25) NFL-Seattle_<a%20href=">Seahawks-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Seattle_Seahawks-230308">Seattle Seahawks: Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt

26) Jaguars-Auburn_Football-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Jacksonville_Jaguars-260308">Jacksonville Jaguars: Quentin Groves, OLB/DE, Auburn

27) Chargers-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_San_Diego_Chargers-260308">San Diego Chargers: Jeff Otah, OT, Pittsburgh

28) Cowboys-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Dallas_Cowboys-140308">Dallas Cowboys: Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina

Click here to see the entire Mock Draft. 

The Longest Mock Draft in NFL History Continues...

My daughter spilled something into my keyboard, causing almost all of the keys to randomly stick and drive me completely insane.

So if this column sucks, blame it on my keyboard not working right.

By the way, I’ve wondered Raiders-What_is_up_With_all_the_Freaking_Oakland_Raiders_Stories_on_Bleacher_Report_-270308">why there are so many Raiders articles on this site as well.

My theory: Anonymous is a Raiders fan.

Pick No. 29: San Francisco 49ers

This type of stuff entertains me.

The 49ers trade into the end of the first round last year and out of this season’s first round because they think they’re going to be a playoff team in 2008.

Now, I’m not claiming to be any type of personnel genius, but if I’m building an offense that’s going to lead a team to the playoffs, I might remember to include an NFL quality wide receiver or two. 

And maybe a quarterback that isn’t so pathetic that his coach has to openly question his manhood.

But that’s just me.  What the heck do I know? 

So, because they ridiculously overestimated the amount of talent on their own roster, the 49ers ended up trading the seventh pick in the draft to the Patriots.

The rich don’t get richer because the system is slanted—they get richer because the poor are typically stupid.

Poor Frank Gore played his heart out and never had so much as a small hole to run through.  Running through eight and nine man fronts is no easy task, even for the great running back out of Miami.

The 49ers failed miserably when they attempted to improve their passing game by breaking the Drew Bledsoe rule and trading for a washed up player within their own division (Darrell Jackson).

For those of you not familiar with the Drew Bledsoe rule, it’s pretty simple: 

If a team is willing to trade a player to another team in its own division, then it’s buyer-beware. 

The Patriots traded Drew Bledsoe to the Bills.  The Bills thought they swindled the Patriots out of an all-pro quarterback. 

Turns out, the Patriots knew a little more about their own player than the Bills did. 

Do you think Seattle might have known a little something about Darrell Jackson?

(For the record, I have no idea who came up with the Drew Bledsoe rule.  It could have been me.  I could have stolen it from someone else.  I'm just not confident enough that it was my idea to take full credit for it.)

This season, the 49ers went and signed the ageless Isaac Bruce, who will work with his former head-coach and offensive coordinator Mike Martz (Mike Martz will not be mentioned again in this column...he deserves his own column). 

I’m not sure Bruce is a starting wide receiver at this point in his career, but he’s at least an NFL wide receiver who understands their system…which is a step up from anything else they have.

The 49ers have a lot of holes to fill. 

They need a tackle to play opposite Joe Staley. 

They could use a pass rusher to play opposite Manny Lawson. 

They could use some depth at defensive end. 

Maybe a cornerback to compete with Walt Harris, who isn’t getting any younger.

But they drafted a quarterback with the first overall pick a few years ago.  They will never know what they have if they don’t give him SOMEONE to throw the ball to. 

They need to give him a chance to prove whether or not he can play, otherwise not only did they waste the last few seasons but they’re doomed to stink for the new few as well.

To me, for that reason, their biggest need is wide receiver.

The Pick: Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan St.

If Quentin Groves drops, this pick might be different (even for a wide receiver starved team, his pass rushing abilities and versatility would be too much to pass up). 

I don’t think they’ll go offensive tackle here, because there’s plenty of OT talent that will be available later on. 

I’m not sure there’s a WR talent on Devin Thomas’ level available outside the first round.

Thomas has major upside, and is extremely fast. 

He didn’t have an offense that played to his strengths until his final season at Michigan State, so you’ll hear some one-year-wonder talk.

Don’t buy into it. 

He’s a huge talent.  He’ll translate well to the NFL. 

I’m SeanMC.

SeanMC is a Senior Writer at Bleacher Report. His archive can be found here. You can find everything he writes, including articles for other publications, here.

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