San Francisco 49ers: Revisiting the 2014 Draft Class, One Year Later

All things considered, the San Francisco 49ers had a very productive draft in 2014.  The team had significant positive contributions out of both Chris Borland and Aaron Lynch on defense, and players like Carlos Hyde and Dontae Johnson showed flashes of significant potential as well.  A far-too-early analysis says that it probably won’t go down as general manager Trent Baalke’s greatest draft class ever, but there were multiple successful picks, and that’s all you can really ask for out of the lottery that is the NFL draft.

It’s also unfair to fully rank a draft class after just one season.  For example, Marcus Martin had a pretty horrible rookie season, all things considered, often looking overmatched and outplayed.  However, he only turned 21 years old over the course of the season and was thrust into a starting role before the 49ers would have liked, thanks to the injury to Daniel Kilgore.  I still think that he has a promising future in the NFL, despite being San Francisco’s worst rookie in 2014.

It may be unfair to grade a rookie’s career potential after just one season, but it’s natural to want to.  After all, one of the best parts of being an armchair GM is second-guessing the actual GM.  While it’s true that we won’t know who really was the best steal of the draft for a good five years or so—remember, Tom Brady didn't play at all in his rookie season!—we can at least look and see which players that the 49ers chose to pass on had great rookie seasons, and if there should be any buyer’s remorse for San Francisco fans.

Here, then, is a “redraft” of sorts for the 49ers—the best players available that the 49ers chose to pass on.  There are some ground rules here: We're not expecting the 49ers to be clairvoyant and draft someone rounds before they were actually picked or anything of that nature.  We’re really looking at decisions that could have been made in the front office on draft day and how they could have gone differently.

Rather than look at each pick individually, because the 49ers had 12 picks in 2014, we're going to group them by when they were drafted.  For players like, say, Marcus Martin and Chris Borland, who were picked just seven picks apart, the 49ers likely considered similar players for both selections.  Thus, we will as well.

Round 1, Pick 30: S Jimmie Ward, Northern Illinois

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The Pick

Jimmie Ward ended up playing about a quarter of San Francisco’s snaps as the nickel (slot) cornerback.  He ended up going on injured reserve about halfway through the year with a season-ending foot injury.

For most of the season, Ward looked all right—nothing spectacular, but solid enough.  He very rarely looked entirely out of his element in the NFL, which is always a concern when you’re taking a player out of a lesser conference like the MAC.

There were times, of course, when his inexperience got the best of him.  Brandon Marshall destroyed him in Week 2, catching three touchdowns when lined up against the rookie.  That would be a mismatch for almost any cornerback in the league, however, and most of the time, Ward looked solid.

Ward ended the season with 19 tackles and one assist as well as two passes defensed.  The secondary suffered when he left after Week 10.

A Better Pick

Ward was actually a very solid pick for this part of the draft.  The best player taken shortly after Ward was Teddy Bridgewater (32nd overall to Minnesota), the best of the rookie quarterbacks in 2014.  Drafting a quarterback in the first round was never going to be part of San Francisco’s strategy, though, and he wouldn't have seen the field at all even if the 49ers had taken him.

The long-term plan is to move Ward back to safety, but if the 49ers just wanted a cornerback, perhaps they should have taken Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State (31st overall to Denver).  Roby had a bit of an up-and-down season but ended up actually starting multiple games in Denver’s secondary.  The nickel cornerback ended up with 65 tackles and two assists as well as two interceptions, a sack and two forced fumbles.  If the goal was just to shore up the cornerback position, it looks like Roby might have been a better pick.

Again, though, the plan is for Ward to move to safety, so the jury’s still out on this one.

Round 2, Pick 57: RB Carlos Hyde, Ohio State

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The Pick

Carlos Hyde perhaps didn't get as many reps as expected this season, as Frank Gore remained the workhorse back.  In the quarter or so snaps that Hyde did receive, however, he looked very solid.

Hyde finished the season with 333 yards rushing on only 83 attempts: a 4.0 average resulting in four touchdowns.  His best performance came in his last game of the year, against the Seattle Seahawks up in Seattle.  He only received six carries in that game but rumbled for 55 yards against a very tough Seahawks run defense.  This included a 28-yard smash through the left guard early in the first quarter that got the 49ers off on the right foot.

It wasn't a perfect year by any means; Hyde was a non-factor in the receiving game, catching just 12 passes for 68 yards.  Still, there were some exciting moments to be had here.

A Better Pick

With the 49ers receiving corps questionable for most of the year, how much better would 49ers fans feel about letting Michael Crabtree go if they had taken Jarvis Landry, WR, LSU (63rd overall to Miami)?

Landry quickly became one of Ryan Tannehill’s favorite targets in 2014, catching 84 passes for 758 yards and five touchdowns; that’s more receptions than anyone on San Francisco’s roster put up.  Landry worked his way into the starting lineup by Week 6 and never had a clunker of a game.  Landry had two games with 75 or more receiving yards, both against playoff teams—Week 6 against Green Bay and Week 15 against New England.  Without an established rookie like Landry, the 49ers find themselves needing to draft an early receiver or two in what looks to be a less impactful class in 2015.

Round 3: Marcus Martin and Chris Borland

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The Picks

I’m grouping the two third-round picks together because they were picked just seven picks apart—yet they could hardly have had different rookie seasons.

While I was very high on Marcus Martin (center from USC, 70th overall) when the 49ers drafted him, he has yet to live up to the lofty expectations given to him.  Thrust into the starting center role midway through the season when Daniel Kilgore went down, Martin had a very poor season—in fact, I think you can blame a decent percentage of the offensive line’s struggles on having a rookie at center.  Hopefully, this year can be chalked up as a learning experience for Martin, and he’ll improve in year two.

While I noted that Chris Borland (linebacker from Wisconsin, 77th overall) had the potential to be a “special player,” I was much less high on his selection due to his lack of size.  Well, that lack of size certainly didn't seem to harm him at all in 2014, as he swarmed all over the field to make 84 tackles and 23 assists as well as two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a sack.  It’s not hyperbole to state that Borland’s development was the single greatest thing to come out of San Francisco’s 2014 season.  He was so good that the 49ers may switch to a 4-3 defense to keep him on the field with Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.

A Better Pick

A better pick than Borland?  Not likely—he’d be a first-round pick if you were to redo the draft today.

If you’re looking to improve the Martin pick, however, there are a couple of options in this area of the draft.  Three pricks after Martin, the Buffalo Bills selected linebacker Preston Brown of Louisville, and he had a fantastic year on a very solid defense, replacing the injured Kiko Alonso.  He finished the year with 66 tackles and 43 assists.  However, Brown would have a hard time fitting on the 49ers with Willis, Bowman and Borland on the field.

Therefore, a better pick for the 49ers might have been Gabe Jackson, OG, Mississippi State (81st overall to Oakland).  Jackson started 13 games for the Raiders at left guard, and everything seemed to click for him in the second half of the season.  He handled the 49ers’ pass rush just fine in Oakland's win over San Francisco, and he’d be a legitimate replacement candidate for Mike Iupati this season.  He still needs to improve his run blocking, but he’s been game and working hard at it, and I see improvement in his future.

Rounds 3 and 4: Brandon Thomas and Bruce Ellington

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The Picks

Brandon Thomas (guard from Clemson, 100th overall) tore his ACL in the predraft process and didn't play a snap all season.

Bruce Ellington (wide receiver from South Carolina, 106th overall) had very limited snaps but showed flashes of potential when he reached the field.  His final stat line—six receptions for 62 yards—is obviously nothing to write home about, but he showed some promise in the return game and on end-arounds.  It’s far too early to come to a full conclusion about him.

A Better Pick

Rather than Thomas, an offensive lineman who didn't play a snap in 2014, what about DT Justin Ellis, Louisiana Tech (107th overall to Oakland)?  The 49ers struggled with the loss of both Ian Williams and Glenn Dorsey in 2014, and having a rookie prospect to soak up some snaps on the defensive line would have been useful.  Ellis was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, finishing with 16 tackles and five assists.  Ellis isn't a nose tackle but probably could have filled in thanks to his large frame.  Plus, if the 49ers move to a 4-3 defense this season, he’d be right in place on the defensive line.  I think I’d still rather have Thomas over the long term, but Ellis had a much better rookie season.

As for Ellington, the 49ers really didn't use him that much in 2014.  That means there’s no guarantee that they’d use a different rookie receiver any more, but 49ers fans have to be tempted by Clemson’s Martavis Bryant (118th overall to Pittsburgh).  Bryant finished with 26 receptions for 549 yards, but that included eight touchdowns—more than any San Francisco receiver scored.  He’d be that deep speedster threat that the 49ers are sorely lacking—and, unlike Ellington, he’s already proved he can do that on the NFL level.

Round 4, Pick 129: CB Dontae Johnson, North Carolina State

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The Pick

Dontae Johnson saw much more work than expected in 2014.  Johnson started the season buried on the depth chart, but because of injuries, he climbed up through the dime and nickel roles and even ended up starting the last three games of the season.  He was far more comfortable in the sub roles, of course—as a nickel cornerback, he was actually very, very solid.  He got exposed some when asked to play on every down, but he’s a fourth-round rookie; that will happen.  He finished the season with one interception, 26 tackles and eight assists while appearing in every single game.

His highlight-reel moment for the season was his game-clinching interception against the Rams in Week 6.  He even pitched in and played some safety when the injuries continued to pile up.  He’s an intriguing name moving forward—a possible starter one day, but not quite yet.

A Better Pick

Cornerback Bene Benwikere from San Jose State (148th overall to Carolina) already is a starter.  Benwikere was moved into the starting lineup in Week 14, which coincided perfectly with the season-ending win streak that allowed the Panthers to slip into the playoffs.  Benwikere is fast and energetic with great ball skills and a presence that belies his rookie status.  With an interception, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, eight passes defensed and 26 solo tackles, Benwikere is a playmaker.  He did all that despite missing six games with a high ankle sprain as well.

I think Johnson’s a great player, and the 49ers should be more than happy with him.  Benwikere just had a slightly better rookie campaign.

Rounds 5 and 6: Aaron Lynch, Keith Reaser and Kenneth Acker

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The Picks

These players were drafted within 30 picks of one another, so I’m grouping them together here.

Both Reaser (cornerback from Florida Atlantic, 170th overall) and Acker (cornerback from SMU, 180th overall) were redshirts in 2014.  Reaser missed the entire season with a torn ACL, while Acker participated some in the preseason but was placed on the NFI list with a fractured foot.  The jury is still very much out on both players.

On the other hand, Lynch (defensive end/linebacker from South Florida, 150th overall) had a great campaign as a rotational linebacker when Aldon Smith was out with his suspension.  Even when Smith came back, Lynch found his way onto the field with some regularity.  He fell to the fifth round due to character concerns but kept a clean nose in his first year in San Francisco and ended up with six sacks.  In most seasons, he’d be the team’s rookie of the year—instead, he’s not even the best linebacker the 49ers drafted in 2014.

A Better Pick

While I wouldn't want to give up on Lynch, it feels like the 49ers could have had a more optimal strategy here overall.

With Lynch’s pick, San Francisco could have taken C Corey Linsley, Ohio State (161st overall to Green Bay).  Linsley started all 18 games for Green Bay at center and was named to the all-rookie team.  At least this season, he would have been an upgrade over Jonathan Martin.

To make up for the loss of Lynch, the 49ers could have used Reaser’s pick to take OLB Devon Kennard, USC (174th overall to the New York Giants).  Kennard made his debut as a starter in Week 11 against San Francisco and had a very solid season, earning Defensive Player of the Week honors after Week 14.  He ended the season with 4.5 sacks of his own.  While Lynch is better than Kennard, the combination of Kennard and Linsley was better than Lynch and Reaser were in 2014.

That leaves the team a cornerback short in the draft, so it could have instead used Acker’s selection to take CB E.J. Gaines, Missouri (188th overall to St. Louis).  Unlike Reaser and Acker, Gaines was very much an active contributor in 2014, starting 15 games for the Rams.  Gaines finished the year with two interceptions, 15 passes defensed and 63 solo tackles, and he was consistently good all year long.

Round 7: Kaleb Ramsey and Trey Millard

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The Picks

Here, we have two more players who didn't see action in 2014.  Ramsey (defensive tackle from Boston College, 243rd overall) spent the season on the PUP list with a torn Achilles.  Millard (fullback from Oklahoma, 245th overall) tore his ACL the previous season and was never activated to fill a roster slot.  These players are still total question marks.

A Better Pick

This one is tough, as no one drafted after Ramsey or Millard made a notable contribution in 2014.  Most of the players selected had fewer than 25 snaps in the NFL, with OT Charles Leno Jr.’s 32 and S Jonathan Dowling’s 13 leading the way, according to Pro Football Focus.  If something about those 30 or so snaps particularly entices you, I suppose they would be a better pick, but there’s really nothing here to discuss.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.