Checking in on San Francisco 49ers' Biggest Project Players
The San Francisco 49ers haven’t been able to start their biggest offseason project—developing first-round pick Arik Armstead.
The former Oregon defensive linemen has been a full-time football player for only one year—he also played basketball his first two years in college. He needs experience on the football field and time in the weight room.
So far this offseason, he has gotten none of those things. He can’t participate in the 49ers’ offseason practices until Oregon’s school year ends on June 11, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. So Armstead will miss all OTAs and all but one day of mandatory minicamp.
We don’t know what to expect from Armstead next season. But here’s what we can expect in 2015 from five other San Francisco projects.
5. Trent Brown, Right Tackle
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The 49ers spent a seventh-round draft pick this year on former University of Florida right tackle Trent Brown.
After the draft, Niners’ general manager Trent Baalke discussed what he’s trying to get from the prospects he picks in the later rounds. “You’re looking for traits and you’re looking for traits, and you’re looking for the intangibles," Baalke said. "Because if they have some traits and they’ve got good intangibles, you know you’re going to get as much out of them as they got it in them. That’s what you’re looking for.”
Which traits did Baalke like about Brown? Probably the 36-inch arms attached to his torso. Those arms were the longest at the combine this year and are the longest on the 49ers.
In pass protection, the offensive tackle must get his hands on the pass-rusher before the pass-rusher gets his hands on him. Reach is vital. According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Brown’s reach is frustrating the 49ers’ pass-rushers in OTAs. Aldon Smith was the only defender who beat Brown during one-on-one pass-rushing drills, writes Barrows.
Brown dropped to the seventh round primarily due to his weight—he weighed as much as 387 pounds last season. If he keeps his weight down, he has a chance to become the backup right tackle next season and a starter in a few years.
4. Jarryd Hayne, Running Back/Returner
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This offseason, the 49ers gave a three-year contract to a 27-year old who never has played football in his life—Jarryd Hayne, the 2014 Rugby League Player of the Year.
The 49ers list Hayne as a running back. In terms of athleticism, Hayne compares well to first-round pick running back Melvin Gordon.
Hayne: 6’2”, 226 pounds, 4.53-second 40-yard dash
Gordon: 6’1”, 215 pounds, 4.52-second 40-yard dash
As you can see, Hayne is fast for his size. But it takes more than size and speed to become a good running back, and according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, Hayne lacks certain traits essential to playing the running back position.
“While playing rugby league in Australia, he probably never heard anyone talk about his pad level…because he never wore pads in his former career,” wrote Maiocco. “The pads do not go on until training camp, and he will have to make a quick adjustment. Hayne runs too upright to succeed as an NFL running back.”
To be fair, upright runners can succeed in zone-blocking schemes (Arian Foster, for example), which the 49ers seem to be implementing. Pad level was more important in the 49ers’ old man-blocking scheme under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
No can write off Hayne until we’ve seen him in a game.
3. Blake Bell, Tight End
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This year, the first offensive player the 49ers drafted was Blake Bell, who was a quarterback until 2014.
Bell switched to tight end his senior season and made 16 catches. Now, he’s competing to be the Niners’ No. 2 tight end. In a year, he could become the starter if Vernon Davis leaves during free agency.
I’ve seen Bell practice twice during the Niners’ OTAs, and already he seems like a natural receiver, not a project. During team passing drills on Friday, he beat second-round pick Jaquiski Tartt down the seam for a 15-yard gain.
Bell has good hands and moves to free himself against man coverage. Former 2013 second-round pick Vance McDonald has neither of those traits, even though he has played tight end since high school. Bell might pass him on the depth chart before the season starts.
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2. Quinton Dial, Defensive Tackle
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Quinton Dial, former bench player at Alabama and former fifth-round draft pick in 2013, is running with the 49ers’ first-team defense at OTAs, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
Per Maiocco, Dial is playing Justin Smith’s old position, the most important position on the 49ers’ defensive line—right defensive tackle. That suggests Dial might be the best defensive lineman on the team right now.
Or at least he's the best healthy defensive lineman on the team. Glenn Dorsey is rehabbing a torn biceps, and Darnell Docket is rehabbing a torn ACL.
Who knows how good those two will be when they return? They might be past their prime—Dorsey turns 30 in August, and Dockett turned 34 in May. Dial is only 24. He hasn’t reached his prime yet. He’s an ascending player, ascending to the top of the depth chart.
Last season he was at the bottom of the depth chart, below Tony Jerod-Eddie, who might not make the team this year.
Funny how things can change in a year.
1. Tank Carradine, Defensive Tackle
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Former 2013 second-round draft pick Tank Carradine is NOT running with the Niners’ first-team defense at OTAs, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Carradine is running with the second team.
Carradine was a 4-3 defensive end in college, who recorded 11 sacks his senior season. He probably would have been a first-round pick if he hadn’t torn his ACL.
The Niners converted him to a defensive tackle, hoping he could replace Justin Smith when Smith retired. Smith was a 4-3 defensive end who bulked up and converted to a defensive tackle, so maybe Carradine could do the same—that seemed to be the Niners’ thinking.
In retrospect, that seems like wishful thinking. Carradine is a pass-rusher, plain and simple. He might never be good enough against the run to start for the 49ers. If he plays next season, he might only play in the 49ers’ sub-packages on passing downs.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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