How 5 of Trent Baalke's Recent Draft Picks Are Helping, Hurting the 49ers
According to Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice, the San Francisco 49ers were the NFL’s 11th-oldest team in 2014. Many of San Francisco’s starters had played together for four or five seasons.
Now, the Niners are the eighth-youngest team in the league, and a lot of their starters are playing together for the first time. General manager Trent Baalke is rebuilding the roster around the draft picks he made the past three years and banking on those picks to produce.
Has Baalke drafted shrewdly since 2013? Here are five young 49ers who are either helping or hurting Baalke’s youth movement.
Hurting the Team: OLB Corey Lemonier
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In the third round of the 2013 NFL draft, the 49ers drafted former Auburn outside linebacker Corey Lemonier. It seemed the Niners expected him to start someday, considering how high they took him.
Lemonier is in his third season in the league and has had a golden opportunity to start ever since the 49ers released Aldon Smith in August. But Lemonier has not started—he hasn’t even suited up. He was one of the 49ers’ seven inactive players both Week 1 and Week 2.
And that’s because Lemonier is a terrible pass-rusher. Through two seasons, he has recorded just one sack.
Alex Okafor, whom the Arizona Cardinals drafted 15 picks after Baalke took Lemonier, had eight sacks last season and already has two sacks this season. Baalke should have drafted him instead.
Helping the Team: OLB Aaron Lynch
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In the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft, the 49ers took former University of South Florida defensive end Aaron Lynch.
Scout.com ranked Lynch the 28th-best recruit in the country coming out of high school in 2011, but he played only two seasons of college football and recorded just 10.5 sacks during those two seasons. Some questioned Lynch’s work ethic.
It seems they shouldn’t have. Through the first two weeks of the season, Pro Football Focus has given Lynch a plus-1.3 pass-rushing grade—tied for 10th-best among 3-4 outside linebackers.
Clearly, Lynch is one of the most promising young pass-rushers in the league. His emergence makes up for Lemonier being such a disappointment.
Hurting the Team: DE Cornellius "Tank" Carradine
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In the second round of the 2013 NFL draft, the 49ers took former Florida State defensive end Tank Carradine.
Carradine had a torn ACL at the time and missed his rookie season. But that was part of the plan. The Niners drafted him to replace Justin Smith when Smith eventually retired.
Smith retired this offseason, and Carradine has replaced him. But only on passing downs. On running downs, the Niners replaced Smith with 2013 fifth-round pick Quinton Dial, a superior run defender than Carradine.
Carradine is a pass-rushing specialist who’s not particularly good at rushing the passer. According to Pro Football Focus, through two games this season, Carradine has zero hurries, zero quarterback hits and one sack. It was a lucky sack—it came when Vikings’ quarterback Teddy Bridgewater ran into his own offensive lineman after holding the ball for about seven seconds.
Baalke probably should have drafted Kawann Short instead of Carradine. Short is the fifth-highest graded defensive tackle in the league, per Pro Football Focus. The Carolina Panthers drafted him four picks after Baalke took Carradine.
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Helping the Team: RB Carlos Hyde
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In the second round of the 2014 draft, the 49ers took former Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde.
The pick before Hyde, the Denver Broncos took wide receiver Cody Latimer, who currently is their No. 4 receiver. He has made just two catches in his career.
I’m guessing the Broncos would like a do-ever. I’m guessing they’d prefer Hyde over Latimer.
Hyde is one of the most violent, punishing running backs in the league, and he is the engine of the 49ers offense. He seems like someone who could lead the league in rushing.
He also seems like someone who should have been drafted in the first round. Give Baalke credit for getting a blue-chip talent at the end of Round 2.
Hurting the Team: DE Arik Armstead
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In the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, the 49ers took former Oregon defensive end Arik Armstead.
He may become a dominant player one day, but right now he’s subpar, especially against the run. So the Niners play him only on obvious passing downs, like 3rd-and-long.
Through two games, Armstead has played just 26 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. They credit him with zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and two hurries. He’s making almost no impact, which is to be expected. He’s a project.
Instead of taking a project defensive lineman in the first round, Baalke probably should have taken a cornerback who could contribute right away—someone like Marcus Peters, whom the Texans drafted right after San Francisco selected Armstead. Peters already has intercepted two passes this season, per Pro Football Focus.
The Niners defense would be better with Peters starting instead of 2014 sixth-round pick Kenneth Acker.
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