NFL Draft 2011: San Francisco 49ers Team Draft Retrospective

This article is part of a series that looks at each NFL team’s recent draft history with the hope of extracting information about the way they think and the players they value. The analysis is limited to the past five drafts in the interest of relevance, and the first three rounds because that’s where most impact players are taken.

This entry will focus on the San Francisco 49ers.

Draft History

In the past five years, the 49ers have taken the following players in the early rounds. Their positions and the rounds in which they were drafted are listed next to their names.

2006:   Vernon Davis, TE (1)

            Manny Lawson, LB (1)

            Brandon Williams, WR (3)

2007:   Patrick Willis, LB (1)

            Joe Staley, OT (1)

            Jason Hill, WR (3)

            Ray McDonald, DE (3)

2008:   Kentwan Balmer, DT (1)

            Chilo Rachal, G (2)

            Reggie Smith, CB (3)

2009:   Michael Crabtree, WR (1)

            Glen Coffee, RB (3)

2010:   Anthony Davis, OT (1)

            Mike Iupati, G (1)

            Taylor Mays, S (2)

            Navorro Bowman, LB (3)

Breakdown by Position

Here is the number of players the 49ers have drafted for each position:

Linebacker: 3

Wide receiver: 3

Guard: 2

Offensive tackle: 2

Cornerback: 1

Defensive end: 1

Defensive tackle: 1

Running back: 1

Safety: 1

Tight end: 1

Impact

After underachieving for a couple of years, Vernon Davis exploded in 2009 and became one of the top tight ends in the game. Manny Lawson is a very good, versatile linebacker. Patrick Willis is arguably the best inside linebacker in the game. Joe Staley is a solid pass protector, though his run blocking leaves something to be desired. Michael Crabtree has shown flashes of being a quality receiver, but has yet to put together a consistent season, though at least part of the blame falls on the poor play at quarterback. Mike Iupati put together a very solid rookie year.

Trends

The Niners love their linebackers, and they’ve done a good job picking them. Patrick Willis is one of the best defenders in the game and Manny Lawson is good outside linebacker, if not a sack artist.

They’ve also paid a lot of attention to the receiver position to help out quarterback Alex Smith, but that hasn’t worked out as well. Only Crabtree shows any signs of life, though, perhaps the fault here lies with Smith himself.

The offensive line has been emphasized as well, especially last year when the team took a tackle and a guard in the first round. However, the scouting here has been inconsistent. On top of that, the price for Joe Staley was too high, as they wound up trading away what would be the seventh overall pick in 2008. They also traded up last year for Anthony Davis, so the team seems to have a propensity for panicking when they see an offensive tackle they like.

Only two picks have been used on defensive backs, and neither has really hit. Not surprisingly, the secondary is now one of San Francisco’s biggest weaknesses.

2011 Outlook

Many thought the 49ers were poised to contend in 2010, but the season started to fall apart from the very beginning. As a result, Mike Singletary has been replaced and the team is starting fresh with Jim Harbaugh.

The team’s biggest liability, bar none, is quarterback Alex Smith. While he showed some improvement in 2009, he regressed this past year. At this point, there’s really no defending the former first overall pick and the 49ers must think about drafting a replacement.

Unfortunately, this is a very shaky quarterback class, and the top two picks, Cam Newton (Auburn) and Blaine Gabbert (Missouri), are unlikely to fall to San Francisco. If that is the case, their best bet is to probably wait until the second round and grab someone like Andy Dalton (TCU), Christian Ponder (Florida State) or Colin Kaepernick (Nevada).

The other major weakness is the secondary with Nate Clements quickly declining. The Niners’ dream scenario would have to be Patrick Peterson (LSU) falling to them, but assuming someone else snaps him up, they should have a great consolation prize in Prince Amukamara (Nebraska).

The only viable alternative to Amukamara at that spot is Robert Quinn (North Carolina), the athletically gifted pass rusher who projects well as a 3-4 outside linebacker. Quinn missed the past year with a suspension, but he blew away any doubts about his readiness with a tremendous pro day performance.

The team could also stand to upgrade at defensive end, but that is a lesser need, and with a very deep defensive line class, they can afford to wait.