MadDog49er 2020 NFL Draft Review

Originally posted by TheGore49er:

Agree. Kinlaw is a good pick, most likely a safe pick. But, we needed WR help big time. It's what cost us in the playoffs. You can only go so far when all you do is run the ball. Lamb or Jeudy would've been great.

I feel the same way about a Aiyuk, good player, but he's not the same type of game changer as someone like CD or Jeudy could've been. And we had to trade up for him. Could've used that extra pick on OL or DB, which is also a need.

But if Kinlaw and Aiyuk turn out great, it won't matter. Hopefully that is the case.

This is just so false. Arguably, we keep running, and we win the game. The chiefs defense said as much. In the pass plays, receivers were open, but missed. A different WR doesn't fix that. I agree our team can get better, and a primary way is to build up the WR corps, but all this hyperbole about WR being the reason we lost the Superbowl to justify your CeeDee Lamb and Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy crushes is rediculous.

Originally posted by maxsmart:

I like Kinlaw and Aiyuk ... and Jennings (for a 7th) ... I think they will get a lot from those players. But they gave up a lot for Aiyuk so he better be good.

but the 49ers do have a history of over-valuing and over-drafting players rather than waiting to pick them where they are a good value. KS fell in love with Brandon Aiyuk and traded up and I hope it turns out better than his past love affairs (see below).
Also seems like they over-drafted McKivitz and Woerner about one round too high for each.

Shanahan/Lynch have a history of falling in love and over-valuing players. For example they admitted that they would have over-drafted Reuben Foster at pick #3 overall, would have taken Aiyuk with pick #13, and McKivitz in rd 4 despite all of them being projected as later picks ....

Rather than taking players where they are a good value,
KS fell in love with Reuben Foster so he traded up => bust
KS fell in love with CJ Beathard and traded up => bust
KS loved Joe Williams so he traded up => bust
KS loved QB Kirk Cousins so he passed on QB Pat Mahomes and took Solomon Thomas instead = bust
KS fell in love with Dainty Petite so he traded up to #44 => bust
Loved Kentavius Street (with torn ACL) so traded up to 4th = bust
And several others over-drafted like Tarv Moore, Jalen Hurd, Mitch Wishnowsky, etc

I wholeheartedly agree. I don't have an issue with taking Kinlaw first because of the drop-off in interior DL. WR had depth so you take it at the end of the round. But my issue is moving up like they always do. It's like watching my brother at a bar, he always has to hit on the hottest girl in the room even when there are other super hot girls around. Major tunnel vision.
Aside from the trade backs for Kinlaw and Thomas has Lynch ever traded back further than that? If we continue to trade up all the time eventually picking 4 or 5 guys a draft won't be sustainable.

Originally posted by GEEK:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by maxsmart:
I like Kinlaw and Aiyuk ... and Jennings (for a 7th) ... I think they will get a lot from those players. But they gave up a lot for Aiyuk so he better be good.

but the 49ers do have a history of over-valuing and over-drafting players rather than waiting to pick them where they are a good value. KS fell in love with Brandon Aiyuk and traded up and I hope it turns out better than his past love affairs (see below).
Also seems like they over-drafted McKivitz and Woerner about one round too high for each.

Shanahan/Lynch have a history of falling in love and over-valuing players. For example they admitted that they would have over-drafted Reuben Foster at pick #3 overall, would have taken Aiyuk with pick #13, and McKivitz in rd 4 despite all of them being projected as later picks ....

Rather than taking players where they are a good value,
KS fell in love with Reuben Foster so he traded up => bust
KS fell in love with CJ Beathard and traded up => bust
KS loved Joe Williams so he traded up => bust
KS loved QB Kirk Cousins so he passed on QB Pat Mahomes and took Solomon Thomas instead = bust
KS fell in love with Dainty Petite so he traded up to #44 => bust
Loved Kentavius Street (with torn ACL) so traded up to 4th = bust
And several others over-drafted like Tarv Moore, Jalen Hurd, Mitch Wishnowsky, etc

Fact check: Only partially accurate. Neither Williams nor Street were traded up for.

Also, Lynch and Shanahan did something different than Baalke...they learned from their mistakes.

Foster (bust) -> Warner (steal), Greenlaw (steal)
Beathard (bust) -> Mullens (steal), Garoppolo (justified)
J. Williams (bust) -> FA additions (Coleman, Breida, Mostert) steal
Pettis (bust-ish) -> Deebo (steal)
Street/Thomas (bust) -> Bosa/Ford (steal/justified)

As much as you can rip apart their drafts, you also have to credit them for finding solutions for their bust players. If they didn't, we wouldn't have made the playoffs let alone the SB.

AGree. The odds of UDFA's making the team are longer than getting starters in the first round. ShanaLYnch has done a fantastic job at recovering from their mistakes and getting undrafted players to play like NFL starters. However, my comment goes towards our undrafted players more than who the 49ers drafted. We'll see in a year or two if this is either the '86 draft repeating or if this is the 2012 draft disaster.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by maxsmart:

I like Kinlaw and Aiyuk ... and Jennings (for a 7th) ... I think they will get a lot from those players. But they gave up a lot for Aiyuk so he better be good.

but the 49ers do have a history of over-valuing and over-drafting players rather than waiting to pick them where they are a good value. KS fell in love with Brandon Aiyuk and traded up and I hope it turns out better than his past love affairs (see below).
Also seems like they over-drafted McKivitz and Woerner about one round too high for each.

Shanahan/Lynch have a history of falling in love and over-valuing players. For example they admitted that they would have over-drafted Reuben Foster at pick #3 overall, would have taken Aiyuk with pick #13, and McKivitz in rd 4 despite all of them being projected as later picks ....

Rather than taking players where they are a good value,
KS fell in love with Reuben Foster so he traded up => bust
KS fell in love with CJ Beathard and traded up => bust
KS loved Joe Williams so he traded up => bust
KS loved QB Kirk Cousins so he passed on QB Pat Mahomes and took Solomon Thomas instead = bust
KS fell in love with Dainty Petite so he traded up to #44 => bust
Loved Kentavius Street (with torn ACL) so traded up to 4th = bust
And several others over-drafted like Tarv Moore, Jalen Hurd, Mitch Wishnowsky, etc

Fact check: Only partially accurate. Neither Williams nor Street were traded up for.

2017 draft KS traded up to 121 for Joe Williams
No. 121: Indianapolis → San Francisco (D). Indianapolis traded a fourth-round selection (121st) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's fourth- and fifth-round selections (143rd and 161st)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NFL_Draft#cite_note-80


2018 draft they traded up to 128 for Kent Street
No. 128: Pittsburgh → San Francisco (PD). Pittsburgh traded a fourth-round selection (128th) to San Francisco in exchange for tight end Vance McDonald and San Francisco's fifth-round selection (148th)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_NFL_Draft#cite_note-98

Totally agree with you assessment! I gave it a B ( I'm adding TW to the draft because we used a draft pick this yr to get him).

MY picks would have been...

14-Lamb-WR
31-Blacklock-DT
117 (TB trade)-Jack Driscoll OL
153 (Brieda trade)-Nick Harris IOL
156-Bryce Hall CB
176-Bradlee Anae EDGE
190 (goodwin trade)-Hunter Bryant TE
217-Juan Jennings WR

FWIW I had Kinlaw as my DT1 he's an amazing fit for this scheme. I get the move (and deep down KNEW he was gonna be the pick). I understand if losing Buck means you get to resign Kittle/Ward/AA, I'm fine with it end of the day.

Ayiuk was typical Kyle head scratcher...he get's so in love with a prospect that he will overvalue them. I like him he's a good WR, he's not on the same level as Lamb and I don't care what anyone says lol. (Lamb was a super star in the state of Texas in HS as well). I would have been fine with Going Kinlaw and getting Mims/Pittman at 31 as well.

overall I thought they reached at just about every pick except Kinlaw. The TW trade helps ease the pain a little. They very well could have been rolling into the season with Skule/Brunskill at LT so that was a great move (especially if they resign him).

I don't see this draft as taking us to the next level. We are breaking even at best. This draft was used as a means to address our turnover--Staley leaving, Buckner leaving, etc. As opposed to not having to address turnover and stacking our chips higher. But that's the nature of free agency and it bit us this year when we had to trade Buckner. Timing is everything in the NFL and this year the need to save money outweighed our talent acquisition through the draft of previous years. For instance, had Solomon Thomas not been a bust, we would not have drafted Kinlaw and more than likely would have drafted Ceedee Lamb. Organizations who can get it right in the draft before free agency arrives are the ones who have the better shot at winning the SuperBowl having a more complete, talented, and experienced team. Drafting Solomon Thomas back then really set us back this year. You can say the same for drafting Pettis because had he panned out, we probably would have gone yet in another direction.

Originally posted by maxsmart:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by maxsmart:

I like Kinlaw and Aiyuk ... and Jennings (for a 7th) ... I think they will get a lot from those players. But they gave up a lot for Aiyuk so he better be good.

but the 49ers do have a history of over-valuing and over-drafting players rather than waiting to pick them where they are a good value. KS fell in love with Brandon Aiyuk and traded up and I hope it turns out better than his past love affairs (see below).
Also seems like they over-drafted McKivitz and Woerner about one round too high for each.

Shanahan/Lynch have a history of falling in love and over-valuing players. For example they admitted that they would have over-drafted Reuben Foster at pick #3 overall, would have taken Aiyuk with pick #13, and McKivitz in rd 4 despite all of them being projected as later picks ....

Rather than taking players where they are a good value,
KS fell in love with Reuben Foster so he traded up => bust
KS fell in love with CJ Beathard and traded up => bust
KS loved Joe Williams so he traded up => bust
KS loved QB Kirk Cousins so he passed on QB Pat Mahomes and took Solomon Thomas instead = bust
KS fell in love with Dainty Petite so he traded up to #44 => bust
Loved Kentavius Street (with torn ACL) so traded up to 4th = bust
And several others over-drafted like Tarv Moore, Jalen Hurd, Mitch Wishnowsky, etc

Fact check: Only partially accurate. Neither Williams nor Street were traded up for.

2017 draft KS traded up to 121 for Joe Williams
No. 121: Indianapolis → San Francisco (D). Indianapolis traded a fourth-round selection (121st) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's fourth- and fifth-round selections (143rd and 161st)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NFL_Draft#cite_note-80


2018 draft they traded up to 128 for Kent Street
No. 128: Pittsburgh → San Francisco (PD). Pittsburgh traded a fourth-round selection (128th) to San Francisco in exchange for tight end Vance McDonald and San Francisco's fifth-round selection (148th)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_NFL_Draft#cite_note-98

My mistake on Joe Williams, but that trade with the Steelers happened in August 2017, not during the draft. So we both were wrong, lol.

Originally posted by Ninerlakerdodger:
C grade seems harsh.

Kinlaw, Aiyuk, Ford, Trent Williams is an impressive haul.

I think Kinlaw was the best option at replacing Buckner and Williams was the best option at replacing Staley.

Gives us the best shot at another superbowl run this year and Sets us up nicely to really kick on next year with the cap room and draft capital we will have.

Aiyuk will ultimately determine if this draft is an A or B for now I think it's a solid B. I think Kinlaw is gonna surprise you all.

In my grade, I don't count players acquired with draft picks, but only the picks themselves with the players on the clock.

If I counted players acquired in trades, like Williams, my grade would be much higher.

Kinlaw is going to be good. But, the cost of missing on Lamb will be an ouchy!

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
With all due respect, this is only Maddog's opinion. He admittedly didn't pay as much attention to the draft this year because of family. Whether he is right or wrong can only be determined in about 3 years. I doubt 2020 will be a normal year so I'm barely going to count it when evaluating this draft. I still say Lynch did an excellent job considering what they had going into it. Remember we were looking at #31 and no more picks until the 5th round. After all the trading we ended up with 2 firsts and a pro bowl tackle to replace Staley. We got some decent prospects and cleared a lot of cap space for the future. Now the prospects need to become starters or contributors.

You are right that the team was hamstrung with few picks. At the same time, I would evaluate their selections the same with 11 picks or 2 picks. My grade is simply based on, 'What did you do with those picks?" I just didn't like the Day 3 selections, and think they did not work the board right in the first round. Difference in opinion about draft strategy and player selection.

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
On Eno Benjamin - Almost every reputable projection had him as a mid-rounder....at the latest a 5th.

He is undersized with a play weight probably at 195. Last year he had a horrible OL leading to some sub-par stats, and as a result of sub-par line he developed a case of happy feet. Still, he routinely turned 5 yard losses (he was hit as soon as he touched the ball in the backfield) into 2-3 yard gains. Stuff on a stat sheet that doesn't look good but in reality were fantastic plays.

Also last year he fumbled quite a few times. Almost every fumble was because he was trying to pick up extra yards. To me, those are frustration fumbles and are correctable.

Lot of tread on his tires for not a big back. Lacks breakaway speed.

Still...his balance and quick feet are NFL-level and he has a great mind for the game, runs tough as hell. I think he fell because NFL GMs really seek either breakaway speed or great size at RB. Eno falls into the "tweener" of those categories and GMs tend to hate tweeners. The irony of Ballage going 4th round and Eno falling to the 7th is unbelievable, they are a universe apart in performance.

Eno has a shot because he can play all three downs. We'll see what happens with Drake and Edmonds in front of him.

He was WAY too good to be sitting on the board in the 7th. For me, it was a no-brainer pick, even though it wasn't at a position of great need. Just can't pass on talent like that.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
Great insight MD. Of course, I hope your wrong.

I especially thought this was insightful: Shanahan picks guys that fit his scheme. That is something to be admired. However, if defensive coordinators adjust to his schemes, the talent he has acquired is simply below average for NFL play.

I think it's the very reason we lost the Super Bowl. We have great players for our scheme, but average to below average as to pure talent. Our guards got bullied, Jimmy flopped and PM and WR core shined.

Sometimes you simply have to line up against people and beat them. No fancy system, no tricks up your sleeve. Just beat them. That is my only criticism of having specific players that you select for your system, instead of building a system that best fits your player's skills. We needed an alpha dog WR to step up to make a play late in the game, and it simply didn't happen. I think Lamb is one of those guys that makes huge plays at huge moments, something we have not had in a LONG time.

Originally posted by 9erred:
Think about this we are complaining about a head coach and GM who have returned the 49ers to glory. How quickly he forget the turnstile of head coaches that made the 49ers laughable and easy to plan against. With Shannahan the team now scores with multiple players, (see bill Bellicheck). The defense finally has the pieces and it is no dominant.

So who are we, arm chair head coaches and GM's. One thing I agree with MadDog, is you have to do your mock from on the clock, picking the draft after it is over is like playing texas hold em and knowing everyones cards.

Additionally moving on from Buckner in a cap strategy is very Belliechek like, and I am at peace with it. Rarely when you pay a player an uber premium does it work out. Sadly I think this will also happen with Kittle, as he will want more than McCaffrey and the bean counters know they have him for 3 years 28 million, 2020 salary, 2021 tag 2022 tag-- so I do not see a happy ending.

People that cherry pick their draft after the draft is over are disingenuous. Even if it means your player drops much further than expected....see note on my pick Josh Jones.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
Just a couple of questions?
1) Why do you think the NFL guys who do this for a living differed so completely on some of your picks

• Cee Dee was your #6 prospect...yet the 3rd WR off the board and not picked until 16
• Josh Jones was your #8 prospect... yet passed over by every team in league and not taken until 72
• Denzel Mims was your #13 prospect... not taken until the 59th pick
• Michael Pittman was your #14 prospect - yet not taken until pick 34

Just so many of your picks WAY off from where you ranked them and where they were actually picked. Any reason?

2) You say Aiyuk isnt on same level as Lamb. Yet, a guy who seems to know WRs pretty damn well put them on an equal level. If he does believe this then wasnt it a brilliant move to take a dominant DL at 14 and then get that the WR at 25? And since you nor any of us have a clue as to whether GB or Miami would have taken Aiyuk or not it seems pretty smart to simply give back the pick you just got from TB to get a guy they say was in play at 13.

Giving them a C grade is laughable. This draft got them Kinlaw, Aiyuk, Emmanuel Sanders, Dee Ford, and Trent Williams. Its an A all the way. I do think you have to consider the established players we got and that 2 of them were responsible for getting us to the SB when putting a grade out. Dont you? And by the way, Lamb was my draft crush and I really wanted him. But I totally get it why they made the moves they did.

Very fair questions, and I will go one by one.

Sometimes teams are looking for a player than fits their scheme, and bypass a more talented player in the process. Think any teams around the league would like to redo their draft from last year and select AJ Brown (my pick from last year) before the Titans at 51? The Pats clearly blew it by selecting N'Keal Harry in the first instead of Brown. That pick alone could have helped propel them into a different level.

The same goes for the 2017 NFL Draft. The 6th and 7th WRs off the board in that draft were Juju Smith-Shuster and my pick that year, Cooper Kupp. They went 62nd and 69th overall. Corey Davis, Mike Williams and John Ross went 5th and 7th and 9th overall. These are only a tiny example of ALL teams that miss.

As for Lamb being the 3rd WR chosen, the Raiders are the Raiders. What can I say? They chose a burner in Ruggs, which I think is a bad judgment call. I am guessing the Broncos simply wanted a more polished route runner in Jeudy. The Cowboys picked at 17 and got Lamb, which was not at a need position, but way too good for them to pass.

I am not sure why Jones was passed over by so many teams. Could be scheme fit, or personality (he did have some initial struggles with his head coach at Houston last year which were ironed out). Or, maybe there is a non Power-5 team bias. Or maybe a medical concern. We will see. The talent is there. The PFF grade is certainly there. The dominance at the Senior Bowl was there. I think teams made mistakes. We will see.

I believe there is some form of bias against Baylor WRs, and I can understand after Corey Coleman. They don't run a sophisticated route tree, but I thought he solved that issue by looking great at the Senior Bowl, running a more developed route tree that week. Along with a studly combine, he should have gone much higher. Now, he is stuck with the Jets. We will see.

I think Pittman is really good, period. Just makes plays.

I love my boards, right or wrong. I will stick by them....with the JJ Watt's of the world that are selected later than my board, the Aaron Donald's and Zach Martin's. They might be silly...there are plenty of examples of those over the years, but they are always well-thought out. That is why a player like AJ Brown was my 10th overall best last year, but was selected 51st.

As for the guy who seems to "know WRs pretty damn well" also selected Pettis a few years back, and even traded up for him. So, this is the inexact science of the NFL. You are going to hit, like Samuel, but then stink it up with Pettis. You should never completely go along with a coach or GM just because they are your coach or GM, or even if they have hit before. You still have to do your own evaluation, and watch to see if it correct or incorrect down the road.

As for Williams, Ford and more, as stated before, I don't count traded draft choice for veterans, only the players selected on draft weekend.

Hope this explains my position a bit better.

-MD

Originally posted by maxsmart:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by maxsmart:
I like Kinlaw and Aiyuk ... and Jennings (for a 7th) ... I think they will get a lot from those players. But they gave up a lot for Aiyuk so he better be good.

but the 49ers do have a history of over-valuing and over-drafting players rather than waiting to pick them where they are a good value. KS fell in love with Brandon Aiyuk and traded up and I hope it turns out better than his past love affairs (see below).
Also seems like they over-drafted McKivitz and Woerner about one round too high for each.

Shanahan/Lynch have a history of falling in love and over-valuing players. For example they admitted that they would have over-drafted Reuben Foster at pick #3 overall, would have taken Aiyuk with pick #13, and McKivitz in rd 4 despite all of them being projected as later picks ....

Rather than taking players where they are a good value,
KS fell in love with Reuben Foster so he traded up => bust
KS fell in love with CJ Beathard and traded up => bust
KS loved Joe Williams so he traded up => bust
KS loved QB Kirk Cousins so he passed on QB Pat Mahomes and took Solomon Thomas instead = bust
KS fell in love with Dainty Petite so he traded up to #44 => bust
Loved Kentavius Street (with torn ACL) so traded up to 4th = bust
And several others over-drafted like Tarv Moore, Jalen Hurd, Mitch Wishnowsky, etc

Fact check: Only partially accurate. Neither Williams nor Street were traded up for.

2017 draft KS traded up to 121 for Joe Williams
No. 121: Indianapolis → San Francisco (D). Indianapolis traded a fourth-round selection (121st) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's fourth- and fifth-round selections (143rd and 161st)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NFL_Draft#cite_note-80

2018 draft they traded up to 128 for Kent Street
No. 128: Pittsburgh → San Francisco (PD). Pittsburgh traded a fourth-round selection (128th) to San Francisco in exchange for tight end Vance McDonald and San Francisco's fifth-round selection (148th)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_NFL_Draft#cite_note-98

My thoughts:
-How the heck do you know Lynch and Co didn't also love the potential of Foster?
-Many teams passed on Mahomes, and we were just switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3. Grabbing a 4-3 DE makes sense at the time.
- Calling Pettis, T-Moore, Hurd, Street and Wish a bust is so premature and ridiculous.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
You are right that the team was hamstrung with few picks. At the same time, I would evaluate their selections the same with 11 picks or 2 picks. My grade is simply based on, 'What did you do with those picks?" I just didn't like the Day 3 selections, and think they did not work the board right in the first round. Difference in opinion about draft strategy and player selection.

At this point all we have are opinions. Even Lynch and Kyle are only going with their opinion although they have done more research than we have. They sat you need at least 2 and sometimes 3 years to evaluate a draft and the uncertainty going into this year might make that truer tan ever.