2023 Draft Prospect Watch List and Discussion

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
How I'm seeing the CB rankings
1. Gonzalez
2. Banks
3. Witherspoon
4. Smith
5. Phillips
6. Forbes
7. Porter Jr.

Hey Hyst, I haven't been paying close attention but Lance Boykin is, I think, the second CB prospect that is 6'2" or over they met with (article saying they met predraft). What's up with finding tall lengthy CBs again? I thought the team was over that when they went Lenior and Ambry.

The 49ers played Cover3 like any other team in terms of frequency, but these tall, not so agile CBs, suggest a shift back to the profile that Saleh was looking for back in 2017. Trying to get a clue for what Steve Wilks wants to do by looking at the CBs the 49ers are looking at.

Well Wilks was with the Panthers when they took Jaycee Horne. I'm not going to act like I know exactly how much press man, off man or zone the Panthers were running but my guess is Wilks wants to play lots of press and blitz. With Ward and Oliver we have two taller CBs who can disrupt routes at the line. I wouldn't be surprised if we take Eli Ricks or Tyrique Stevenson to compete with Lenoir. My guess is with Bosa and and a blitzing game Wilks will want to force quick passes allowing his Safeties to play more downhill and his corners to beat up on the divas. Just my guess which will most assuredly be incorrect as we start running Tampa 2 which would be incredible with Fred Warner.

Horn was a top prospect that could play in any scheme though, right? So any team would have liked to draft him, and top CB prospects are always drafted because they are projected to excel at man coverage. That's why I think the day 2/3 guys, guys that have hole(s) in their game, while being good at other things, tell us more about what the team is looking for, and what they are willing to sacrifice in terms of skillset. Wilks does blitz with higher frequency than normal, so good point there about blitzing and pressing.
When it comes to meh QBs, I think blitzing and playing man to tighten the windows is fine. But I'm more interested in beating the good QBs that enjoy seeing a blitz because it makes things easier for them. Then when going up against good elusive QBs that can extend plays, I think having agile CBs that can plaster during off schedule situations are better than these 6'2 CBs with average fluidity.

100% agreement. I also just think forcing a QB to have to throw a perfect pass to beat a shorter corner is more advantageous than hitting a wide open receiver cause a taller CB doesn't have the lateral agility to keep up with a receiver who knows where he's going. And yes Horne was a top prospect but Patrick Surtain was picked directly after him and is a more traditional style CB.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Luckycharms:

Originally posted by tankle104:

Originally posted by Luckycharms:
"Guard the only position other than RB where more Pro Bowlers/All-Pros have been drafted on Day 2 than Day 1. Age also matters less here than anywhere else. Elite OGs entered the league at an average of 22.8 years old. OG also has the lowest % of elite players from Power 5 schools."

Also interesting is that center has the second highest % of elite players (behind safety) come from rounds 4+ but also the highest % from Power 5 schools.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Bo_Wulf/status/1646494781944545281

That doesn't surprise me. I have no evidence to support my feelings, because I've never dug into it, but I always felt like the players who worked out the most from power 5 schools were O-lineman. Lol

OG have the least % from power 5 schools but C and Safety have the highest from power 5. Maybe since both those positions kinda require thinking/intelligence that pays off more for those positions playing against tough competition nearly every week. Also interesting that more elite safety's come from rounds 4+

I love these nuggets. Good stuff.

Wait so you don't have to burn a 1st for a OG

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Thoughts on cory trice jr?

Watched the Michigan and Maryland games. Was gonna watch the LSU game but he wasn't in that one. He's a Zone corner all the way. And I'd say a 6th rounder. Had to double check his size cause this big kid really doesn't have much interest in that whole tackling part of football. Even when he does he's shooting at legs. He doesn't fight like he should off blocks. But he shows pretty good discipline in zone and occasionally shows the aggression you'd expect out of someone his size. Had a nice play on a bubble screen where I was thinking "more of that my guy". He'd have to be a STer and I'd question how passionate he'd be about it.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Thoughts on cory trice jr?

I haven't watched anything on him. the lazy search only brings up highlights and no real film. I'll try and find some real Purdue game film to watch

Played a ton of press-man and C3. Big dude who hits/tackles like a safety. He's not my ideal CB and has some tight hips, not the most fluid. Saw Matt Miller (who's a Niner fan) say this the other day so I started checking him out more

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Luckycharms:

Originally posted by tankle104:

Originally posted by Luckycharms:
"Guard the only position other than RB where more Pro Bowlers/All-Pros have been drafted on Day 2 than Day 1. Age also matters less here than anywhere else. Elite OGs entered the league at an average of 22.8 years old. OG also has the lowest % of elite players from Power 5 schools."

Also interesting is that center has the second highest % of elite players (behind safety) come from rounds 4+ but also the highest % from Power 5 schools.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Bo_Wulf/status/1646494781944545281

That doesn't surprise me. I have no evidence to support my feelings, because I've never dug into it, but I always felt like the players who worked out the most from power 5 schools were O-lineman. Lol

OG have the least % from power 5 schools but C and Safety have the highest from power 5. Maybe since both those positions kinda require thinking/intelligence that pays off more for those positions playing against tough competition nearly every week. Also interesting that more elite safety's come from rounds 4+

I love these nuggets. Good stuff.

Wait so you don't have to burn a 1st for a OG

Well it would make sense they would have a higher hit rate later in the draft. Premier posistions such as Edge, CB and WR get taken earlier so later in the draft you're taking the 20th ranked Edge or the 5th ranked Center.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Thoughts on cory trice jr?

I haven't watched anything on him. the lazy search only brings up highlights and no real film. I'll try and find some real Purdue game film to watch

Played a ton of press-man and C3. Big dude who hits/tackles like a safety. He's not my ideal CB and has some tight hips, not the most fluid. Saw Matt Miller (who's a Niner fan) say this the other day so I started checking him out more

Two players I'd love for the 49ers to get at the end of Round 3:

CB Cory Trice
OT Wanya Morris

Might be wishful thinking that they'll both be available, but the scheme fits are perfect

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 6, 2023

Didn't see him tackle like a safety. I saw he tested well athletically but I don't know how well it translates. And he played man Vs he's good in man is two different things.



Michigan game has a much better camera angle

Steve wilks has a history of finding/developing CB prospects. So I'm really excited to see how that group looks this year.

He was the CB coach when the bears lost the super bowl to the colts. He also was the DB coach when the panthers went 15-1 and lost the super bowl. He was huge with Josh Norman too and he was a 5th round pick. Norman has talked openly about how influential wilks was in his development. Whoever we draft at CB, I'll be excited about because Wilks has a great history of identifying CB talent all over the draft

Originally posted by Hysterikal:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
How I'm seeing the CB rankings
1. Gonzalez
2. Banks
3. Witherspoon
4. Smith
5. Phillips
6. Forbes
7. Porter Jr.

Hey Hyst, I haven't been paying close attention but Lance Boykin is, I think, the second CB prospect that is 6'2" or over they met with (article saying they met predraft). What's up with finding tall lengthy CBs again? I thought the team was over that when they went Lenior and Ambry.

The 49ers played Cover3 like any other team in terms of frequency, but these tall, not so agile CBs, suggest a shift back to the profile that Saleh was looking for back in 2017. Trying to get a clue for what Steve Wilks wants to do by looking at the CBs the 49ers are looking at.

Well Wilks was with the Panthers when they took Jaycee Horne. I'm not going to act like I know exactly how much press man, off man or zone the Panthers were running but my guess is Wilks wants to play lots of press and blitz. With Ward and Oliver we have two taller CBs who can disrupt routes at the line. I wouldn't be surprised if we take Eli Ricks or Tyrique Stevenson to compete with Lenoir. My guess is with Bosa and and a blitzing game Wilks will want to force quick passes allowing his Safeties to play more downhill and his corners to beat up on the divas. Just my guess which will most assuredly be incorrect as we start running Tampa 2 which would be incredible with Fred Warner.

Horn was a top prospect that could play in any scheme though, right? So any team would have liked to draft him, and top CB prospects are always drafted because they are projected to excel at man coverage. That's why I think the day 2/3 guys, guys that have hole(s) in their game, while being good at other things, tell us more about what the team is looking for, and what they are willing to sacrifice in terms of skillset. Wilks does blitz with higher frequency than normal, so good point there about blitzing and pressing.
When it comes to meh QBs, I think blitzing and playing man to tighten the windows is fine. But I'm more interested in beating the good QBs that enjoy seeing a blitz because it makes things easier for them. Then when going up against good elusive QBs that can extend plays, I think having agile CBs that can plaster during off schedule situations are better than these 6'2 CBs with average fluidity.

100% agreement. I also just think forcing a QB to have to throw a perfect pass to beat a shorter corner is more advantageous than hitting a wide open receiver cause a taller CB doesn't have the lateral agility to keep up with a receiver who knows where he's going. And yes Horne was a top prospect but Patrick Surtain was picked directly after him and is a more traditional style CB.

. Will be interesting to see who they actually target. Moseley gone, Ambry looking not so good - for sure they are selecting a CB or two.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Didn't see him tackle like a safety. I saw he tested well athletically but I don't know how well it translates. And he played man Vs he's good in man is two different things.



Michigan game has a much better camera angle

I'm just saying that's what he played a lot of…I haven't watched much outside of some clips on Twitter. Draft profiles say he's a strong tackler for a CB. No clue where he goes in the draft. Like I said he's not really my type of CB but I could see SF being interested.

FWIW PFF has him down for only allowing 11 rec in press over his whole career.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Didn't see him tackle like a safety. I saw he tested well athletically but I don't know how well it translates. And he played man Vs he's good in man is two different things.



Michigan game has a much better camera angle

I'm just saying that's what he played a lot of…I haven't watched much outside of some clips on Twitter. Draft profiles say he's a strong tackler for a CB. No clue where he goes in the draft. Like I said he's not really my type of CB

I'm not saying what you're saying is wrong. Matt Miller has far more games and film to pull from. Sucks that watching film on CB/S is always assuming cause coaches film is privileged material. Size and speed wise he is alluring for teams and I'll gladly admit when I'm wrong. I said Minkah Fitzpatrick was overrated and would be an average Safety. I loved Jeff Okudah and said Sauce Gardner is not a fluid athlete. I gladly hold my L's

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
I'm not saying what you're saying is wrong. Matt Miller has far more games and film to pull from. Sucks that watching film on CB/S is always assuming cause coaches film is privileged material. Size and speed wise he is alluring for teams and I'll gladly admit when I'm wrong. I said Minkah Fitzpatrick was overrated and would be an average Safety. I loved Jeff Okudah and said Sauce Gardner is not a fluid athlete. I gladly hold my L's

Oh I'm not saying you're wrong or right lol. Just tossing out the info I've read…I value your opinion hence why I asked

I got plenty of L's but I also have entirely too many posts in here lol. Can't be right all the time.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
I'm not saying what you're saying is wrong. Matt Miller has far more games and film to pull from. Sucks that watching film on CB/S is always assuming cause coaches film is privileged material. Size and speed wise he is alluring for teams and I'll gladly admit when I'm wrong. I said Minkah Fitzpatrick was overrated and would be an average Safety. I loved Jeff Okudah and said Sauce Gardner is not a fluid athlete. I gladly hold my L's

Oh I'm not saying you're wrong or right lol. Just tossing out the info I've read…I value your opinion hence why I asked

I got plenty of L's but I also have entirely too many posts in here lol. Can't be right all the time.

Only a handful of posters act like they have never been wrong. You and me both got to enjoy the wrong on Huf crow buffet

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Only a handful of posters act like they have never been wrong. You and me both got to enjoy the wrong on Huf crow buffet

Yup I'll eat that up no problem.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Only a handful of posters act like they have never been wrong. You and me both got to enjoy the wrong on Huf crow buffet

Yup I'll eat that up no problem.

I was right about Huf, and predicted we would draft him.

But I also predicted Jalen Hurd, Sermon, and Jerrick Mckinnon... all of them sucked.

I feel like I have a good eye when it comes to the players Kyle would like, but my ability to analyze tape for WRs and RBs is suspect.