On the 49ers' Draft Priorities

Who will get the red #1 jersey this year? Chances are, it will be another defensive back.

The first round of the NFL draft will be over just around 24 hours from now. This is touted as one of the deepest and most talented drafts in a long while. Just today, I listened to Todd McShay and Mel “Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd” Kiper argue about whether 5 or 8 of the players in this draft are better than any given player in last year’s draft. With the 49ers having a lot of big contracts coming up, this draft and the cost-controlled players that come out of it could be make-or-break for the squad in the next few years. With six picks in the top-100, the Niners have the firepower to basically pick and choose where they want to get who they want. Here's, in my opinion, their biggest priorities, in descending order.

1. Cornerback – With the mass exodus of 49ers DBs (Donte Whitner is a Brown and Tarrell Brown & Carlos Rogers are Raiders), the 49ers are left with a massive hole in their secondary. They plugged the Whitner vacancy with free agent signing Antoine Bethea (more on that later). The Niners currently have Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver (who didn’t play in 2013 and has had off-field issues), 2014 Harbaugh Reclamation Project (Chris Cook), Eric Wright, Perrish Cox (who is mostly special teams), Darryl Morris (who is all special teams) and something called a Dax Swanson.
   
   It’s bleak for the Niners at Cornerback. Luckily Brock came on big last year and Culliver was a starting corner before his offseason injury before last season. There is some hope there. Ideally, however, Eric Wright and Cook battle to be your fourth CB and Cox, Morris & Swanson never see the field.
   
   Ideally, and for completely different reasons, Perrish Cox doesn’t even make the team this year.
   
   
2. Wide Receiver – To anyone who watched the team struggle to fart out a passing game without Michael Crabtree last year, this is a no-brainer. While Quinton Patton’s return will definitely bolster the corps, I would definitely expect the Niners to have a CB and a WR before the first two rounds are done (as an aside, I fully expect them to package a second and a third together at least once to move up to have two picks between 30 and 45). This is the right draft to need a WR, as numerous in this draft are projected to be productive NFL players. To prevent the squad from crashing and burning on offense if there is an injury, they will need to add another wide receiver. Given that the Niners’ best deep threat is TE Vernon Davis, you would expect them to add a burner here.
   
   Add to the mix that the 49ers may not have Crabtree’s services in 2015, and the front office’s always forward-looking strategy, it’s basically a no-brainer that the Niners are going to walk away from day two (or maybe even day one) with a WR.
   
   In writing this, I literally forgot the Niners resigned Brandon Lloyd and still had Jon Baldwin. I would be shocked if Baldwin was active for more than a handful of games (pending injuries). Lloyd wasn’t even in the league last year, so I can’t really expect much from him.
   
   
3. Outside Linebacker – Behind Ahmad Brooks, who would be touted as one of the best defensive players on any other squad (but who is overshadowed by the entire rest of the LB corps), the Niners have nothing but question marks at the OLB position. Aldon Smith is an extremely talented head case who is struggling mightily with substance abuse problems (which will likely lead to a hefty suspension thanks to an incident in LAX last month). Behind him is Dan Skuta, who played well last year when called upon, but is mostly a special teams ace & second-year LB Corey Lemonier. I liked Lemonier last year coming out of Auburn, but he didn’t contribute a ton last year (a safety, a sack, 4 passes defended, 1 forced fumble and 15 tackles). Finally, according to CBSSports.com, the Niners still have Darius Fleming. I was a big fan of Fleming when he was drafted, but all the poor guy does is tear his ACL.
   
   
4. Offensive Line – But Jeff, you say, the offensive line is arguably the strongest unit on the 49ers! Was arguably the strongest, and may be quickly falling apart. The 49ers allowed Jon Goodwin to retire by not returning his phone calls, and are turning to Joe Looney, Daniel Kilgore or whoever they end up getting in the middle rounds this year. Also of concern for the 49ers’ offensive line is the future of Left Guard Mike Iupati. He, like the aforementioned Michael Crabtree and QB Colin Kaepernick, are all in the final year of their rookie deals, and all are priority resigns.
   
   I don’t have faith that Iupati will be back in the red and gold in 2015. By tying up cash in Antoine Bethea and trading for the troubled Jonathon Martin, it shows that the 49ers’ front office has already partially moved on from the massive mauler. You want to get as many darts as possible to get one to hit; I fully expect Baalke to throw one at a Guard or Center, since if one works out, Looney & Kilgore could possibly fill the other.
   
   Offensive lines only get better with consistency and practice, so getting an offensive lineman this year to potentially start next year would be a good call.
   
   
5. Inside Linebacker – Right now, the Niners will likely only have All-Pro Linebacker NaVorro Bowman for about half the season as he is currently recovering from, and I believe this is the technical, medical term, “a destroyed knee.” Right now the Niners are set to start one of either Michael Wilhoite or Nick Moody next to Patrick Willis for about half the season. Much like with outside linebacker, the lack of depth at the inside linebacker positions could cause problems for the Niners if they don’t address it in the draft.
   
   
6. Defensive End – There’s no way around it: Justin Smith is an old man. He’ll be 35 before the bye & while his play seems to defy aging, this may well be the cowboy’s last ride. While the Niners are more than set at the other DE position with Ray McDonald, who is in the “awesome defensive player overshadowed by his peers” club with Ahmad Brooks, they’ll need to get some depth, and fast. They’re hoping that Smith’s replacement is already on the squad in the form of Tank Carradine. Behind Carradine, however, is Tony Jerod-Eddie, who is better suited as an interior defensive lineman and a “beautiful man” who is still learning the game in Lawrence Okoye. The Niners may end up with another D-End in this draft, given their litany of picks, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they passed on the position all together.
   
   
7. Defensive Tackle – Tony Jerod-Eddie is promising, and Glenn Dorsey showed that he could have renewed life after busting out of the Chiefs system. Demarcus Dobbs filled in nicely last year, but he is better suited as a backup lineman. Starting DT Ian Williams will make his return from a broken ankle suffered from a cheap hit cutback block Week Two in Seattle. It’s unknown how well he can do, but the Niners can probably run through 2014 with their stable of DTs.
   
   
8. Quarterback – The Niners have Blaine Gabbert. ‘Nuff Said. They’re set. Moving on.
   
   Oh wait, Blaine Gabbert sucks? Whoa there, motherf… Okay, well let’s try this again.
   
   Colin Kaepernick wants big money, and the Niners want to give him big money, but not as big. I fully expect Kaepernick and the Niners to work something out next off-season, given that the cap is expected to skyrocket. Out of the big three names that are expected to get paid next year, I fully expect Kaepernick to be the highest priority. I put QB above the next few positions because the Niners desperately need to groom a backup/contingency plan in case Kaepernick bolts for greener pastures. Gabbert is nothing but a stop-gap and McBLT may never see an NFL field.
   
   If only we still had B.J. Daniels…
   
   
9. Safety – Antoine Bethea signed a multi-year deal this off-season, and Eric Reid is coming off a Pro Bowl season, and the Niners are very much hoping that Bethea’s last year in Indy was a fluke. Hopefully Bethea can return to his pre-2013 form. He rated very highly on PFF for his career, except for last year. Chances are, a bounce back is in order. Harbaugh & Co. are definitely banking on that in 2014. If that isn’t the case, this is likely a position to be addressed in 2015. The Niners lack depth at Safety, but this is a problem that most teams have.
   
   
10. Tight End – Vernon Davis is one of the best Tight Ends in the league, and is one of the most important parts of the team. He’s getting up there in age, but he is a freak athlete and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Last year’s second-round pick, Vance McDonald, has had a year to grow and flourish in this offense. Garrett Celek & Derrick Carrier are perfectly suitable third and fourth Tight Ends. The Niners will be fine at this position, but may look to draft a Tight End in 2015 or 2016, depending on how McDonald develops. They basically do not need to draft a Tight End this year, nor the #11 position.
    
    
11. Running Back – If you include Fullback Bruce Miller as a goal-line back, the 49ers have a complete stable of backs. It feels like they have every RB archetype, too. The solid, aging veteran (Frank Gore), the reliable backup (Kendall Hunter), the heir apparent to the throne (Marcus Lattimore) and the change of pace/scatback/Darren Sproles type (LaMichael James). They lost Anthony Dixon to Buffalo in free agency, so they may be looking to add another big body back with Miller. The thing about big, beefy RBs who can fall forward for a few yards is that they are a dime a dozen in the NFL. This should be the 49ers’ lowest priority except Special Teams.
    
    
12. Special Teamers – Don’t draft a special teamer, especially when you have Andy Lee & Phil Dawson.

Well there you have it. I’m not going to feign to know which players the Niners should be targeting at which positions. This is mostly a fool’s errand, given that every team looks at every player differently. Double so for a front office run by Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh.

Whatever happens this weekend, remember one thing. In Harbaalke We Trust.