Sunday, April 26, 2026

Athleticism


The key theme seemed to be speed and agility in this draft. The 49ers might not have won the PR war but I'm excited to see how this translates to winning football games.  

40 comments:

  1. I am curious. Am I being way to negative about the 49ers draft? I gave them an overall grade of C-/D+. What are all of the other posters giving the 49ers draft as an overall grade?

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    1. Are there teams that draft better than SF? I guess but, drafting is ONE component of player acquisition. Trades, free agent signings and retention are three others. The Niners are very good at those, and it's likely a reason the 49ers are one of the best teams almost every year.

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    2. Not to offend, but I think grading a draft now is a waste of time. As a poster here noted, and it might have been you, it takes at least two years. Be that as it may, imo their first four picks will provide value this year on a roster with few holes. So I include Black, whose contributions I believe will impress if they really do spell CMC. Imo he's Frank Gore 2.0.

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    3. Coach, I’ve seen player grades range from A to F. I think the Niners rely on game tape more than most teams. Using combine data alone is a surefire way to overlook a quality football player.

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    4. Savalas,
      It was me who said that you really can't give a grade for a draft until 2 years after the draft. What I was asking for was what every ones immediate reaction to the draft was. Almost everyone here is a bit of a draft nerd and spend some time researching the draft. That being said I thought most of us would have a gut reaction to the draft.

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    5. Coach,
      I will give a C for now. The 49ers passed on players in the draft with more recognition. But I will continue to trust that Lynch and Shanahan drafted the guys they felt would better fit their schemes. The 49ers won 13 games last season with young and injured players. They're doing something right.

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    6. I think they added some guys that will be solid pros in Stribling, Black and Halton, and some boom or bust guys in Height, Prysock, Dugger and Cruz. Willis I'm not sold on.

      It's a C for me, but if 1 or 2 of the boom or bust guys hit, will be a good draft.

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  2. 49ers Tariq Ahmad (VP Player Personnel) was asked if there are ever big disagreements on players during the draft:

    “I think RJ [Gillen] and I had a few healthy disagreements today. There’s always good conversations and there’s a ton of respect for each other and we get to the reason why we disagree and come to a decision and normally it’s a consensus decision when everyone gets to add their input.”

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    1. That just seems like such a healthy way to run a draft. We all probably get disappointed they don’t draft someone we hoped they would. However, they are the experts so I’d give them an A until such time as results prove otherwise.

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  3. Besides speed and agility this draft is going to start the trend of getting younger on offense.

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  4. Video on Black's pass pro:
    https://x.com/JoshNorris/status/2044437029908291936

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  5. Based off a scout I just heard: Washington’s OT Carver Willis best projects as a C in the NFL. I thought he could be their LG this year and future center. I guess I was on the right track....

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    1. I hope he competes for the LG position. If not I fear we will just fill the position with another mediocre retread. Bitonio is still out there

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    2. Is that fear based on tape OldCoach? Based on Foerster's track record, I'd say he's got a great opportunity in front of him.

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    3. How great could Foerster make a high 2nd round pick as opposed to him having to work with less talented players. Give him more talented players to develop. The O line was mediocre at best last year when facing a top 10 defense

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    4. He got Banks paid but couldn't get him on the field right away. McKittrick didn't need high picks to be successful either. That's why I've said over and over, Shanahan's McKittrick is Chris Foerster.

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  6. Imo Jones will be an upgrade over both Burford and Colby unless the latter takes a leap. Perhaps he will.

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  7. The 49ers’ draft class was the NFL's only 2026 class that scored in the top-5 of both athleticism and actual college production, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

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    1. Thanks for providing that. That’s a pretty good way of rating their draft versus the rest of the league, wouldn’t you agree?

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    2. Yep, if you listen to Lombardi this will indeed sound like an impressive draft.

      This one from Lombardi is a doozey though. He's completely misread the data. He hasn't realised the "most productive" draft column is scrolled all the way to the bottom. 49ers actually rank 7th worst, not in the top 5.

      Funniest part is, Lombardi being Lombardi, took this from someone else's post (who correctly identified that the 49ers drafted good athletes, but whose production wasn't great) and said something along the lines of "it's ok to actually read the full information, including production (if you can)". Because, well, that's how Lombardi rolls.

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    3. Data allows you to analyze your process, but you must learn to parse it without disregarding it.

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    4. Um, completely agree. But not sure what you are getting at?

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    5. One of the things happening is that there are players going back to college now because of the money available that would have gone 2nd-4th. With all of those players removed from the draft pool, they're left with extreme variance. This is likely to continue forward to some degree, but this was also a really funky draft in terms of the board availability to teams.

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    6. This was a very funky draft. Not a lot of top end talent.

      End of the day, if they have come away with 2-3 guys that turn into solid starters and another 1-2 guys that can be good contributors/ backups, it will be a pretty good draft.

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  8. It's not just athleticism they went for. It was a draft haul rich in athleticism, work ethic, high character, accountability and coachability. Almost all of these guys got high marks on their character and approach.

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    1. For me, that's the most important factor. Love of football and character content.

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    2. Agreed. It gives you more confidence the guys will do whatever is in their power to improve and as a result I think significantly reduces the chances of a player flat out busting, while also adding to a good team culture.

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  9. When evaluating this draft class, it’s important to also factor in the acquisition of Osa.

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    1. Good point and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the '27 7th round pick as well.

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  10. Louisiana HC Michael Desormeaux coached LB Jaden Dugger for 2 seasons and here’s his take on the 49ers draft pick:

    “It’s the versatility. His first year with us he played on the edge. A lot of the teams thought that’s pretty intriguing. He’s 6'5", long arms. He can rush. He’s got good pass rush ability. He’s got that on tape. The thing I like about it is he can play inside backer… He’s got a safety background so in the pass drops, he understands coverage really well. He’s got really fluid hips. He’s really smooth... He gives you the ability to play in multiple fronts, multiple defenses without having to switch personnel.”

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  11. Niners have signed eight rookie free agents:

    Tex P Jack Boumeester
    Penn State TE Khalil Dinkins
    Tenn DT Bryson Eason
    NC State WR Wesley Grimes
    Ind DE Mikail Kamara
    Notre Dame WR Will Pauling
    ND S Jalen Stroman
    Illinois DT James Thompson

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  12. Media consensus is just as good as the NFL Draft for the top 100, then the NFL clearly is better. Media doesn’t have the time/resources to grind the very last rounds.

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    1. Yeah, I reckon that's likely fairly accurate. I'd say top 100, maybe top 150 at a stretch, is about as far as consensus big boards from media can be considered pretty close to NFL teams average grades for players. After that, NFL teams definitely put more work and attention into those later guys than media does.

      Which is to say, I imagine (without having seen any analysis on this specifically) that the "hit" rate for consensus vs NFL teams through days 1 and 2 are probably pretty similar. But after that, I suspect NFL teams do better than consensus.

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    2. Above was Scooter btw.

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    3. Actually, just saw some analysis that confirms it. The break happens around pick 100. Up to then, cumulative WAR between the NFL and consensus is in lock step.

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    4. Teams have wildly different boards, according to not only needs, but scheme fit, physical and athletic standards, medical and character evaluations.

      Zierlein's had several conversations with teams about a player who they said they liked a lot, but that player just didn't fit their scheme, so he wasn't on the board.

      How teams maximize their draft capital is a very legitimate conversation relative to the strategy of their trades and what they gained or gave up making those moves.

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    5. Yep, absolutely, to all the above.

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    6. Another thing to consider is more teams across the league have modeled their franchises in the mold of the 49ers. Hiring their coaches and front office personnel, thereby reducing the pool of players available to them.

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  13. Final Top 30 Visit Tally:

    Last year: two Top‑30 visitors drafted
    This year: just one - EDGE Romello Height

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