The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the best drafting teams in recent years, and this year was no different. The 49ers bass gets top marks for a draft class that has both been put together to help the team win now, and to build for the future. They may not get along behind the scenes but Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh are great in the draft room.
2014 San Francisco 49ers Draft Picks
1 (30) – Jimmie Ward, SS, Northern Illinois;
2 (57) – Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State;
3 (70) – Marcus Martin, OC, USC;
3 (77) – Chris Borland, ILB, Wisconsin;
3 (100) – Brandon Thomas, OG, Clemson;
4 (106) – Bruce Ellington, WR, South Carolina;
4 (129) – Dontae Johnson, CB, North Carolina State;
5 (150) – Aaron Lynch, DE, South Florida;
5 (170) – Keith Reaser, CB, Florida Atlantic;
6 (180) – Kenneth Acker, CB, SMU;
7 (243) – Kaleb Ramsey, DE, Boston College;
7 (245) – Trey Millard, FB, Oklahoma
49ers Draft Grade – 8.5/10
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San Francisco 49ers Draft Review
In the first round the 49ers got a real playmaker in the secondary with Jimmie Ward who should team with last year’s first round pick Eric Reid to be an elite safety duo. Ward is extremely athletic, and will be a fantastic center fielder in the NFL. He also has good man to man coverage skills, so much so that, he could be a slot corner in nickel defence as well.
The 49ers saw first hand the value of a strong secondary playing the Seattle Seahawks three times last year and so they added three more cornerbacks to their roster in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. They may not come from traditional power schools, but if the 49ers can hit on just one of Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser, or Kenneth Acker it will be a real steal for them. Its the type of gambles that a team who has stocked up on draft picks can afford to take.
In the second round the 49ers got a punishing runner in Carlos Hyde, who seems to be the eventual replacement for Frank Gore. Jim Harbaugh and the Niners just love the power running game, and in Hyde they’ve got the type of bruising downhill runner that the team loves. Look for him to make and impact immediately. With Gore, Hyde, and Marcus Lattimore, there is an embarrassment of riches in the 49ers backfield.
The third round was a gold mine for the 49ers. First they get the best centre in the draft in USC’s Marcus Martin. He will help that power running game we talked about earlier. Then the 49ers address a need with Chris Borland who can start for them at ILB while Navarro Bowman recovers from the injury he suffered in the NFC Championships. Lastly, the 49ers drafted guard Brandon Thomas who was a late first round/early second round prospect until he tore up his knee in a pre-draft workout for the Saints. The 49ers have the picks and the depth to make these kind of moves. They can sit out Thomas for a year, and then bring him in to help the power running game in 2015.
I also like fifth round pick Aaron Lynch as a special teams player and a situational pass rusher, and am interested to see how he develops.
However, the biggest move of the draft for the 49ers was trading a 2015 conditional fourth round pick to Buffalo for WR Stevie Johnson. Johnson clashed with Bills head coach Doug Marrone but he’s a legit number one NFL wide out. Teaming with Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, and Vernon Davis, the 49ers have plenty of talent surrounding Colin Kaepernick. 4th round pick Bruce Ellington also has some good receivers to develop behind.
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