I really wish we’d brought Will Witherspoon back into the fold. All it took from Philly was a 5th round pick. I’d have gladly paid a 4th for him.

The idea of an LB corps of Witherspoon, Beason and Davis gives me chills (in a good way).

I like your style.

I look forward to your take on drafts 2003-2009!

I like Otah, but a # 1 pick for a RIGHT tackle? Has anyone noticed this? We signed Gross to a hugh contract to play LEFT tackle for many years to come. Do you use a # 1 pick on a RIGHT tackle? I think not. Even with Gross down, they don’t move Otah over to the left side. Wow.
Also on Marty, how is it that we not only have a total bust at QB right now, but also no one in training? It’s obvious that they don’t have a lot of faith in Moore yet they have no one else to groom? That’s an unforgivable error on Fox and Hurney.

We have no way of knowing that this isn’t actually Marty Hurney putting together some support for himself in the coming months. =P

So let’s get back to talking about this particular draft.

One of the things I like to do to help evaluate a particular position we’ve drafted is to look at the next two or three players chosen at that position and compare. For example, in the 2005 draft, we chose Eric Shelton (who?) in the second (!!!!) round: clearly Hurney’s worst move ever. How do we know, despite the terrible overall quality of the 2005 draft class, that Hurney’s moves were sub-par? We look at the next running back taken: Pro Bowler Frank Gore.

So how does this draft class stack up?
Julius Peppers – Next DEs taken: Dwight Freeney, Bryan Thomas. I think we got the best overall player from that entire draft class in Pep. If Freeney could play the run, then it might be a competition; he can’t, so it’s not. Albert Haynesworth and Ed Reed are the only competition in the rest of that draft, and A) you don’t take a Safety with the #2 overall pick, and B) I wouldn’t want Haynesworth on my team if he paid me. A+

DeShaun Foster – Next RBs taken: Clinton Portis, Maurice Morris, Ladell Betts. Boy, it’s hard to see Portis as the next RB off the list and still think of this as a good draft pick. But it’s not a bad choice; his first pre-season carry was for a huge touchdown, and his knee injury during that first preseason had a noticeable effect on his speed. His hard running style reminds me of Adrian Peterson. Unfortunately, so does his tendency to hold the ball in his hands and swing it wide, away from his body. That’s why All Day (…whatever.) leads the league in fumbles over the past two seasons. But compared to MoMo and Betts, I’d call his performance acceptable. Portis obviously would have been the better choice, but especially considering Foster’s playoff performances, I’m going to give this selection a B-

Will Witherspoon – Next LBs taken: Rocky Calmus, Will Overstreet, James Allen. None of those guys were in the league past 2006. A player of this calibre? In the third round? This is an easy grade to give out. A+

Dante Wesley – You think this’ll be another good pick, don’t you? Fourth round for a special teams ace? Next CBs taken: Brian Williams, Mike Echols. Echols only played in nine total games across three years. But NC State product Brian Williams has been a starter from year one, moving from the Vikings to Jacksonville and following Mike Smith to Atlanta. Remember that blocked punt against the Falcons in week 2? That was him. It’s hard to look at Wesley and compare him favorably to a starting-calibre corner taken five picks later. B- / C+

Randy Fasani – Next QBs taken: Kurt Kittner, Brandon Doman, Craig Nall. Complete failure for the quarterback position at this point in the draft. Considering how Fasani walked away from the game in order to go be a police officer, I’m going to give this a reflective grade. W

Keith Heinrich – Next TEs taken: Jeb Putzier, John Gilmore. None of these guys were any better than the others, but they all three finished their rookie contracts then floated around the league until the past year or two. They’ve all had similarly long, unremarkable careers. Not bad for a group of round six draftees. B+

Pete Campion – Next OL taken: Mike Pucillo, Jeff Grau, Eric Heitmann. Just how bad of a selection this was, I can’t quite tell. Round seven, it’s all boom and bust, as evidenced by our recent seventh round CBs, so I’m going to treat round seven as a Pass/Fail class. Now, Campion never made the team, which is what happened to Grau as well. But Pucillo was a valuable and flexible backup during his six years in the league, starting a few games here and there. Heitmann became the starting center for the 49ers in his rookie year, and despite a couple of injuries he still owns that job. Considering the options available, it doesn’t look good for Hurney. Fail

Would I take a report card with two A+ and a few Bs, withdrawing from one class and failing my 7am Computer Literacy class? Yes. Yes I’d be fine with that. Overall, a great first draft class for Hurney.

Fox will tell Hurney what he needs, Gregory will tell him who’s available in the draft, and Mark Koncz will tell Hurney what free agents and potential trades are available. Hurney will try and make trades, balance the cap, and negotiate contracts. He isn’t a talent scout, he isn’t a coach, and he isn’t the one responsible for whether a player succeeds or fails. He just manages those people.

Tony Softli became our director of college scouting in 2000. He was largely responsible for the draft classes of 2001-2006. He did a great job in his first couple of drafts, then started looking for better jobs and the results showed. In 2001 he tapped Morgan, Jenkins, and Smith. In 2002 it was Peppers, Foster, Witherspoon, and Wesley. In 2003 he found Gross and Ricky Manning Jr. In 2004 it was Gamble and Wharton, with Colbert, Carter, and Gaines thrown in as players who actually contributed.

Then in 2005 he started sniffing around the Seahawks for another job, and we drafted Davis, Shelton, Mathis, and Ellison with our first four choices. In 2006 he was trying to hook up with the Rams (and eventually did), and Don Gregory took over.

Gregory’s first draft landed DeAngelo Williams, Richard Marshall, James Anderson, and Jeff king. His second, in 2007, produced Jon Beason, Ryan Kalil, Dwayne Jarrett, Charles Johnson, Dante Rosario, and C.J. Wilson. In 2008 he got Stewart, Otah, Godfrey, Connor, Barnidge, Hayden, and Bernadeau. Last year he tabbed Brown, Martin, and Munnerlyn. Note that I’m only mentioning players who get time.

Clearly Gregory is better than Softli was. His recommendations are what Fox and Hurney look at when deciding how valuable a player is. Based on our current team, he’s the real star behind the scenes.

We had a very sound QB, there was no way to predict Delhomme would have a horrible season and we’d be in this predicament. Even if they did want a QB this year, the fact that the draft was going to be so deep this year could have made them feel a second or latter round QB was acceptable.