The 49ers own the No. 10 overall pick in the April draft. Their picks in each round will rotate from Nos. 10 to 11 through the seven rounds. (They'll pick 10th in the odd-numbered rounds, and 11th in the even-numbered rounds.) In addition, they're expecting two compensatory picks.
So whom do the 49ers select with the 10th selection? My answer: The best player available.
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Here is what other teams have done with the No. 10 pick in the past 10 years:
2008: Patriots, LB Jerod Mayo
2007: Texans, DT Amobi Okoye
2006: Cardinals, QB Matt Leinart
2005: Lions, WR Mike Williams
2004: Texans, CB Dunta Robinson
2003: Ravens, DE Terrell Suggs
2002: Bengals, OT Levi Jones
2001: Packers, DE Jamal Reynolds
2000: Ravens, WR Travis Taylor
1999: Ravens, CB Chris McAlister
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The 49ers have used the No. 10 overall pick five times in franchise history. With that selection, they have chosen: WR J.J. Stokes (1995), DT Jimmy Webb (1975), DT Bill Standifer (1974), B Dickie Moegle (1955) and E Tom Stolhanske (1953).
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2009 FIRST ROUND DRAFT ORDER
1, Lions
2, Rams
3, Chiefs
4, Seahawks
5, Browns
6, Bengals
7, Raiders
8, Jaguars
9, Packers
10, 49ERS
11, Bills
12, Broncos
13, Redskins
14, Saints
15, Texans
16, Chargers*
17, Jets
18, Bears
19, Buccaneers
20, Lions (from Cowboys)
21, Cardinals*
22, Eagles*
23, Vikings*
24, Patriots
25, Falcons*
26, Dolphins*
27, Ravens*
28, Eagles (from Panthers)*
29, Colts*
30, Giants*
31, Steelers*
32, Titans*
*-Subject to playoffs
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The announced the signings of four practice-squad players to contracts for the 2009 season: WR Mark Bradford, T Joe Toledo, LB Justin Roland and TE J.J. Finley.
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Sweet!
BTW- This is nice since we kind of got the short end of the stick when we got the higher pick over the Raiders but had to give it to the Pats, and we were left with the lower pick in round 2.
The Bills are our good luck charm. Last time Buffalo drafted right after the Niners we got Patrick Willis...on a separate note, Matt, do you think the P-D will want you to do a big post mortem/what-it-all-meant on the Nolan era now that the season is over?
devils advocate: last time green bay drafted right before the niners we got vernon davis.
but your perspective is better haha
Might be an interesting draft. The Lions have two choice picks in the first round, and need help in so many places it's easy to imagine them trading down if they can for as much quality depth as they can get. And the Eagles, with two low first round picks, may want to trade up if they think they're only a player or two away from being a lock in the Super Bowl in the near future (not sure this is their year, Dallas game notwithstanding).
It doesn't appear the Niners will have much leverage unless someone wants a particular player so badly at #10 that they offer a trade that is too good to refuse. With the picks they have at the spots they have, including compensatory picks, AND WITH DECENT TALENT EVALUATION, the Niners should be able to get some very good players and fill most/all of their gaps.
Matt, looking forward to your early evaluation of draft prospects soon! :)
Man I love the draft. It really is like an NFL fan's Christmas. I know the Niners (and Nolan) were ragged on a lot for their poor drafting, but I disagree with that. Nolan was not a good head coach, but he (and McCloughan) have really strengthened the roster in the past couple years.
Merton, I pretty much agree. The jury's still out on Ballmer, but at least most of the defensive players taken before him have not distinguished themselves very much either. Barring injury, Rachal looks like a very good pick at that spot for many years to come. And some of the players that were available lower than they should have been (Tarrell Brown comes to mind) were good choices. I can think of only a couple of players who have been real disappointments being picked where they were. Brandon Williams never did much (and the Niners picking him where they did had me scratching my head based on the sum of his college achievements). And Alex Smith is a very complex case. I don't think anyone that year deserved to be the number one pick in the draft, comparatively speaking, and knowing what we do now, *anyone* picked there would have been a disappointment. The problem with Alex was that he was thrown into the ring too soon, and also that none of his OCs ever designed an offense around the strengths he displayed at Utah. Perhaps he can revive his career (as David Carr seems to be doing in NY) as he should still have many years left. I guess it's a little comforting that he hasn't been as much of a bust as Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, and many others.
is it just me or is it bad that I can only recognize 2 out of the last 10 10th round picks? Anyways, I'm sure the niners will have a plan for drafting some good players next year. Nolan had a pretty good system, even though most of his draft picks didn't start shining until he got the boot.
At #10 we can get a good player who can start. I trust Coach to pick the best one. There is something about special about him. What I notice is Coach brings out the best in everyone around him. Even Jed & Scott appear to be on their game around him. I haven't been this optimistic in about 8 years. I expect changes and some will surprise us.
I dig your draft stats Matt for draftniks like us.
Too bad we don't have the 8th overall pick, but that will be forever immortalized by the one and only – Ronnie Lott - 1981 8th overall pick, AND the niners only 8th overall pick since 1967 (NFL/AFL draft merge).
With the 10 the pick the niners select - DE Everette Brown or Michael Oher....2nd round draft Terrence Cody
Oneniner, I'm a UA fan and Cody has already made it clear that he intends to play his senior yr. I would loved to see him play for the 49ers, but it won't happend next yr. Hopefully the 49ers can get him in the 2010 draft.
After looking through some draft breakdowns, I would love to see us take Taylor Mays. Some speculate that he will fall to us. Thougths?
we will get another very good player at a position of need at #10. We should have a shot at an excellent RT, top flight FS, or an OLB that can rush the passer
Matt can we get an assesment of how you think last year's draft picks ended up doing this year and how you see them contributing going forward. It seems to me Balmer, Rachal and Morgan were playing quite a bit by the end of the season.