Happy New Year Matt! Based on the drat pick value, chart what would the 49ers have to give up in order to move from #10 to #3 so they could draft Andre Smith play RT? Thanks!

Time to upgrade the roster, instead of filling out shirts. Nolan did a good job of stocking the roster with average talent (and some stars). Now is the time to look hard at the roster and improve the roster to the next level. The average talent is getting more expensive and/or aging. Like the coaching staff, we need a consistant roster. Matt, interesting that Sing is also looking at OG. Does that bode ill for Wallace's development? They spent a 4th rounder on him and resigned Heitmann. Now he wants another OG? What's the deal?

Question: Matt, interesting that Sing is also looking at OG. Does that bode ill for Wallace's development? They spent a 4th rounder on him and resigned Heitmann. Now he wants another OG? What's the deal?

My response: Wallace is a center. To me, it says that the 49ers need to get ready to move on without David Baas, if he is looking for a big-money contract. Baas is signed through the 2009 season. --Matt M.

Question: Based on the drat pick value, chart what would the 49ers have to give up in order to move from #10 to #3 so they could draft Andre Smith play RT?

My response: Don't even think about it. The 49ers need as many picks as they can get and should not mortgage their draft for any player. --Matt M.

Matt, any idea of what type of O-linemen Sing prefers (big brutes or small and athletic)?

Hi Matt,

Has the team made any effort to sign Baas to an extension?

Hey Matt,

Happy New Year! I know this is probably a moot point since there is a good chance the Cardinals will resign him but if Boldin is available as a FA, how agressive will the niners be to pick him up?

Ed in Irvine

Happy New Yr.!
After listening to Sing's last press conference and Jed's radio interview I am very optimistic about the future (first time in 7 yrs) . I hope we don't entertain the thought of bringing back knapp .On his tenure with us he ran a predictable offense and I saw no diff. till his demotion with the "Radders".
Keep up the good work

Matt,

I seem to have missed Tony Wragge being signed to a deal (thought he was FA after this year also). Given your comment on Baas earlier and the possibility he will pull a Smiley, what is the contractual situation with Wragge?

Obviously, he has shown the ability to back up at both center and guard and has value there which may also affect both Wallace and the dealings with Baas in the off-season assuming we attempt to re-sign Baas.

Matt, do you think the 49ers are considering moving Rachal to left OG? Thank you

Happy New Year's Matt,

Re Bass and McCloughan's comments that he doesn't value guard's highly. My question is: if McClough doesn't value guard's highly, then why did they draft Baas and Rachal with the 2nd rd pick? It seems to me that 2nd rd picks, as a general concept, should be a part of the core team that is being built, and should be re-signed. There seems to be a missing logical link between drafting guards in rd 2, and then not re-sigining them.

Which of those unrestricted free agents will probably count as losses regarding compensatory picks in 2010?

Question: What do you think of either Eugene Monroe or Jason Smith at pick number 10. Would you pick either of these guys to play RT, even though they were college LT.

Question: Kyle Boller and J.P. Losman are free agents next year. Would you take a chance on either of them? I can't see the Niner's giving up draft choices for Brad Cassell or Derek Anderson.

I agree with Jon in SoCal. Please we need upgrades from a lot of average talent.

Zak Keasey - average to below average undersized FB. We need a bruiser here for Frank & our #2 RB whoever that may be. ABrooks or someone else s/b able to take over his spot on ST's. Maybe his replacement.

RGreen - a stop gap. We should be going after a legit pass rusher. We need some EXPLOSIVENESS here.

JTO - should be gone. IMO he should stay away from Martz & try to find a team that runs a WCO UNLESS Martz goes to a team with an established OLine. Martz will stay to 7 step drops influence JTO to bad habits of looking for the downfield big play & holding the ball too long just like he did here. That path will put an end to JTO. WCO I think is perfect for him. Get a backup role & study the playbook.

Foster - s/b more comfortable here now. But I would still try to find an upgrade.

Duckett - another Nolan clueless off-the-wall project. I think Coach Sing should re-evaluate him in his natural original position he played through his entire career in college. Too many "projects". We need to get away from this mentality. Pick the system & acquire the talent to fit that period.

The obvious to me is to cut Roman, TBC, Sims. I think if JJ can get back 100% healthy why throw away the money & cut him? Keep him as a backup which is what he's suited for at this point. He should be OK with that...easy money while he finishes out his career. We can replace him next year. Hopefully we wouldn't have to go any deeper than Snyder if we can get our new OT via FA or the Draft. This team needs more PLAYMAKERS, IMPACT PLAYERS, EXPLOSIVENESS, & SPEED/SPEED/SPEED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL.

matt, dont you think we need a better guy as second RB than foster if we want to focus on running the bal?
i didn't see anything very good in his game besides catching the ball. in my opinion we should take a look at a running back early in the draft to help our O become harder to figure out and to help gore to a longer career. i don't want him to take 300+ snaps. you can see what happened to LJ in kansas or even LT

Happy New Year MM, thanks for all the great info.

Two questions Matt, one directly related to this blog/post and one not so much. First, when you talk about 'cap hits' for Smith and Jennings I'm assuming you mean that is the total net acceleration of future bonus money, correct? So that means when the team moves Smith, we'd save 9.625M in salary, take on 5.333M in new cap charges for a net cap savings of around 4.3M, right? So the 'hit' is the amount of acceleration, not the net cap effect.

Second, since the owners decided to cancel the current CBA and there is no salary cap scheduled for the 2010-2011 season, will this affect his years draft class? With the threat of owners demanding 'slotted' payments for rookies with a new CBA next season, shouldn't that encourage more non-seniors to jump ship to maximize their rookie contract?

Thanks.

Even though Singletary mentioned a need to upgrade at safety and pass rush, their need to replace Jennings at tackle is more pressing. They already have their new free safety, where Dashon Goldson should replace Mark Roman now that Mike Nolan is gone.

While I'd like to see them draft a replacement for Spikes (the thought of pairing Maualuga with Willis makes me salivate), or a dominant pass rusher, I think Spikes has another year in him and that Haralson is becoming a decent pass-rusher...and that nothing will help the entire team more than a dominant offensive line.
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Here's what I'd do:

1. Draft the highest rated OT available at 10. Probably Eugene Monroe.
2. Trade back into the late first round (give up our second and fourth picks) to draft Michael Ohner. Listed as a tackle, Ohner is still a bit rough on the edges and plays best in tight spaces. He dominated as a guard in college. I'd plug him in right away at left guard next to Staley.

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Right away, we'd have one of the best lines in football. More importantly, we'd be saving massive amounts of caproom by having drafted players rather than signing free agents to assume such expensive positions.

The best guards in football are commanding $7-8 million a year...and they're only going to get pricier. If we picked Ohner at, say 21, we'd have him locked in for at least five years at about $3 million a year (see Sam Baker's contract in Atlanta).

At 6'-5," Ohner is the same height as Faneca and Hutchinson, and only about 20 pounds heavier. He'd be the perfect left guard.

Having a line of Staley, Ohner, Heitmann, Rachal and Monroe would give the 49ers long-term stability and savings that could be spent to address other needs through free agency and subsequent draft years. And should one of our tackles get injured, Ohner could step in much more effectively than Rachal was able to do in the preseason.

Gore could more realistically look at 2000 yards and 30 touchdowns for his annual targets. And if he missed time with an injury, someone like Foster could step in and do almost as well (see Denver's running game of years past, or the Giants now). The 49ers would dominate in time of possession. Hill would have enough time and protection for any receivers to get open. The defense would get off the field and get enough rest.

Singletary could dominate in the trenches and run with eight men in the box, just like he wants to. All it takes is for their personnel department to make a ballsy move or two this offseason.

Even though Singletary mentioned a need to upgrade at safety and pass rush, their need to replace Jennings at tackle is more pressing. They already have their new free safety, where Dashon Goldson should replace Mark Roman now that Mike Nolan is gone.

While I'd like to see them draft a replacement for Spikes (the thought of pairing Maualuga with Willis makes me salivate), or a dominant pass rusher, I think Spikes has another year in him and that Haralson is becoming a decent pass-rusher...and that nothing will help the entire team more than a dominant offensive line.
-------------------

Here's what I'd do:

1. Draft the highest rated OT available at 10. Probably Eugene Monroe.

2. Trade back into the late first round (give up our second and fourth picks) to draft Michael Ohner. Listed as a tackle, Ohner is still a bit rough on the edges and plays best in tight spaces. He dominated as a guard in college. I'd plug him in right away at left guard next to Staley.

-------------------

Right away, we'd have one of the best lines in football. More importantly, we'd be saving massive amounts of caproom by having drafted players rather than signing free agents to assume such expensive positions.

The best guards in football are commanding $7-8 million a year...and they're only going to get pricier. If we picked Ohner at, say 21, we'd have him locked in for at least five years at about $3 million a year (see Sam Baker's contract in Atlanta).

At 6'-5," Ohner is the same height as Faneca and Hutchinson, and only about 20 pounds heavier. He'd be the perfect left guard.

Having a line of Staley, Ohner, Heitmann, Rachal and Monroe would give the 49ers long-term stability and savings that could be spent to address other needs through free agency and subsequent draft years. And should one of our tackles get injured, Ohner could step in much more effectively than Rachal was able to do in the preseason.

Gore could more realistically look at 2000 yards and 30 touchdowns for his annual targets. And if he missed time with an injury, someone like Foster could step in and do almost as well (see Denver's running game of years past, or the Giants now). The 49ers would dominate in time of possession. Hill would have enough time and protection for any receivers to get open. The defense would get off the field and get enough rest.

Singletary could dominate in the trenches and run with eight men in the box, just like he wants to. All it takes is for their personnel department to make a ballsy move or two this offseason.

Matt,

If the Niners rework the contract of A. Smith will they still take the $5mm cap hit?

Hey Matt,

I know Singletary pretty much said the defensive staff was set, but what do you think the chances of this happening would be?

sorry for the double-post. computer issues. -cal

Coaching "free-agency" wish list: 1. Bill Musgrave 2. Chris Palmer 3. Pete Mangurian 4. Ken Zampese 5. Terry Shea.
for OC, please.

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

Will Sing continue coaching the LBs?

IF you are drafting a top 10 OT at #10, you are drafting Oher. He is considered a top 3 OT and will never last to the bottom of the 1st round. There is a big drop off after the top 3 (Oher, Smith, Monroe) so drafting another OT that is not one of those three is overdrafting. The 9ers can wait until the second round to get an OT and Snyder can keep the spot warm. Even though I would love to see them draft the top CB or Maualuga, if Orakpo is available, the 9ers should snatch up the best 3-4 rush OLB in the draft.

Matt, you forgot another starter who'll be a free agent...Mark Roman, when he's released.

With the #10 pick, the Niners have 3 great options that I think most fans would be happy with. And getting a rookie quarterback is not one of them. I think Singletary has his sights on a veteran QB to compete with Hill.

1) Free Safety - Release Roman, start Goldson and draft Mays from USC to be the #1 back-up at both safety spots. He would be the heir to M. Lewis at SS, but could start at FS if he earns it or Goldson gets hurt for the 3rd straight year.

2) DE / LB - Haralson and Lawson would be the starters. Draft Everette Brown from Florida State and bring him along on pass situations to begin with. I live in Tallahasse and believe me this guy is a stud. He could not be blocked. He's double and triple teamed and still had 15 sacks this year. He's athletic enough to stand up if needed.

3) ROT - Snyder could be the starter, but unlike the other 2 options, a great OT can start from Day One. Draft Eugene Monroe or, if he's taken, Michael Oher. Monroe is more solid and athletic without potential off the field issues.

The great thing about being at #10, one of these players will be available, and we will be a better team.

Matt, how much would it cost us to release Mark Roman before free agency begins?

With the decision to retain Singletary and his desire to employ the 3-4, we'll need a true NT and plenty of LBs to make it go.
Chase Suggs in FA along with Haynesworth if he hits the market.
At 10, we will have options and I'd buy into the camp that an OT can be had later due to what appears to be a bumper crop of OL talent.
I would take the offers to slide back if the right deal were made, but couldn't argue a stud DE/OLB.
It's a long way off, I'm still in the camp for the OL/DL to be our highest priority, but FA will no doubt provide some answers for which direction the Draft board goes.
Can we afford a CB that high? Not so sure he provides immediate impact, but like most rookies, it's always a tough answer. I'd think FA needs to be answered with a Suggs signing and Spikes' return. That would be an excellent option, assuming Suggs doesn't get tagged.

Jon SoCal - Jason Smith/Baylor/OT has risen up the boards fast. He's top 10 with Mayock & Kiper. He's superathletic, ex-TE, finishes his blocks to the end, & plays NASTY. For our power running style Sing wants with Oher & Smith gone I'd go with a more natural bigger powerful mauling OT vs the run in Loadholt 2nd RD to pair with Rachal. My alternate after that if he comes out is junior Okung from OK State. He's an under the radar up & coming Jason Smith type. Smith's going 1st RD so if we skip OT with 1st pick if Loadholt gets taken before us Okung is best value. The thing with him is he's also 300 lbs but not a former TE. I see him easily adding up to 320+ no problem vs Smith. Okung's shut out some of the best pass rushers most notably Orapko.

FloridaFan - I'm sold on Everette Brown. He would be the perfect weak side pass rushing OLB. Has the durability rep NEVER MISSING A GAME IN COLLEGE. A stud explosive pass rusher who can rush inside, outside, & also has strength having a solid bull rush. And he's fast. He has all the stats to prove his production but watching him in action is even better. Based on NEED + BPA I have him ahead of my fav Maualuga & I don't know much about Orapko.

So my 1st Rd picks have changed: Oher, ASmith, TMays, Everette Brown, Maualuga, BJ Raji, Malcolm Jenkins (who can play either CB or Free Safety - solid open field tackler), Orapko if we think he's legit & is up to the hype. I previously had Raji before Mays but changed because TMays & Brown should have a more immediate impact where Raji/NT will take that year to develop. I have Ron Brace/NT/BC in the 3rd-4th RD if he lasts instead. Still Free Agency first which will then set up our Draft gameplan.

Mike all good logical options, well thought out.
I've got Loadholt and his side kick Duke Robinson on my wishlist also.
Baas to me sticks at the right price, I think he took too long to develop and knowing Scot's feelings about OGs this year is as good as any to try again.
There's going to be plenty of depth into the mid rounds IMO and the concern I have right now is LB.
The crop on NT is terribly thin and the FA options are equally thin and certainly will not be bargain priced.
I like Mauluaga and Cushing and have no problem surrounding Patrick with some muscle.
At this moment, with the Jrs on the sidelines, my first pick might lean DE/OLB, name TBD when all the Jrs declare.
I can't see us trying another QB that high either.
Still like Sanchez from USC if he declares, might find him later and we will have comp picks coming.
Love playing the guessing game but it's so far off that I'll probably be swayed several more times once the Draft experts start dissecting the class further and I see the Senior Bowl and Combine coverage.
But I see no reason not to feel comfortable waiting on the OL pick until at least Rds 2 or 3.

Any OT drafted #10 has to play LT eventually. That's not what we are looking for.

A RT can be picked up later.

hile we're on the subject of ROT, keep Kraig Urbik on the watchlist for the Senior Bowl.
He's lining up as ROG for the Wisconsin Badgers, but has played ROT there as well.
He's one of those Rd 2-3 guys that are always valuable for depth and could surprise in camp.
If a Comp pick comes in the 3rd Rd area, I'd use it for OL since we lost a shot with a forfeited 5th last year.
Agreed 100% Dirk on the OT at 10 point too.
I'm looking at it the same way, steal a versatile guy in the mid round range if you can.
Even trading back for an extra pick might make sense too. Lots to evaluate for sure.

Right now, Duke Robinson from Oklahoma would be a slam dunk pick over Baas for me. 6'5" 336 and he moves very well.
It'll be interesting over the next couple of months to see how the talent evaluators spin these guys, but I like Singletary's vision to put the running game at the front of the offense, all the playoff teams have above average running games and the teams with above average QBs and Defenses usually get to the big dance.

Matt....how old is Gore? Evan thought Foster did a good job in the final season games, I'm not sure we have a back that has the speed needed for a break away threat. I'm concerned about Gore holding up season after season. Your comments along these thoughts would be appreciated

Marc - I also like Singletary's philosophy but don't forget a creative passing game. I hope he finds a proven WCO OC. Words of encouragement came when he said at times we might pass more & he sounds like he's aware that passing is also important. But I totally agree we have to be able to RUN WHEN WE WANT & NEED TO. I like that he's making sure to get the O/D Lines right making sure the foundation is set. Re-evaluate & make corrections from the inside out.

I agree lots of speculation right now but will be better able to plan after Jan 15 (Juniors deadline to declare early) & end of Feb after Free Agency. Duke Robinson huh? I'll have to check him out, sounds like a beast. As far as McCloughan if Rachal hopefully turns out to be that stud guard that I predict he'll be his cheap philosophy has to change here IMO. Rachal looks like he has a real high ceiling & could be special. On those comp picks it sounds like 3rd & 4th rounder but since their on the bottom of the rounds I see them more as 4th & 5th rounders. 9 picks total we should be able to do some good work with that. Stand pat & use them all for numbers or package some to trade up for a premium player we want. Should be able to fill a good number of needs.

Real torn on Maualuga & hard to shake. I'm 50/50 with him & Everett Brown at the slot I have him on.

Taylor Mays & Maualuga = INTIMIDATION & FEAR FACTOR (+ playmaker) that this team is so thirsty & in need of on BOTH sides of the ball. When's the last time this team had that? Ronnie Lott centuries ago?? Nobody in this league fears the Niners. (Coach Sing s/b on his way to fixing that.) Willis can't do it all. With Mays or Maualuga WR's/players in the middle will have their heads on a swivel. These 2 will try & KNOCK YOU OUT if they get the chance to line you up. They should cause more forced turnovers. Maualuga the perfect TED next to Willis would be DOMINATING.

Mays & Everett Brown = NEED + BPA right for the big picture.

Maualuga = BPA & the player who I think has the best chance to reach that star Willis level & become special. Would set the foundation in the middle for the next 10 years. I predict this would be an All Pro middle lineup for years.

I forgot our need at NT and Raji would be a great one if all of the other guys are gone. It looks like BC has the only 2 true NT's worth drafting. As much as me and others have criticized Franklin, the run defense got a lot better after Coach Singletary took over. If we resign Spikes, at least all of these positions of need would have at least a serviceable starter in place no matter who we draft. I can't remember the last time we could say that.

Of course, free agency will narrow down who we would take at #10, but I think we'll get a great player either way.

BTW, I don't post often but I read everything. I respect you and Marc-NJ49er's opinions about the direction of our team. Keep up the great comments.

Matt,
Although everyone here seems to be assuming that Singletary wants to pick up a safety to replace Roman, I'm not convinced. 1st, we already have Goldson, who has looked promising thus far. 2nd, he mentioned range, which is more of an issue with the Lewis boys, both starter Michael and backup Keith.

In a traditional FS/SS defensive set, speed at the SS position is not as important. However, I remember someone (Nolan?) saying there was little difference in the roles of the 2 safeties in the 3-4 we were playing. Our defense would be more versatile if we felt comfortable dropping either safety into deep coverage. Could you please clarify this for us?