McCloughan said his duty is to take the best player and map out the future of the organization, he said. Of course, the plan is to take the best player available, he said. And the best-case scenario is if the 49ers select a player who happens to be at a position of need and is able to make an immediate impact.
"It would be great if we could (get an immediate starter), but I don't live year to year," McCloughan said. "It's important to win right now. We all understand that and we're planning to win right now, but also I have to look 2, 4, 6 years out."
Here are some of the other topics McCloughan addressed today in his meeting with Bay Area reporters, including yours truly and Lowell Cohn from The Press Democrat. We were one of only two news organizations with multiple reporters/columnists on hand:
--"Teams are trying to get out of the top six or seven spots," McCloughan said. He said that he has received calls from seven of the nine teams in front of the 49ers to gauge their interest in a trade. "We will not move forward," McCloughan promised.
--However, the 49ers might be interested in trading back. He said he probably would not make that decision until he knows exactly what will be available with the No. 10 overall pick.
--Things he stresses in putting together the draft board are work ethic, passion for the game, understanding of the team concept and that "it" factor.
--He said he does not want the team to force any rookie into the starting lineup. Any player has to go out and win the playing time. He said Patrick Willis was unique because, even though he entered camp as a backup, he won the starting job as a rookie.
--McCloughan said he is not thinking abut a possible work stoppage in 2011, which might have a disastrous affect on a QB selected in this draft. After all, 2011 is about the first season you'd expect a QB to start to show what he can do.
--The 49ers have had no trade discussion with the Browns about Brady Quinn - none zero, nada - McCloughan said.
--He said he will do what's best for the organization, and if that means selecting a QB at No. 10, that's what he'll do. He said he's not going to get scared and shy away from a QB in the first round.
--McCloughan wants to add a QB at some point in the draft, he said. He said the team needs to keep adding at that position. Maybe a mid-round QB can develop and help the 49ers or maybe he could become a player that the 49ers can trade down the road.
--McCloughan said the reports of animosity between the 49ers and
--Defensive end Ray McDonald is ahead of schedule after undergoing ACL reconstruction on his right knee this offseason. McCloughan said he expects McDonald will be ready for the start of the regular season, and perhaps even the start of training camp. This is the same knee that required surgery when McDonald was in college, McCloughan said.
--The 49ers have 18 players rated on their board as first-round values.
--Do you want to know the 49ers' draft board from last year? McCloughan confirmed that the first 18 players of last year's draft were taken in the EXACT order that the 49ers had them ranked.
--On the subject of outside linebacker/defensive ends, he said he wants a first-round draft pick to be an every-down player. The exception, of course, would be if the player was an outstanding pass rusher who could change a game. He wants those OLBs to be in the 240-260 range and at least 6-foot-2.
--In the past, McCloughan said he's had a good feeling about which players would be available when the 49ers pick. This year, it's a lot different. He said the run on quarterbacks and tackles, and which teams trade up and back, will determine which players are available when it's the 49ers' turn to pick.
--Coach Mike Singletary's involvement in the draft is about the same as it was with other coaches with whom McCloughan has worked, such as Mike Holmgren and Mike Nolan. Singletary comes in on occassion when the scouts are in town to watch film of the prospects. He said character is important to Singletary.
--Speaking of character, McCloughan said this is about the best draft class he remembers, one to 200, in that regard. The 49ers have not removed any draftable player from their board, he said. Character is factored into the equation. He mentioned that Tarell Brown was a third-round prospect that the 49ers selected in the fifth round. He was bumped down the draft board because of a couple run-ins with the law in his final year at
--McCloughan said he WOULD NOT BE AVERSE TO picking two (or even three!) receivers in this draft. He said the team needs playmaking ability and speed from the wideout position. As for how the depth chart could shake out, McCloughan said that's will be sorted out during competition in training camp.
--The 49ers view defensive back Malcolm Jenkings as a cornerback who can play safety. (Sort of like Reggie Smith.) McCloughan said the 49ers would like to add a big body at safety with some speed.
--No team has called to ask about a trade for Mark Roman, who is on the trade block. If the 49ers are unable to deal Roman, he will remain with the team and compete for a job in training camp, McCloughan said.
* * *
1.) QB's will be gone so that's not gonna happen
2.) That's a "No" on E.Brown as a pass rusher
3.) Looks like OT or Receiver - Maclin or Crabtree and if not one of them I say BJ or Maybin
MM - Do you mean the WILL be looking to pick two or three receivers in this draft?
You wrote: "McCloughan said he would not picking two (or even three!) receivers in this draft." I'm confused by the "not".
On the morning of April 25th:
Pray...
Burn all your candles or incense...
Say a few Gregorian, or if your Buddhist... Amitabha chants...
Wear your Niner cap inverted and backwards...
that will provoke a Crabtree freefall safely to our tree branch of 10.
Raji !
I believe it would be more appropriate, Franchise, to "sing" a few Gregorian (chants). They are quite beautiful, though, and I commend your mentioning this mostly lost magnificence.
They came of in the exact order? I would be much more impressed if they had them ranked in order of production, like Goldson or Ellis lower and Anderson higher.
Matt,
Stating that we now know the 49ers 2008 draft board because McCloughan claims picks 1-18 matched the order of his draft board is a leap of faith. Neither you nor your readers can ever test the truth of that statement because we never saw the pre-draft list. His claim is self-serving and it suggests that he is a better judge of talent than his draft perfromance would indicate. It is also unrealistic because McCloughan's board can only be in the order of BPA or 49er specific needs, and teams 1-18 would not all draft to that same set of criteria, plus there were a couple of trades that even further altered probabilities. A 1-18 match to any team's board would be statistically improbable. For four years he and Nolan talked a much better game than they played. McCloughan seems to be carrying on the tradition, so don't anyone pay too much attention to his other answers either.
Comment: Stating that we now know the 49ers 2008 draft board because McCloughan claims picks 1-18 matched the order of his draft board is a leap of faith. Neither you nor your readers can ever test the truth of that statement because we never saw the pre-draft list.
My response: That's why I attributed the statement to McCloughan. --Matt M.
I totally agree. Hearing this statement actually makes me feel less confident, not more. It is self serving and seems like he's going into job preservation mode. If he is going to make that statement, then let us know more. Where did he have Balmer ranked? I could see the top 18 going in the 18 picks, but the exact order, seems impossible.
1-18 huh? I just want to go to vegas with him. When's his next trip?
McCloughan said he would not picking two (or even three!) receivers...
Need to edit that for clarity. Yes 2 receivers or no?
"For four years he and Nolan talked a much better game than they played. McCloughan seems to be carrying on the tradition"
Roger that.
And not to go a hating binge but I wrote before that he needs a very good draft that will pay instant dividends instead of remaining employed year after year while the head-scratching picks turn into total busts.
I would instantly agree that we're a better team than we were before he got here but with that I'll add a resounding, "So what?" Plenty of other teams are better than they were before McC got here and a couple made the turnaround in 1 year!
So forgive me if I'm completely done with the "Ya gotta give it a few years" BS that seems to resonate whenever our Drafts suck, which has been more often than not.
I feel bad for some of you because it must really suck to be a Niners fan right now. Here we are at one of the most exciting weeks on the NFL calendar full of hope and intrigue and you guys are grasping at straws always trying to find the negative angle and always trying to spin everything towards dire straights.
When we have our first winning season after six straight losing ones.. yadda yadda yadda
Looking forward to draft day and your coverage. It is always a fun day. Keep twitting!
I'm probably in the miority here when it comes to McCloughan but this is my take...
For the most part, I trust the players he's drafted and his evaluation skills. With that said, I don't trust a word he ever says before draft time. He always claims to like bigger players when a large number of his draft picks have been undersized. He says the 49ers need to add speed at WR yet Jason Hill ran faster than Maclin and Josh Morgan was just 1/100th of a second slower. He wants 3-4 OLBs that can be 6'2"+ 260+ yet Manny Lawson is 250lbs after "bulking up" for 3 years in a row, and Parys Haralson barely cracking 6'0".
It's come to the point where I don't know if McCloughan even evaluates players based on his own perceived "wants"
I still believe that McCLoughan's head is on the block this year. He needs to prove the team has changed from its losing ways the past years. By "losing ways" I mean the team needs to change the atmosphere and expectations of the fans and the media.
I think MS is going to lean heavily on character both on the field and off. I think MS believes that the right character brings the right results on the field. I like the way MS plays the media, especially Sports Talk shows. In that respect he reminds me of Bill Walsh. Walsh would speak the way he wanted to whether the media liked it or not. You almost never could tell what Walsh really thought despite his answers to the chagrin of the media. MS seems to be of the same thought. And I like it. Walsh would use any negativity by reporters to fire up the team. Many times Walsh would use certain reporters negative columns in an us vs. them way. And it would work most of the time with the team ready to take on the press after a big win.
MS, on KNBR, answers hosts questions they way HE wants to answer. He also leads the questioners to where he wants them to go! It's great!
But the shadow of Holmgren, I believe, will loom over McC this comming year despite their frienship. The 49ers know many fans would love to have Holmgren because of his connections to the SF area. And he also reminds the fans of the past winning ways when he was OC under Walsh. I know he didn't leave the team in a positive way by trying to take some assistant coaches with him, and that angered the front office and Eddie D. But I don't think it will matter to the fans.
I believe this will be McC's do or die year.
So true. McC likes to draft on measurables and likes specimens or trying to convert positions. VDavis freak. Staley fastest OL. Willis. Fast. Manny DE to OLB. Hill fast. Rachel strong. Balmer "value". He really just likes the beastly numbers rather than production.
"shadow of Holmgren" watching over McCloughan this year
Spot on Terry!
Comared with other NFL team drafts over the past several years, McC has been so-so. If the plan is to build a superior team through the draft, then, so far, McC hasn't shown whether or not he can get us there. So, this is the year we need to get a solid read on Balmer, R Smith, Brown, Goldson and Clayton.
Mike in SF #2, You hit it right on the head. Some people on this blog need to quit whining and stop coming on here pretending to be Niner fans! It's true that we don't have it as good as the days of Eddie D. and Carmen Policy, but no team will ever dominate like that again, so get over it people! McCloughan is the guy that took a chance on Frank Gore in the 3rd round, found Parys Harolson in the 5th round, and drafted Patrick Willis and Joe Staley in the same year! Where would we be today without these guys?
Matt,
I was told that you spoke on the radio/TV predicting Tyson Jackson as the pick at #10. I apologize if I was told wrong. If you, indeed said that, how do you feel the 49ers could justify it???
I understand the BPA philosophy but how can one rationalize signing HUGE contracts to Justin Smith and Isaac Sopoaga one-year ago, drafting Kentwan Balmer in the first round one-year ago, and signing Demetric Evans just last month??? That is a ridiculous amount of priority placed on a position (3-4 DE) that doesn't accumulate alot of statistics. The Pittsburgh Steelers routinely have THE best or close to it 3-4 Defenses in the NFL and they NEVER place a priority on their DE's.
What's the scoop? Help my blood-pressure.
Question: Matt, I was told that you spoke on the radio/TV predicting Tyson Jackson as the pick at #10. I apologize if I was told wrong. If you, indeed said that, how do you feel the 49ers could justify it???
My response: Whoa, big fella.
I did not predict Tyson Jackson would be the 49ers' No. 10 pick. (At least not yet.) I mentioned him as somebody the 49ers would have to really consider if he were still available. Nobody (at least I haven't seen anybody) has even talked about him as a possible No. 10 pick for the 49ers, so I decided to shed a little light on this guy.
He is the perfect fit for any 3-4 system. He is a high-character guy, and he could be an every-down player. He could play DE on first and second downs and move inside to DT on third downs. Ray McDonald had ACL reconstruction this offseason, so we don't know about his future. You said the Steelers have never placed a priority on DEs. Well, the Patriots' starting DEs -- and all three of their linemen -- were first-round picks.
I agree with you, that they would be sinking a lot of money into their defensive line. But they're going to have to pay somebody a lot of money. They have to take the person they believe is the best player. Maybe it will be an offensive lineman. Who knows? We'll see on Saturday. --Matt M.
Thanks for clearing that up, Matt. Keep up the good work.
The phrase is "McCloughan said he would not be averse to picking two(or even three!) receivers in this draft."Which doesn't need editing necessarily-I was thrown with the word averse as opposed to adverse but they are tantamount to the same indication...i.e. he wouldn't be opposed or reviled by the idea of taking multiple receivers.
Drafting is about picking the best available player for for YOUR system and what you are trying to run. The 9ers are a perfect example of that. With the same players the Nolan could not get any consistancy out of, Singltary went 5-2 in the last 7 games. He asked (demanded) his players to do what they do best and got results. That is why players like Warner, Romo, and Jason Peters and Harrison of the Steelers can go undrafted and still have great success. That being said, teams still have to hit on their drafts or they are just throwing time and money away. Now McCloughan says they have 18 players with 1st round grades. The question becomes are these players 1-18 in the draft, 10 through 28 or 14 through 32? My point is there might only be 4 or 5 players worth the #10 pick, at least to the 9ers. I don't think that a QB at #10 would be worth it to the 9ers. If Brown, Orakpo, Raji, or Crabtree are there, do they pull the trigger? With so many teams SAYING that they want to trade down, will all the trade up partners be gone by #10? I think that at #10 the one player that could come in and contribute right now is Raji. With this being the last year of Franklins contract, we cannot afford to not have a productive NT for the future. Ask the Ravens, the Pats and the Steelers linebackers how important their NT's are to their team. If not Raji, is there a player at #10 that the team feels can contribute ASAP? I guess we will find out on Saturday.
I'm elated that a playmaking receiver will be emphasized.Someone who requires double coverage,is exposive,and serves as a mismatch machine.This is key to a running game.When the cards beat us with ball control it sure wasn't because the RBs or the o-line were anything special.It was a result of their receivers requiring so much coverage.Ideally,we could get Raji and then snag Jared Cooper to convert into our playmaking receiver.
Ima said...
Mike in SF #2, You hit it right on the head. Some people on this blog need to quit whining and stop coming on here pretending to be Niner fans! It's true that we don't have it as good as the days of Eddie D. and Carmen Policy, but no team will ever dominate like that again, so get over it people! McCloughan is the guy that took a chance on Frank Gore in the 3rd round, found Parys Harolson in the 5th round, and drafted Patrick Willis and Joe Staley in the same year! Where would we be today without these guys?
Exactly right you are !
And for the info of some ignorant so called fans who want to blame our pretty good (and hopefully getting better without Nolan around) GM for not telling us everything in his mind before draft day...well,EVERY GM in the league is ducking questions and has been for weeks now. They always do that before the draft so they don't give anything away to the competition.
Jed and Sing and Scott have done a really good job for the team so far and they have only just begun. Scott will do his usual good job of evaluating talent and drafting players and one big difference is now Sing will actually put some of those players on the field and give then a chance to show their stuff. I think now that Nolan is gone,we are and will be getting a real look at about the last 3 years of draft picks ,many of them FOR THE FIRST TIME
Nolan keeping players on the bench - don't be so ridiculous. I can only think of one player that Sing might take credit for getting playing time and that was Rachal. All the other promotions were injury related.
No I didn't miss S.Hill. Nolan had decided to do that QB switch after the break. Sing just implemented it.
I know there's a whole cottage industry in blaming Nolan for every single thing that went wrong with the Niners for the past 5 years but that's just not true. Biggest reason for the end of season wins was that the opponents were not so good. Sure it was probably time for Nolan to go but Sing won with Nolan's team and Nolan's coaches. Just ask Sing how much he credits Nolan with his successes - he'll tell you. A lot.
Just let it go and look forward to the draft and next year and the Niners in the playoffs. They'll be there unless they have some major bad luck with injuries.