Draft / FA / Offseason Roster Moves (Merged)

[srobert96]

He had a fantastic year.

His run defense needs to improve, but he's the perfect center fielder, he really surprised me this year, I kind of expected him to be nothing more than another Tom Zibikowski. His coverage was immense, and that's in a pass happy division, he did great for a rookie. Time will tell when we re visit this with Upshaw vs Harrison, because we had the clear choice between the two. Upshaw was spectacular in run defense, but has shown nothing as a pass rusher in his rookie year, although I have a feeling he'll eventually come into his own as a pass rusher, at least we know he can set the edge to an elite level already though.

Another guy who had a very solid year that we had a shot at getting was Cordy Glenn. I think it was you who thought he could be a LT in this league, well so far you're right. Glenn was very solid at LT this season, and could be the Bills franchise LT for years to come. Everyone thought he'd be a guard or RT at best.

Makes you wonder if KO could actually play LT in the NFL.

Clearly blinded by your hate of ND. Harrison Smith is already head and shoulders better than Zibby. Harrison Smith was excellent. Analyst have raved about his plays. He was on ESPN's all rookie team. Also Trevor Robinson did a great job as a rookie center for the Bengals. He made ESPN's all rookie team. Kyle Rudolph is not too bad as a 2nd year player either. Made it to the Pro Bowl this year.

As much as Ozzie says best available he does draft on need with his early picks. He would not draft Smith in the first round to sit on the bench for essentially a year. Upshaw was a position of need as JJ just left in free agency.

[GOTA]

What about Delanie Walker?

He is a FA. He's a good blocker as well as an underrated receiver.

If he leaves the 49ers it's going to be for a team that makes him the starter. With Pitta and Dickson I don't think he gets the touches he wants.

[wickedsolo]

Clearly blinded by your hate of ND. Harrison Smith is already head and shoulders better than Zibby. Harrison Smith was excellent. Analyst have raved about his plays. He was on ESPN's all rookie team. Also Trevor Robinson did a great job as a rookie center for the Bengals. He made ESPN's all rookie team. Kyle Rudolph is not too bad as a 2nd year player either. Made it to the Pro Bowl this year.

As much as Ozzie says best available he does draft on need with his early picks. He would not draft Smith in the first round to sit on the bench for essentially a year. Upshaw was a position of need as JJ just left in free agency.

Good call.

I do think that some schools tend to have players be naturally overrated...USC, LSU, Ohio State, etc. Notre Dame is definitely in that category. Justifiably so though. They've had some incredible players come out of that program...Joe Montana, Tim Brown, and Jerome Bettis (to name a few).

This just comes down to teams having good scout teams and the ability to reasonably define if they meet their criteria for the value of the pick.

Personally, I think Manti T'eo is absolutely worth the 32nd overall pick and I'd be satisfied if Baltimore drafted him. He isn't the athlete that Alec Ogletree is, but T'eo is also a more fundamentally sound player (IMO).

[wickedsolo]

If he leaves the 49ers it's going to be for a team that makes him the starter. With Pitta and Dickson I don't think he gets the touches he wants.

Good point.

Arizona would be a good fit for him. They could use a receiving TE. Arians likes having solid TE's too.

[JAB1985]

Quite possible. Lofton had multiple years of high production though...that deal might be too high for Ellerbe. Then again, not a bad price for a starting ILB.

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agreed, because Ellerbe is only 1-2 years of production max and a lot of injury woes, id expect him to get a little less on the market. I think Lofton is better in general. ILB is a devalued position, look how long those guys waited last year to get signed to basically minimal deals and were some of the best young LBs in the league (lofton, hawthorne, etc). I dont think there will be a long line of suitors waiting outside ellerbe's door at midnight (much like McClain who had a promising contract year as well). Letting him sit on the market for awhile may be the best choice so he gets a fair offer here. If I were the Ravens id offer him McClains contract with maybe an extra year and a little more guaranteed to show we like him better and wait till after the draft and ask McClain for a paycut if another ILB is acquired. frankly he didnt play like an average LB last year so I feel he could be replaced by a cheap vet for similar production. for 300k more id definitely rather have Hawthorne right now (hes only a reserve for NO) and honestly I think ellerbe compares better to him than lofton at this point.

[leachisabeast]

Clearly blinded by your hate of ND. Harrison Smith is already head and shoulders better than Zibby. Harrison Smith was excellent. Analyst have raved about his plays. He was on ESPN's all rookie team. Also Trevor Robinson did a great job as a rookie center for the Bengals. He made ESPN's all rookie team. Kyle Rudolph is not too bad as a 2nd year player either. Made it to the Pro Bowl this year.

As much as Ozzie says best available he does draft on need with his early picks. He would not draft Smith in the first round to sit on the bench for essentially a year. Upshaw was a position of need as JJ just left in free agency.

Hey man, I gave Harrison a ton of credit. Now I will still say that ND clearly have overrated talent. I thouroghly enjoyed every minute of that pounding they took from bama hahaha.

[GOTA]

Good point.

Arizona would be a good fit for him. They could use a receiving TE. Arians likes having solid TE's too.

I could see the Browns making a play for Walker. They have a ton of cap space and Ben Watson will not be back. Chud is a former TE and TE coach. He uses a lot of tight ends in his offense. The Browns are going to bring in a couple between free agency and the draft.

[wickedsolo]

I could see the Browns making a play for Walker. They have a ton of cap space and Ben Watson will not be back. Chud is a former TE and TE coach. He uses a lot of tight ends in his offense. The Browns are going to bring in a couple between free agency and the draft.

They could definitely use Walker.

Though, I'm not sure Walker will want to go to a team that likely doesn't have a shot at being good anytime soon. So, that could negate the Cardinals as well.

Chicago might be an option.

[leachisabeast]

Yes, I would love Walker, bu as others pointed out, probably wont want to be the blocking TE for us, he'll want to be an every down starter.

[bmorecareful]

They could definitely use Walker.

Though, I'm not sure Walker will want to go to a team that likely doesn't have a shot at being good anytime soon. So, that could negate the Cardinals as well.

Chicago might be an option.

Delanie Walker is a supremely overrated player. He had 37 targets this year, 30 catchable balls, and he dropped NINE of them. That's miserable, it was the worst drop rate in the NFL by a huge margin last year. The guy has some of the worst hands you'll ever see.

He's a good H-Back, good blocker, good special teams player. But he's not going to get paid like a starting TE by anybody and he's not going to have the luxury of picking the winner from a bunch of suitors. I doubt he gets the kinds of offers he'll want on the market. Don't forget he'll also be 29 by September 2013, he's not young at all, and this is a loaded FA class of TEs. Dustin Keller, Brandon Myers, Jared Cook, Anthony Fasano, Fred Davis, Ben Watson... I think all of those guys will be more sought after than Walker.

The Browns look like the best option to me. He has a little bit of experience in Norv Turner's offense (Turner was the 49ers OC in 2006 and his protege Jim Hostler was OC in 2007) and is a very good fit for that scheme. Jordan Cameron is going to be the pass-catching "Antonio Gates" player for them, Walker is a good complement in a 2TE base offense.

[leachisabeast]

Delanie Walker is a supremely overrated player. He had 37 targets this year, 30 catchable balls, and he dropped NINE of them. That's miserable, it was the worst drop rate in the NFL by a huge margin last year. The guy has some of the worst hands you'll ever see.

He's a good H-Back, good blocker, good special teams player. But he's not going to get paid like a starting TE by anybody and he's not going to have the luxury of picking the winner from a bunch of suitors. I doubt he gets the kinds of offers he'll want on the market. Don't forget he'll also be 29 by September 2013, he's not young at all, and this is a loaded FA class of TEs. Dustin Keller, Brandon Myers, Jared Cook, Anthony Fasano, Fred Davis, Ben Watson... I think all of those guys will be more sought after than Walker.

The Browns look like the best option to me. He has a little bit of experience in Norv Turner's offense (Turner was the 49ers OC in 2006 and his protege Jim Hostler was OC in 2007) and is a very good fit for that scheme. Jordan Cameron is going to be the pass-catching "Antonio Gates" player for them, Walker is a good complement in a 2TE base offense.

He's pretty bad as a pure pass catcher, but his blocking is immense.

[NOLARavenFAN]

He's pretty bad as a pure pass catcher, but his blocking is immense.

He plays Ravens style ball.....I like him.