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Trade up, stand pat, or trade down. these are the things Baalke is mulling over.

This could be the most important off season yet in terms of extending or offering contracts to free agents. Colin, Aldon, and Iupati, Crabtree are all due massive pay raises soon. Need to keep Colin and Aldon, Iupati has a very off year and Crabtree is the most easily replaceable.

Round 1: Odell Beckham, WR, LSU, will have an impact on offense and special teams. Has the speed and hands to start right now and say goodbye to LaMichael James as the primary returner. With his great combine a trade up is possible.

Round 2: Jaylen Watkins, CB, Florida, Watkins possesses a lean, athletic build more suited to cornerback. He's a willing hitter, however, with good vision and closing ability, making it likely that he'll be able to successfully handle the transition to safety. The willingness to change positions during his senior season is a good indication of Watkins' selflessness and maturity.

Round 2: Weston Richburg, C, Colorado State, Prototypical build for an interior lineman with a powerful, square frame to handle bull rushers and good initial quickness and overall athleticism to block on the move. Good upper body strength to move the defensive tackle and has the balance and quickness to turn and seal his opponent from the action.

Round 3: Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford, At 6-2, 205 pounds, Reynolds possesses the lanky build scouts are looking for at the position. Physical and instinctive. Demonstrates good agility and acceleration to handle covering athletic tight ends out of the slot as well as supply deep help over the top. Though not a strong safety, the Niners front 7 routinely stops the run, and Reynolds and Reid are interchangeable.

Round 3: Josh Mauro, DT, Stanford, Broad-shouldered, country-strong defensive lineman whose versatility is sure to intrigue scouts operating for 4-3 and 3-4 teams alike. Lined up predominately at defensive end for the Cardinal but also saw action inside as a defensive tackle and even on the nose.

Round 4: Aaron Colvin, CB, Oklahoma, Physical corner with a tough-minded approach against the run and in coverage. Getting a first round talent while he recovers from his freak injury at the Combine.

Round 4: Cameron Fleming, OT, Stanford, Powerful drive blocker. Latches on and controls opponents, keeping his feet moving through contact to move the defender off the ball. Uses his length and strong arms to catch rushers, pinning them inside or riding them out to keep the pocket clean. Could be moved to guard against Mike Iupati's pending free agency next year.

Round 5: Trey Burton, FB/TE/WR, Florida, a slight reach but has played QB, RB, FB, WR, TE in college and could be the next Delaine Walker.

Round 6: Spencer Long, G, Nebraska, Senior Spencer Long had his 2013 season cut short after suffering a knee injury at Purdue in mid-October. Despite missing half of the season, the senior captain has continued to make a mark on the Husker program. Long has continued to provide leadership to his fellow offensive linemen, while making his mark off the field.

Round 7: Antone Exum, S, VT, Highly versatile defender with experience playing three different positions in a pro-style scheme that has produced a number of NFL defensive backs. Quality special teams performer who projects well as a defender on kick and punt coverage units.

Candidates for being on the injury list for the entire team are Colvin, Long, and Exum, all three have injuries that can be heal properly with a year's rest. Burton has a shot at the practice squad to find his true position.
Fleming could finally replaces Adam Snyder, who had an awful year. Fleming size and lack of footspeed makes him a perfect guard. Josh Mauro is a late bloomer rising quickly, has the size, strength, technique to eventually replace McDonald or Smith. Reynolds is a natural free safety but the Niners employ their safety to more coverage than run support. Richburg in case Kilgore can't handle starting and will need some time to adjust coming from a small school. There is always a run of corners due to the lack of quality corners so Watkins is a good catch. Beckham, just Youtube to see why.

Would love to see LaMichael James and Jon Baldwin traded to clear more salary space. Two players who spent more time on the inactive list than on the team/

Beckham has been moving to the top of my list for the 1st round but it's starting to look like we'll need to move up to get him. Considering the depth at the position this year, Watkins, Beckham and Lee are the only WR's I like in the 1st for SF and I'm not totally convinced on Lee. Evans and Benjamin are huge projects imo, likely to bust and I just like the value of Bryant or Coleman in the late 2nd to 4th much better if we want to go for a big guy. I like Cooks but I'm real leary of taking a midget in the first especially since he's not a return threat.

I'd target Moncrief, Robinson and Bryant at the end of the 2nd round, but would be ok with Matthews, Adams or Landry. I could probably be convinced to take Moncrief in the 1st round if he's moving up all the boards. I really like his skill set, athleticism and think he suffered a lot from playing with a pretty bad QB. He's still got room for a lot of improvement but I think he already has a pretty good all around game and could start in a year or two. Robinson didn't have quite the combine that I was expecting but I still like him a lot. Bryant is real boom or bust and I'm seeing a lot of stuff questioning his maturity but I still like the potential a lot. Matthews is the opposite to me, almost guaranteed to be ok, but you'll always be looking to upgrade every year. Adams and Landry don't excite me much but if the others are gone, I'd be ok with them. I also like Ellington, Coleman, Abbrederis, Latimer, Archer, Janis and Shaq Evans in the later rounds.

2nd round is way to early for Jaylen Watkins, more like the 4th. I don't think he's a safety either. For CB's I don't like Dennard in the 1st, but would be fine with Gilbert, Roby, Verret and maybe Fuller. Wouldn't move up for any of them. I like Babtiste more than McGill in the late 2nd, but would be fine with either even though they both probably need a year before they contribute. Breeland, Phillip Gaines, Desir and Hal would be ok as well. I do like Colvin with the comp pick similar to Lattimore last year and Exum later on is good value as well.

At Safety, I don't much care for Reynolds. Not convinced that any of them could start in year one at the level Reid did last year, so I don't think moving up for Pryor or Clinton-Dix is a good idea even if we need a starter. Would rather try Ward, Bucannon, Brooks or maybe Loston. I like the potential of Dixon, Baily and Southward but all would be special teamers only in the first year.

Zero interest in drafting Richburg or any lineman in the 2nd round and really don't see room for more than one. A guy like Fleming in the 4th or 5th is much more likely imo. He might make it at tackle but also could probably move inside and be even more effective in a couple years.

Idk anything about Mauro, but DL might be the deepest position on the team right now and with Dobbs coming back I just don't see room for an early pick. Smith, McDonald, Williams, Dorsey, TJE, Dobbs, Tank and Dial make 8 fighting for 7 roster spots max and I think all are worthy of one, then there's Okoye who could make a push. I don't mind another pick but it has to be 5th or later. I haven't payed attention to many of the DL prospects, but two I like are Ed Stinson and Deandre Coleman if they slide. If Easley made it to the end of the 3rd I'd consider that as well.

Overall, I still think 2 WR's, 2 CB's and a Safety are the needs and most likely first 5 picks. I really like the combo of Beckham in the 1st and Moncrief in the 2nd, or a similar CB combo like Verret/Baptiste. I also expect a QB to be drafted somewhere, OL and ILB in the mid to late rounds and maybe a TE.

Beginning to think that their first 2 picks will be spent on DB's, not sure in which order but I'd say CB in round 1 and S in round 2. And those guys will get immediate playing time of some sort.

GS Warriors 1 wrote:Beginning to think that their first 2 picks will be spent on DB's, not sure in which order but I'd say CB in round 1 and S in round 2. And those guys will get immediate playing time of some sort.

I'm starting to think this will be our best course of action.

CB in the first round (Fuller, Verrett, Roby)

Use one of our thirds to move up in the second for Ward, Bucannan or Brooks

Use 61 on a WR (Moncrief, Adams or Matthews should still be on the board)

Finally got around to checking out Phillip Gaines from Rice. That's the guy I want. Obviously, his combine results got a lot of attention, but then the scouting reports aren't that great. Those guys are pulling it out of their ass. He's great in coverage, seeing the field and attacking the ball. Opponents didn't even try to throw against him. His draft breakdown videos are boring but I still wish there was more.

He didn't play the best competition, but his combine stats say he has the ability and his film shows the rest. He does need to bulk up a bit and get more aggressive against the run. I'd take him in the 2nd.

So right now, my ideal draft would be CB Verrett at 30, WR Moncrief and CB Gaines in the 2nd and WR Bruce Ellington in the 3rd.

Comp pick gives us 6 of the top 100 selections. Lots of interesting possibilities here.

My dream scenario is that somehow we find a way to end up with 2 first rounders and draft Fuller and OBJ/Lee.

30+77 to KC for 23, draft Fuller; then 56/61/(and maybe a 4th rounder) to Carolina to pick up Lee at 28.

Profit.

Still have 94 and 100 to add quality depth.

Or, alternately...

30+61 for 19, draft Dennard

56 on a WR (Adams, Moncrief, Matthews)

77 for 2015 2nd rounder

So with Cully going full (Please Use More Appropriate Word), Fuller jumps Verrett on my board. I've had them about equal but Fuller would be much better on the outside whereas I think Verrett is ideal in the slot, but am not sold on him outside. Hell, might need to trade up for both.

Also, those are the top two on my board for the Niners as I think they can both play immediately. Roby and Gilbert are better physically, but both have a lot of areas where they need massive improvement to reach their potential and become quality starters. Dennard could also start as a rookie, but I see very little upside of him ever being better than average. In the NFL he will be burned deep often, and idk how he got away with so much grabbing in college, but he'll be flagged a lot in the pros until he adapts.