BGN 2010 Mock Draft Pick #17 - The San Francisco 49ers

by Bob_Q on Apr 9, 2010 10:01 AM EDT in Events

With the seventeenth pick in the 2010 BGN Draft, chrisbeomsuh selects...

Anthony Davis - OT, Rutgers

The 49ers must address the following positions in the upcoming NFL draft: RT, S, CB, and return specialist. Although the front seven is pretty solid, their secondary is a big question mark as the unit allowed 3670 yards (21^st in the league) to opposing QBs last year. Thankfully, T-rade addressed the CB position by taking Joe Haden with the 13^th pick. Haden will be a huge upgrade from Spencer.

Now at the 17^th pick, Earl Thomas was very tempting. Thomas is widely considered to be the second best safety behind Berry. At this spot, he would be great value and provides the 49ers with a very good safety to take over for a former-Eagle Michael Lewis. However, because of the abundance of talent at the safety position in this draft class, I had to pass on Thomas. The team will still be able to pick up a decent safety in the later rounds.

Anthony Davis, on the other hand, is the last top-tier tackle left in the draft. Now that the 49ers have decided to give Alex Smith a second chance, the FO must protect him by constructing a solid offensive line. Davis solidifies the weak link of the 49ers’ line: the RT spot. Standing at 6’6 and 330 pounds, Davis is a massive offensive tackle. Due to his amazing athleticism and quick feet, Davis is outstanding in both pass and run blocking. He will give Alex Smith ample time to connect with Crabtree and Vernon Davis and also provide Gore (he was constantly getting tackled in the backfield last year) with big holes to run through. Drafting Anthony Davis will allow Singletary to operate the run-heavy offense that he prefers.

There is no doubt that Davis is a tremendous talent. However, he will slip into mid first round because of his questionable work ethic, inconsistent technique, and character. These issues can all be fixed with good coaching. Overall, Davis has the tools and talent to be the best tackle of this class.

Next on the clock will be DSmith215 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Previous picks: #1 Ndamukong Suh, #2 Russell Okung, #3 Gerald McCoy, #4 Sam Bradford, #5 Eric Berry, #6 Trent Williams, #7 Jimmy Clausen, #8 Bruce Campbell, #9 Bryan Bulaga, #10 Derrick Morgan, #11 Rolando McClain, #12 Sergio Kindle, #13 Joe Haden, #14 C.J. Spiller, #15 Mike Iupati, #16 Jason Pierre-Paul

Poll

Do you agree with this pick?

Yes

157 votes

No

74 votes

231 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Good reasoning

I don’t know a ton about the linemen in the draft, but if Davis truly is the last top tier player, it’s a great pick because there are several great safeties available in the 2nd round and beyond.

by BarbarosaNo on Apr 9, 2010 10:16 AM EDT reply actions

Bye, Davis :(

by JimmyK on Apr 9, 2010 10:17 AM EDT reply actions

I chose No

But only because you were so spot on about Earl Thomas. At this position and with the way this draft has gone, he is the BPA for the 49ers. If Thomas and Haden both fulfill their talent, it gives the 49ers an elite secondary for years. There are other talented safties as well in the draft later and they could/will also be selected, but their are some talented tackles too. It’s hard to pay your right tackle 1st round 17 money, when you can get somebody with great talent and not half the headache in Ducasse in the 2nd round. This is a good pick with the amount of talent that Davis has, but I think Thomas would be the better pick here.

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by Talon Talent on Apr 9, 2010 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

It’s a lot easier to pay a tackle 1st round money than a safety. Plus, a good oline could be the difference between Alex Smith succeeding or failing. Either pick would be good, but I think tackle is the more important position.

by BarbarosaNo on Apr 9, 2010 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree that both tackle and safety should be high priorities

But after Crabtree’s long holdout last year, I just don’t think the 49ers would be willing to gamble on another first round prospect with a bad attitude. They’re in a position to take the division this year and need all their players performing at 100%. I’d go safety here.

by Bob_Q on Apr 9, 2010 10:50 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Definitely possible

I hate players with bad attitudes so I’d much rather have Thomas. But I think the 49ers will probably look at it like
- Tackles are safer 1st round
- They need to do whatever they can to help Smith, their franchise guy
- The dropoff from Thomas to the next tier of safeties is less than the dropoff from Davis to the next tier of tackles (not sure about this)

by BarbarosaNo on Apr 9, 2010 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

"That's what I love so much about this team. We have some warriors here. We have some guys who go out there and fight. That's the best thing about this team. No matter what happens, we just keep fighting. You have to love that."

by chrisbeomsuh on Apr 9, 2010 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

There are three reasons why I went with Davis instead of Thomas

1. I really made the protection of Alex Smith to be a top priority. The 49ers must find someone other than Adam Snyder holding down the fort opposite of Joe Staley. I can see your point about Ducasse but I think the drop off in talent for tackles between top tier and the next tier is greater than in safeties.

2. Michael Lewis can still play. Although he struggles in coverage, he plays much like how Dawk did in our system in his last few years here. He’s still decent at run support.

3. Frank Gore needs help at the line. In a handful of 49ers games I saw last year, Gore was constantly getting touched in the backfield. The only reason why he was able to crack a 4.9 average was because of those long runs that he was breaking off by himself. Having Davis will really help out with the run game.

by chrisbeomsuh on Apr 9, 2010 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions

If the draft breaks this way

Should the Eagles begin thinking about trading up for Thomas? Pittsburgh has to begin rebuilding that OL, but with Pouncey, Ducasse and Brown still on the board, they should be able to grab one of those three at #24. I know it can’t happen in this mock draft, I’m just playing armchair GM.

by Tracer Bullet on Apr 9, 2010 10:59 AM EDT reply actions