2011 BGN Community Mock Draft Pick #7: San Francisco 49ers

[Note by JimmyK, 03/06/11 4:05 PM EST ] - Evidently, we'll just have to pretend the Browns went past the allotted time, so the Niners quickly ran up and submitted their card.  The Browns are now on the clock.

With the sixth pick in the 2011 BGN Mock Draft get jackson a better nickname selects...

Prince Amukamara: CB, Nebraska

Greetings from Switzerland.

Oh San Francisco. How long ago does the prediction that they be NFC west champion seem a now?

San Francisco is one of the more puzzling teams coming off this past season. A slew of experts predicted a division championship and a playoff birth. Mike Greenberg thought they were going to the superbowl. Needless to say, they were all dead wrong. Alex Smith gets a lot of the blame for this season but the Niners failures really belong to the coaches and management.  I think a lot of the blame falls upon the shoulders of a. Mike Singletary and b. Jed York. Singletary is a fiery guy to say the least. When Vernon Davis was flipping on the sideline and this team was out of control he was perfect for the job. They needed a strong-opinionated voice to bring the team together. But last season, Singletary's fiery speeches and mannerisms could not overcome his lack of game planning and team management skills. And in retrospect, he was not the right man for the job long term. He was a good stop gap, and could excite a team for a while, but he's not a superbowl caliber head coach. Simply put he didn't put his team in a position to win and he consistently undermined his quarterbacks by playing against his teams strengths. Ask Alex/Troy Smith.

Jed York also deserves a lot of the blame. He's the one who got caught up in Singletary's pressers rather than his abilities as a coach. I think honestly believe that had a lot to do with his lack of experience as an NFL GM. Now Singletary is gone and Jed is still working. Needless to say, I think he made the right move with hiring Jim Harbaugh. Like Singletary, he's a no-nonsense guy as well, but his football acumen and leadership are far superior to Mikes. As a former quarterback I believe Harbaugh's first line of business is to sign or draft a signal caller he can base his offense around. Personally I don't like this quarterback class as much as the past few years. I know everyones all over Cam Newton and Gabbert, but honestly no one really jumps out as the guy. (unless your name is Andrew Luck, but that's next year)

So with the seventh pick the San Francisco 49ers pick......

Prince Amukamara-CB-Nebraska

Prince is the second best corner in this draft following Peterson and he isn't far behind. Yes San Fran needs a qb, but this is a team that has gaping holes in multiple phases of the game, especially in the secondary. Shawnte Spencer and Nate Clements scare no one. Look at all the good teams in the NFL and behind that starting QB and great pass rush are at least one, if not two shutdown corners. In my opinion, they are just as valuable. San Francisco has none, and by having great coverage in the back end, San Fran also shores up it's pass rush through coverage. As much as I want to take a qb here, and I really do, there's no one who really stands out and shouts, "I'm your franchise." Aaron Rodgers did. Heck a lot of guys have. But in this draft class, eh, not so much. 

Prince on the other hand is everything you want in a corner. Elite speed with good ball skills to match. He can lock down one side of the field like the best in college. Whether that translates is yet to be seen. However, I believe Prince will make the jump just fine. I'd throw stats at you, but he doesn't have many. Why? Teams refused to throw in his direction. He is a true shutdown corner in the making. And as far as value, I don't see another player at 7 who both fills a need while deserving such a high pick. As far as the draft is concerned, I am a firm believer that you take the best player available. This is why I'm not jumping for Ryan Mallet or Jake Locker, even though QB is important too. More than likely one of those guys could slide to the second anyways, nor are they worth a top ten pick. (plus if Prince is a stud like I predict it's never to early to start the purple rain nickname rumours eh?)

In closing, San Fran sucked last season. They have bigger issues than just getting a franchise QB. In fact a good cover corner is almost as hard to lock down. This is just a piece to a larger puzzle, but Prince is as close to a sure thing as you can get in this years draft. And you can never, ever have enough good DB's. If you don't believe me ask Sean McDermott.