What's up, faithful, Welcome to the forty nine Ers First and Time podcast presented by Cisco.
It's Draft week.
And today we've got forty nine Ers team reporter Lindsay Polares and special guest from our forty nine Ers En Espanol team, his Zadatta. Thanks guys for joining me today. How excited are you for this Thursday? I'm ready to get this going.
I feel like we've been talking about the draft for so long and now it's finally, finally the big week.
Yeah.
Yeah, you have a lot of weeks of just looking at MAC drafts week after week, but now is finally here, the week of the NFL Draft.
Absolutely.
I thought it would be fun, since it's now draft week, to start us off with a little ice breaker. At the forty nine Ers office in Santa Clara, there's a whiteboard right in the front right when all the employees come in. And today the question of the day was who is your all time favorite forty nine Ers draft pick? What do you guys think who is your favorite draft pick of all time?
And what are some reasons why I.
Love the story of Rock Party. I think you know, a long time from now, I think we're too close to when it happened in twenty twenty two, but being the final pick of the draft round seven to sixty two and then going on to lead an NFL franchise, playing a super Bowl in your second year as a starting QB. I just think that it like deserves some kind of movie. At some point, we'll see, you know, where Rock Party's career takes him. But I think we've
got the makings of something really cool. And I think I always look back on that and being part of the organization as it happened. So I think that's probably my favorite draft pick.
I love it, he's your favorite.
I'll go defense. I'll go with Patrick Willis back in two thousand and seven because I'm usually kind of like defensive kind of guy, Like I love defense, and obviously I love the way Patrick Willis play. And that was actually a pretty good first round for the forty nine ers because that same year in the first round they got Patrick Willis and later in that version they got Joe Stated, So it was actually pretty good.
Okay, this you staw my pick. It was also Patrick will I think also with him just recently entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so iconic and he was also number eleventh overall, so I think that has a good tone going into this year. But now with that being said, I feel like that ice breaker in of itself shows a great reason of the forty nine ers
success in the draft. Lindsay, you put together a pretty cool feature on how the team has been able to find draft gems throughout the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan era on forty nine ers dot Com. Tell us a little bit more about that and how it sets itself up for this year.
Yeah, and when we talked draft gems, I'm going to focus on or I did focus on basically third round and beyond. And that's not to say that the forty nine ers have not hit in rounds one and two. You know, you think of Nick Bosa and Brandon Ayu as first rounders that are still with the team, still contributing,
obviously Brandon Ayu coming back from an injury. But this team has been able to continue to perform year in and year out with a draft position that you know reflects those many NFC championship games and Super Bowl runs that this team has been on in recent years. But because they have had success in rounds three to seven, they've found all pro players and then also Pro Bowl caliber players, and they've been able to just continue to
revamp the talent. So, I mean, you guys are in twenty seventeen with George Kittle, DJ Jones, Fred Warner, Mitch w Weshanowski, Colton mckivitz, Juwan Jennings, Yamador Leonor Talanoa Hufunga, Elijah Mitchell. I mean, these are all guys that were
able to contribute. We're mid to late round guys and have earned league recognition and have been able to replenish this roster, and that I think has really been the big key for success, sustaining performing well year over year during this Kyle Shanahan, John lynch Era and then also finding talent later in the draft so that you can just keep the ball rolling.
Yeah, definitely. Well from there, let's open it up. The forty nine Ers currently own eleven picks this year, technically four picks in the top one hundred. With that number eleven pick, that's a.
Lot to work with.
What kind of players are the forty nine ers front office looking for? And from what you guys know, how does the forty nine Ers personnel, prioritize on specific players and what's really the mindset for this year.
Well, especially it's good that you mentioned that, right, they have those four picks on the top one hundred begins. Even gohn Lynchall remember saying that, So they have to take advantage of that. And I think they're gonna look
for players that fit the forty nine ers philosophy. For example on the defensive side, where they have a lot of a lot of holes with all the departners in free agency, it's good to have a guy like Rover Salad back because obviously he had Even Fred Warner mentioned that he had a lot of contributions to get to get Fred Warner in twenty eighteen in the third round.
So I think he's if they look for a linebacker, they're gonna look for that those type of linebackers that are a type of like safety hybrid type of linebacker like Fred Warner was. You know, he had that background be in a safety in in college, and those linebackers that play fast. And obviously if it's a defensive line, it's like they would have a coach like Chris Kusrek and with what always like what Robert Sally is emphasize
and all gas, no no breaks. So that type of defensive alignment with a very quick step who is very athletic. I think you look for those type of players in this year's draft.
I think also to one of the things that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan always reference, or they reference a good amount, is that twenty nineteen defensive line. Robert Sala had a huge hand in helping build that line, put them together. Now he's back in the building his second go around with the Niners, So definitely, as you said, Robert Sala likely going to have a decent amount of influence on the players coming in on the defensive side of the ball in twenty twenty five.
Okay, I'm going to throw something new in the mix. Now, what are the odds of a trade?
Why might it be smart to move up or back or even just stay put?
Well, moving up, it depends if they really like like a guy like maybe like Att Carter. Of course, go ahead and do it. But the only issue with with that, in my opinion, is that you're gonna have to give up like very valuable picks in the third round the fore round, like like Lindsay was explaining, like in the past, you've been able to get guys there like Fred Warner,
George Kittle's or yeah, those type of guys. So you have to be very very careful about that and and and think really truly if you're gonna move up, I think what makes more sense is moved back because yeah, because when you look at the draft, there's like obviously you don't know who. There's just always people saying, oh, this guy is gonna be a Hall of Famer, this guy is gonna be this reminds me of so and so, But you really never know, right sometimes they turn out
to be bossed, so you don't know. But basically what they look now on paper, like guys like Abdul Carter, they look pretty pretty good. Will Campbell, guys, guys in the top five. But then when you look like at the pick where the forty nine ers are sitting at right now, at pick eleven, like a Walter Nolan, those type of guys, maybe it's a more store. There's not like a huge gap between them. They're pretty good players.
So I think it makes sense if you move like maybe between fifteen and twenty pick to those places, and then you acquire a bunch of other picks in later round because a lot of esperts are saying that this draft has a lot of talent in the second, in the third, fourth, and fifth round, so I think it will make sense to move down a few a few spots.
Yeah, set itself up for the forty nine ers sort of mindset going into this draft, lindsay, is it more of a numbers game and is it better to have more draft capital rather than trading up?
I think it all depends. I think I'm of the thinking that moving back, if those are the options of moving up or moving back, probably makes more sense for all the reasons that Hazeus mentioned. But I do think it also depends on what's being offered and who gets missed in those first ten picks, Like is someone available that is somebody you absolutely need to go get right and then that there's no way of knowing right until
draft night. You see how the rest of the teams, you know, either don't, don't trade up, or trade back. It all depends on who they take as well. But yes, I think that what we've seen in the Lynch Shanahan era is that they do well with a lot of draft capital. I think given the needs that you have, especially on the defensive side of the ball. You want as many picks as possible because this wasn't the free
agency that I think a lot of people expected. So you want to bring in that new talent to fill the needs, and there are quite a few this year, and you need draft capital to do that. And also the Niners are looking you know, obviously compensatory picks are not calculated and won't be until next year, but they're looking like they're gonna have a decent amount of draft
capital in twenty two twenty six as well. So to have two years with a lot of draft picks, I think that's setting yourself up for success in future years.
Awesome. Yeah, well, Hazeus you said it earlier.
But there's plenty of mock drafts circulating online and on TV. But NFL dot Com writer Adam Rank published one with a twist. Instead of predicting what a team might do with their first draft pick, he suggested with the forty nine ers and what other teams should do with their first draft pick. In that list, he said that the forty nine ers should take Georgia linebacker Jaylon Walker, saying he could be a great addition to the defense's pass rush.
I want to offer up the same take to you guys, instead of predicting what the forty nine ers might do with pick eleven, what do you think they should do?
Maybe if I have to pick up player, like a specific player, the only thing. Maybe he's not going to be there at eleven, but but he has a higher chance than other guys in front of him. So I'm going to go with armand Mambo from Missouri. I think it's a really good.
I got to give you.
The draft arm Arma Membo on offense, and if they go defense, maybe a guy like like Walter Nolan from from all from Mississippi, from from all mess because I like his versatility. You can move him around like on the interior of the defensive line, on the on the outside, sort of like like Kansas City uses Chris Jones. I'm not saying he's going to be Chris Jones, but you know,
you get what I'm saying. He's able to move around the defensive line, and he's really good against the run and against the past, So I think he has a lot of potential.
Yeah, going almost at number eleven, You know that reminds me of yeah, Patrick willis number fifty.
I think I'm gonna go a little bit farther out. I think the Niners should definitely look to address the defensive line. And I think you really need that counterpart to Nick Bosa on the outside. You need an edge rusher. So I think that's like a need that needs to be addressed first. And I think you've got Robert Sala, You've got Chris Kaserk, Who're going to know who exactly what they want. So let's get defensive line talent in.
And then I kind of after seeing the success of Dominic Pooni in the third round last year, I think maybe you can get that O line starter or soon to be starter in those still top one hundred picks like early, you know, third round, third and fourth round.
All right, yeah, I love to see it.
Now to close this out, let's do a lightning round of this or that. I'm gonna throw a few options out on the table and you guys can make your pike.
We'll go down the line. But are you guys ready ready? Let's do it? All right? Hazy A c start first? Trade up or trade back? I think you know what you're gonna.
Say, trade back, right, back.
Yeah, I'll have fun. I'll say trade up. You never know what's gonna happen.
I'm gonna trade back, all right in Round one?
Offense or defense?
Offense the trenches, offensive line?
All right, I'll go defense, Lindsay, defense, d line. What's the bigger need? Corner or edge itch definitely.
Yeah. We already cover Ronardo grein one side with diamather Lein are on the other side, so you kind of just have to look for that nickel corner, which is also very important. But I think edge right now is a number one priority.
Yeah.
Just what Lindsay said that bookend to Nick Bosam going.
Edge, Yeah, I mean.
Yes, I love it. Now, what's more likely to happen? Drafting to receivers or drafting to offensive linemen?
Drafting too? Offensive line? Definitely, yeah. I think you just need like one more receiver.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm also going lineman. Lindsay also going lineman. I think we're all on the same page here. And if the draft was happening today in this room and we happen to be GM, you guys kind of know how that.
Would be all right?
Well, his zeus, thank you so much for joining us. Always a pleasure yes, it's definitely faithful. We'll be back later this week, so stay tuned for next episode, Subscribe on YouTube, Apple podcasts, and Spotify, turn on those notifications for any breaking news. Move the Chains episodes, and we'll see you next time.
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