San Francisco 49ers: 2015 NFL Draft Grades – isportsweb.com (blog)
This past week the San Francisco 49ers finished signing their 2015 NFL Draft class. Initially, many fans felt that the 49ers didn’t address many of the team’s pressing needs, but with some time to digest the draft class, let’s take a look at this year’s picks.
Draft Class
Arik Armstead – the towering product out of Oregon showed flashes of greatness during his collegiate career. An imposing athlete, Armstead has the ability to dominate offensive lineman, but his production did not reflect his ability. The 49ers were reportedly going to go after Armstead, and they were able to trade back two picks, from 15th to 17th. Armstead is still a very raw football player, but the 49ers were able to fill an immediate need by picking him. Armstead will be a project, but with the right coaching and guidance he can become a dominating defensive lineman in the future.
Grade: B
Jaquiski Tartt – the 49ers used their first round pick last year on defensive back Jimmie Ward, so using their second round pick on another cornerback/safety hybrid seemed unusual. With many NFL defenses opting to employ a “big” nickel package (three safeties and two corners), Tartt looks like a solid pick. At his size, 6’1”, 200 lbs, Tartt could be used as a hybrid linebacker/safety to play the run against spread offenses and cover tight ends against spread offenses. Although the 49ers reached for Tartt in the second round, he could pan out to be a solid player in nickel packages.
Grade: C
Eli Harold – surprisingly, the product out of Virginia fell to the 49ers in the third round, after being projected to go in the second round. A talented athlete and pass rusher, Harold showed flashes of greatness at Virginia, but he was very inconsistent with his production. He will have to gain some weight in his lower body in order to compete with the size of NFL offensive lineman and tight ends. With a crowded outside linebacker corps, the 49ers took the best player available on their board, but Harold won’t crack the starting rotation anytime soon.
Grade: C+
DeAndre Smelter – the wide receiver out of Georgia Tech may be my favorite pick of the 49ers draft. As the only wide receiver taken by the 49ers in the draft, Smelter has great body control, huge hands, and catch radius as he rarely dropped anything thrown his way. Unfortunately Smelter suffered a torn ACL in December and the timetable for him this season is unknown. Smelter is still a very raw route runner because he wasn’t asked to run many different routes in Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense. Smelter has joined a list of injured players that Trent Baalke has drafted the past several years, and won’t be asked to contribute in his first year.
Grade: C+
In past years, the 49ers have often done a good job of getting good value with their draft picks. This year’s draft left a bad taste in many 49ers fans’ mouth because their needs at cornerback and wide receiver weren’t addressed. Overall, the San Francisco 49ers failed to draft very many players who will have an immediate impact, which contributed to their low draft grade. Although many of the 49ers draft picks are projects, expect two or three players to develop into quality players in the future.
Overall Grade: C+
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