Marcus Lattimore was shocked the 49ers drafted him.

[zifnab32]

Baalke is a terrible talent evaluator

True, but that's independent of the Lattimore pick. He was estimated as a first round talent before he completely shredded his knee. An ACL tear would have been minor by comparison.

[youtube]7LHhL2e61JE[/youtube]

Baalke's mistake in this case wasn't necessarily talent evaluation, as we'll never know how good Lattimore could have been. Baalke's mistake was not vetting Lattimore's desire to play football well enough.

Unless he could desire himself a new knee his motivation isn't particularly relevant

 

[Sports Hernia]

Baalke is a terrible talent evaluator

I agree.

Though the a majority of niner fans here, won't admit that until he is either fired or quits.
There will be plenty of excuses and turd polishing until that day happens however, and even then bad luck will be blamed for a lot of it.

Just look how Harbaugh walked on water down there until he was gone, now a lot of them blame him for the downturn.

 

[Throwdown]

Honestly it was a worthy gamble to take. At the time the team had just come off a SB appearance and thought they could give Lattimore a year off to get healthy and go. Didn't pan out but they still have Hyde.

 

[RichNhansom]

Honestly it was a worthy gamble to take. At the time the team had just come off a SB appearance and thought they could give Lattimore a year off to get healthy and go. Didn't pan out but they still have Hyde.

I agree it wasn't a bad gamble. The only question for me was a 4th round vs later. Of course if he comes back from the injury and has a productive career then would look like a steel.

Baalke likes to take gambles. He seems to think that is the best way to get talent under value. He also took a chance on Hyde with questions about his speed and then a question about injury if he in fact did pull a hamstring running his 40. Hyde though was projected as a 2nd round RB so it's not like he uncovered something no one else was aware of.

I do think this year will make or break Baalke though. Much of what he has brought to the team will have to play even better to replace departed talent and that will be increasingly difficult without said departed talent on the field to make things easier.

Cox and Culiver looked pretty good last year but some key pieces that help make that happen are no longer there. The replacements (Brock and whoever) will have to be even better to look as good and that is a tough task. Aldon Smith is going to either prove his production over the years was him or Cowboy. Even Bowman will be asked to do more now and that is coming off a major injury and rust, and in a new scheme.

Imagine each player on the field has a circle around them. The better the player the bigger the circle. Now replace Cowboy, Willis, Davis, Gore, Crabtree, Skuta, Iupati, Cox, Culliver and Boreland (did I miss anyone?) and those circles become much smaller. When your talking about a disciplined gap control defense like the Niners have been, that becomes much more difficult to maintain with smaller circles.

This could be aided dramatically if Kaep improves and helps to keep the defense off the field and possibly even keeps them playing with a lead. I'm not sold on that happening though. It is easier to make the argument that the defense won't be as good and Kaep will be playing from behind where the pressure is increased and mistakes happen more frequently.

 

[Marvin49]

Honestly it was a worthy gamble to take. At the time the team had just come off a SB appearance and thought they could give Lattimore a year off to get healthy and go. Didn't pan out but they still have Hyde.

I agree it wasn't a bad gamble. The only question for me was a 4th round vs later. Of course if he comes back from the injury and has a productive career then would look like a steel.

Baalke likes to take gambles. He seems to think that is the best way to get talent under value. He also took a chance on Hyde with questions about his speed and then a question about injury if he in fact did pull a hamstring running his 40. Hyde though was projected as a 2nd round RB so it's not like he uncovered something no one else was aware of.

I do think this year will make or break Baalke though. Much of what he has brought to the team will have to play even better to replace departed talent and that will be increasingly difficult without said departed talent on the field to make things easier.

Cox and Culiver looked pretty good last year but some key pieces that help make that happen are no longer there. The replacements (Brock and whoever) will have to be even better to look as good and that is a tough task. Aldon Smith is going to either prove his production over the years was him or Cowboy. Even Bowman will be asked to do more now and that is coming off a major injury and rust, and in a new scheme.

Imagine each player on the field has a circle around them. The better the player the bigger the circle. Now replace Cowboy, Willis, Davis, Gore, Crabtree, Skuta, Iupati, Cox, Culliver and Boreland (did I miss anyone?) and those circles become much smaller. When your talking about a disciplined gap control defense like the Niners have been, that becomes much more difficult to maintain with smaller circles.

This could be aided dramatically if Kaep improves and helps to keep the defense off the field and possibly even keeps them playing with a lead. I'm not sold on that happening though. It is easier to make the argument that the defense won't be as good and Kaep will be playing from behind where the pressure is increased and mistakes happen more frequently.

I'd say pretty much all of that is fair.

Criticisms of Baalke to me though are kinda unfair because they don't take into account who is already on the team nor the osition the team was in to make those picks...IE not many available roster spots but 13 picks. That put them into a position to redshirt players and stash them on injury lists instead of drafting players that may or may not make the team.

They've been stockpiling those types of players behind vets who were still playing well (Gore, Willis, Justin Smith) and high performing players they didn't intend to break the bank to resign (Iupati, and Culliver/Crabtree to lesser extent). They did the same at WR this year to eventually replace Boldin (Smelter).

This isn't suggesting that all those guys are just as good or better...only that a lot of the players Baalke has selected haven't had their opportunity yet by design and we are about to see if he knew what he was doing all along. They've been bracing for the loss of a lot of those guys and now the work they've been doing over the last few years gets tested.

What doesn't seem to get much pub tho is how much success he's had with underpriced Free Agents and trades. Whitner, Rogers, Boldin...even some of the guys you listed in Skuta and Cox. He's got a few more of those this year in Wright and Simpson. Should be interesting.

I've maintained for a long time that the 49ers and Seattle were on similar trajectories...but the Niners are a few year ahead and a few years older. Niners have already seen the salary cap crunch and are seeing aged players retire (and some non-aged). Seattle hasn't seen a bunch of starters drafted the past few years, but saying that would make them bad talent evaluators is disingenuous. Better to say those draft classes are largely untested because the players ahead of them are so damn good.

For example...Christine Michael. How good would he be if Lynch weren't there? Who know. We won't know till he gets a shot. Him not getting that shot doesn't mean he sucks. It means Lynch is damn good.

 

[Popeyejones]

Agreed with all that, although I don't think Christine Michael is a great example, as he's not stuck behind Lynch, he's stuck behind Turbin and not even suiting up half the time.

He may turn it around obviously, but so far his career trajectory is following LaMichael James', rather than just being stuck behind a bellcow.

 

[RichNhansom]

Agreed with all that, although I don't think Christine Michael is a great example, as he's not stuck behind Lynch, he's stuck behind Turbin and not even suiting up half the time.

He may turn it around obviously, but so far his career trajectory is following LaMichael James', rather than just being stuck behind a bellcow.

I'll second this. Agree with pretty much everything you said but Michael seems to be in his own way, at least on this team. I think he has the talent but lacks the willingness to buy in. I suspect he will be cut before the 53 man roster this year or maybe traded for a late round pick somewhere and will very possibly become a very good back but it will end up being on a team that show cases talent over scheme and flashes for fantasy fans more than actual team fans.

 

[Marvin49]

Agreed with all that, although I don't think Christine Michael is a great example, as he's not stuck behind Lynch, he's stuck behind Turbin and not even suiting up half the time.

He may turn it around obviously, but so far his career trajectory is following LaMichael James', rather than just being stuck behind a bellcow.

I'll second this. Agree with pretty much everything you said but Michael seems to be in his own way, at least on this team. I think he has the talent but lacks the willingness to buy in. I suspect he will be cut before the 53 man roster this year or maybe traded for a late round pick somewhere and will very possibly become a very good back but it will end up being on a team that show cases talent over scheme and flashes for fantasy fans more than actual team fans.

No worries. I used him because for awhile there he was all the rage here on .net. I think you get my point tho. Tough to get snaps when you're behind the Bellcow and the Cowboy.

 

[rideaducati]

Criticisms of Baalke to me though are kinda unfair because they don't take into account who is already on the team nor the osition the team was in to make those picks...IE not many available roster spots but 13 picks. That put them into a position to redshirt players and stash them on injury lists instead of drafting players that may or may not make the team.

They've been stockpiling those types of players behind vets who were still playing well (Gore, Willis, Justin Smith) and high performing players they didn't intend to break the bank to resign (Iupati, and Culliver/Crabtree to lesser extent). They did the same at WR this year to eventually replace Boldin (Smelter).

This isn't suggesting that all those guys are just as good or better...only that a lot of the players Baalke has selected haven't had their opportunity yet by design and we are about to see if he knew what he was doing all along. They've been bracing for the loss of a lot of those guys and now the work they've been doing over the last few years gets tested.

What doesn't seem to get much pub tho is how much success he's had with underpriced Free Agents and trades. Whitner, Rogers, Boldin...even some of the guys you listed in Skuta and Cox. He's got a few more of those this year in Wright and Simpson. Should be interesting.

I've maintained for a long time that the 49ers and Seattle were on similar trajectories...but the Niners are a few year ahead and a few years older. Niners have already seen the salary cap crunch and are seeing aged players retire (and some non-aged). Seattle hasn't seen a bunch of starters drafted the past few years, but saying that would make them bad talent evaluators is disingenuous. Better to say those draft classes are largely untested because the players ahead of them are so damn good.

For example...Christine Michael. How good would he be if Lynch weren't there? Who know. We won't know till he gets a shot. Him not getting that shot doesn't mean he sucks. It means Lynch is damn good.

The difference in trajectories is vast. The trajectory the Seahawks took was like climbing a cliff after base jumping from the top of that cliff. The niners was a 2% grade for the most part with a 5% grade at the very top that got them to "almost" the same height. The niners leisurely stroll up the hill took almost a decade while the Seahawks went from the top to the bottom and back to the top in half the time.

I don't think the Seahawks will drop off nearly as fast as the niners did either. The key players the Seahawks have have already won, are still young AND signed for a few more years. The niners didn't get to the top of the division until most of their good players were pushing 30 years of age.

If there is a trajectory similarity between the teams, which I don't think exists, it would be the niners this year are where the Seahawks were for Mora's only season.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

^^^It makes more sense if you consider the context, which is provided in the actual article:

Trent Baalke considered Marcus from a distance. Like representatives from most teams, the 49ers GM met with him at that year’s combine, but San Francisco was not one of the clubs that flew Marcus into their facilities for a more thorough evaluation. What the 49ers had, however, were the assets to afford a gamble.

Holding 13 picks over the draft’s seven rounds, Baalke knew he had room to experiment. There was little chance each new player would make San Francisco’s roster, anyway, so the GM earmarked three or four picks for redshirting — selections to be used on players that would sit out the entire upcoming season under the promise of future payoff. A once-dynamic running back from South Carolina was worth taking a chance on.

As able-bodied backs flew off the board, Marcus watched as the millions in guaranteed money he would have earned as a top pick sailed away. Mercifully, shortly before selection No. 131 in the fourth round was announced, Marcus’s phone rang as he dined in an Atlanta restaurant.

It was the 49ers. The pick was a relief to everyone, even ESPN’s television commentators, who erupted with “There he is!” as if Marcus was the very selection many were waiting on. Baalke knew right away the road that lay ahead. “The odds were not in our favor, or at best they were 50/50,” he says now of Marcus’ chances to turn a profit in the NFL. But the GM leaned on what he had uncovered about Marcus’ character and disposition in researching the prospect, about his work ethic, about how his commitment to the game was always accompanied by a smile. “If anyone was going to get back,” he says, “it was going to be a young man like that.”

Marcus agreed to a modest contract with the 49ers, with just more than $300,000 guaranteed to him.

FWIW I always had my doubts about Lattimore being able to make it back (Marvin did too, fwiw), but never disagreed (and will never disagree) with the end of the 4th and 5th rounds being right around where you want to be for high risk/high reward gambles. He made the same high risk/reward gamble with Aaron Lynch ten picks farther back last year, and did the exact same thing at the very end of the 4th with DeAndre Smelter this year. It's a good strategy at a good place in the draft for that strategy, and you're not expecting to hit on it all or even most of the time.

EDIT: Also worth saying that it's this same logic which makes me hate the Arik Armstead pick, as he's a high risk/high reward gamble too. I don't like the strategy of making those in the first three rounds, TBH.

Don't blame you, just remember we do something quite similar but with a criteria so it's easier to take. Bruce Irvin anyone? He's very good but first round good? That's the question and the Seahawks seem to agree with me.

 

[Marvin49]

Criticisms of Baalke to me though are kinda unfair because they don't take into account who is already on the team nor the osition the team was in to make those picks...IE not many available roster spots but 13 picks. That put them into a position to redshirt players and stash them on injury lists instead of drafting players that may or may not make the team.

They've been stockpiling those types of players behind vets who were still playing well (Gore, Willis, Justin Smith) and high performing players they didn't intend to break the bank to resign (Iupati, and Culliver/Crabtree to lesser extent). They did the same at WR this year to eventually replace Boldin (Smelter).

This isn't suggesting that all those guys are just as good or better...only that a lot of the players Baalke has selected haven't had their opportunity yet by design and we are about to see if he knew what he was doing all along. They've been bracing for the loss of a lot of those guys and now the work they've been doing over the last few years gets tested.

What doesn't seem to get much pub tho is how much success he's had with underpriced Free Agents and trades. Whitner, Rogers, Boldin...even some of the guys you listed in Skuta and Cox. He's got a few more of those this year in Wright and Simpson. Should be interesting.

I've maintained for a long time that the 49ers and Seattle were on similar trajectories...but the Niners are a few year ahead and a few years older. Niners have already seen the salary cap crunch and are seeing aged players retire (and some non-aged). Seattle hasn't seen a bunch of starters drafted the past few years, but saying that would make them bad talent evaluators is disingenuous. Better to say those draft classes are largely untested because the players ahead of them are so damn good.

For example...Christine Michael. How good would he be if Lynch weren't there? Who know. We won't know till he gets a shot. Him not getting that shot doesn't mean he sucks. It means Lynch is damn good.

The difference in trajectories is vast. The trajectory the Seahawks took was like climbing a cliff after base jumping from the top of that cliff. The niners was a 2% grade for the most part with a 5% grade at the very top that got them to "almost" the same height. The niners leisurely stroll up the hill took almost a decade while the Seahawks went from the top to the bottom and back to the top in half the time.

I don't think the Seahawks will drop off nearly as fast as the niners did either. The key players the Seahawks have have already won, are still young AND signed for a few more years. The niners didn't get to the top of the division until most of their good players were pushing 30 years of age.

If there is a trajectory similarity between the teams, which I don't think exists, it would be the niners this year are where the Seahawks were for Mora's only season.

Kinda walked into that one. My bad. I didn't mean to imply the Seahawks were suddenly going to be an 8-8 team, lose their HC and have mass retirements.

I meant more that they were built similarly but the Niner players were further along and closer to retirement and free agency. IE, the Niners are already feeling the sting of age and FA. The Seahawks will too, but maybe not just yet. We'll see how good the player they've been selecting once they start losing guys.

 

[hawknation2015]

Kinda walked into that one. My bad. I didn't mean to imply the Seahawks were suddenly going to be an 8-8 team, lose their HC and have mass retirements.

I meant more that they were built similarly but the Niner players were further along and closer to retirement and free agency. IE, the Niners are already feeling the sting of age and FA. The Seahawks will too, but maybe not just yet. We'll see how good the player they've been selecting once they start losing guys.

Seahawks are still one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Most of the leaders of this team (Thomas, Sherman, Chancellor, Wagner, Wilson, etc.) are all 27 years old or under.

The differences between the two franchises could not be more stark . . . an ownership among the best in the league that is committed to paying a coach top money vs. Jed York, a whiny puke who has earned nothing in life and fired one of the winningest coaches in the league over the last four years, refused to take responsibility for it by hiding behind feigned "mutuality" of the decision, and then hired bozo the clown, who has no coaching philosophy and has never even been a coordinator before.

In addition, we give our team one of best home-field advantages in sports, while the Whiners give their team a virtual mausoleum.

Despite having all that Pro Bowl talent, accumulated over years of mediocrity, the 49ers have been to the playoffs just three times in 12 years, post-realignment. All three years, of course, under Harbaugh. The Seahawks, bolstered by their elite ownership, have been the exact opposite of the 49ers with nine playoff appearances in that time, including three Super Bowls. After this season, make that 10/13 playoff appearances for the Seahawks and 3/13 for the Whiners.

Marvin, hang on to those VHS tapes from 21 years ago, because you're going to need them to get through another decade of York-fueled mediocrity.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Criticisms of Baalke to me though are kinda unfair because they don't take into account who is already on the team nor the osition the team was in to make those picks...IE not many available roster spots but 13 picks. That put them into a position to redshirt players and stash them on injury lists instead of drafting players that may or may not make the team.

They've been stockpiling those types of players behind vets who were still playing well (Gore, Willis, Justin Smith) and high performing players they didn't intend to break the bank to resign (Iupati, and Culliver/Crabtree to lesser extent). They did the same at WR this year to eventually replace Boldin (Smelter).

This isn't suggesting that all those guys are just as good or better...only that a lot of the players Baalke has selected haven't had their opportunity yet by design and we are about to see if he knew what he was doing all along. They've been bracing for the loss of a lot of those guys and now the work they've been doing over the last few years gets tested.

What doesn't seem to get much pub tho is how much success he's had with underpriced Free Agents and trades. Whitner, Rogers, Boldin...even some of the guys you listed in Skuta and Cox. He's got a few more of those this year in Wright and Simpson. Should be interesting.

I've maintained for a long time that the 49ers and Seattle were on similar trajectories...but the Niners are a few year ahead and a few years older. Niners have already seen the salary cap crunch and are seeing aged players retire (and some non-aged). Seattle hasn't seen a bunch of starters drafted the past few years, but saying that would make them bad talent evaluators is disingenuous. Better to say those draft classes are largely untested because the players ahead of them are so damn good.

For example...Christine Michael. How good would he be if Lynch weren't there? Who know. We won't know till he gets a shot. Him not getting that shot doesn't mean he sucks. It means Lynch is damn good.

The difference in trajectories is vast. The trajectory the Seahawks took was like climbing a cliff after base jumping from the top of that cliff. The niners was a 2% grade for the most part with a 5% grade at the very top that got them to "almost" the same height. The niners leisurely stroll up the hill took almost a decade while the Seahawks went from the top to the bottom and back to the top in half the time.

I don't think the Seahawks will drop off nearly as fast as the niners did either. The key players the Seahawks have have already won, are still young AND signed for a few more years. The niners didn't get to the top of the division until most of their good players were pushing 30 years of age.

If there is a trajectory similarity between the teams, which I don't think exists, it would be the niners this year are where the Seahawks were for Mora's only season.

Excellent points. Marvin's little philosophy is a popular one amongst niner trolls everywhere. According to the clowns on the DenialZone a couple of years ago the Hawks were have supposed to crashed and burned by now due to salary cap implications, and there would be no way they would be able to aquire mega talents (see Jimmy Graham) and still be a championship contending team at this point in time.

They seem to forget the cap goes UP every year, and players do retire, get traded etc etc.
I'm not saying there won't be cap casualties in the future, as we know Irvin is gone at the end of the year, I just think they won't be no where near as severe or devastating as niner trolls hope they will be.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Kinda walked into that one. My bad. I didn't mean to imply the Seahawks were suddenly going to be an 8-8 team, lose their HC and have mass retirements.

I meant more that they were built similarly but the Niner players were further along and closer to retirement and free agency. IE, the Niners are already feeling the sting of age and FA. The Seahawks will too, but maybe not just yet. We'll see how good the player they've been selecting once they start losing guys.

Seahawks are still one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Most of the leaders of this team (Thomas, Sherman, Chancellor, Wagner, Wilson, etc.) are all 27 years old or under.

The differences between the two franchises could not be more stark . . . an ownership among the best in the league that is committed to paying a coach top money vs. Jed York, a whiny puke who has earned nothing in life and fired one of the winningest coaches in the league over the last four years, refused to take responsibility for it by hiding behind feigned "mutuality" of the decision, and then hired bozo the clown, who has no coaching philosophy and has never even been a coordinator before.

In addition, we give our team one of best home-field advantages in sports, while the Whiners give their team a virtual mausoleum.

Despite having all that Pro Bowl talent, accumulated over years of mediocrity, the 49ers have been to the playoffs just three times in 12 years, post-realignment. All three years, of course, under Harbaugh. The Seahawks, bolstered by their elite ownership, have been the exact opposite of the 49ers with nine playoff appearances in that time, including three Super Bowls. After this season, make that 10/13 playoff appearances for the Seahawks and 3/13 for the Whiners.

Marvin, hang on to those VHS tapes from 21 years ago, because you're going to need them to get through another decade of York-fueled mediocrity.

LOL.... Damn!!!! That's some OWNAGE right there! :th2thumbs:

 

[rideaducati]

Criticisms of Baalke to me though are kinda unfair because they don't take into account who is already on the team nor the osition the team was in to make those picks...IE not many available roster spots but 13 picks. That put them into a position to redshirt players and stash them on injury lists instead of drafting players that may or may not make the team.

They've been stockpiling those types of players behind vets who were still playing well (Gore, Willis, Justin Smith) and high performing players they didn't intend to break the bank to resign (Iupati, and Culliver/Crabtree to lesser extent). They did the same at WR this year to eventually replace Boldin (Smelter).

This isn't suggesting that all those guys are just as good or better...only that a lot of the players Baalke has selected haven't had their opportunity yet by design and we are about to see if he knew what he was doing all along. They've been bracing for the loss of a lot of those guys and now the work they've been doing over the last few years gets tested.

What doesn't seem to get much pub tho is how much success he's had with underpriced Free Agents and trades. Whitner, Rogers, Boldin...even some of the guys you listed in Skuta and Cox. He's got a few more of those this year in Wright and Simpson. Should be interesting.

I've maintained for a long time that the 49ers and Seattle were on similar trajectories...but the Niners are a few year ahead and a few years older. Niners have already seen the salary cap crunch and are seeing aged players retire (and some non-aged). Seattle hasn't seen a bunch of starters drafted the past few years, but saying that would make them bad talent evaluators is disingenuous. Better to say those draft classes are largely untested because the players ahead of them are so damn good.

For example...Christine Michael. How good would he be if Lynch weren't there? Who know. We won't know till he gets a shot. Him not getting that shot doesn't mean he sucks. It means Lynch is damn good.

The difference in trajectories is vast. The trajectory the Seahawks took was like climbing a cliff after base jumping from the top of that cliff. The niners was a 2% grade for the most part with a 5% grade at the very top that got them to "almost" the same height. The niners leisurely stroll up the hill took almost a decade while the Seahawks went from the top to the bottom and back to the top in half the time.

I don't think the Seahawks will drop off nearly as fast as the niners did either. The key players the Seahawks have have already won, are still young AND signed for a few more years. The niners didn't get to the top of the division until most of their good players were pushing 30 years of age.

If there is a trajectory similarity between the teams, which I don't think exists, it would be the niners this year are where the Seahawks were for Mora's only season.

Kinda walked into that one. My bad. I didn't mean to imply the Seahawks were suddenly going to be an 8-8 team, lose their HC and have mass retirements.

I meant more that they were built similarly but the Niner players were further along and closer to retirement and free agency. IE, the Niners are already feeling the sting of age and FA. The Seahawks will too, but maybe not just yet. We'll see how good the player they've been selecting once they start losing guys.

I think the Seahawk front office has a much better plan already in place for dealing with "the sting of age and FA". They have already let good players go without a drop off because there was a plan in place. They have kept the players they needed to keep and will do so until there is a viable replacement because there is a plan in place. The Seahawks draft a certain type of player and rely on a stable coaching environment to get the most out of those players. It works because there is a proven formula that has been perfected over the years by Pete Carroll.

There is also a great connection between owner/GM/coach in Seattle that I don't think exists in Santa Clara. The owner in Seattle lets the football people deal with everything football related. The GM and coach in Seattle are on the same page and they both do everything they can to make the other's job easier because they both believe in the same plan.

With new coaches and GMs every three or four years, how can there be a true plan in place in Santa Clara, let alone being able to enact any sort of plan? How well will the new coach in Santa Clara be able to do when he wasn't even allowed to pick his own coaching staff? My guess is that Baalke wants to be able to hire and fire any and every coach as he sees fit and wasn't allowed to do so with Harbaugh. I've seen how these scenarios end and I don't remember any of them ending well since the salary cap was implemented.

Similarities, trajectories, whatever... I see little to nothing that the Seahawks and the niners have in common.

 

[Marvin49]

Wow...I seem to have touched a nerve there with that similar trajectories line.

No worries. We'll see.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Wow...I seem to have touched a nerve there with that similar trajectories line.

No worries. We'll see.

Not really "touching a nerve", just a real piss poor comparison, but then again you knew that right? Not that you'll ever admit it though..........

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I thought it was a good risk/reward pick. Virtually identical to our taking Walter Thurmond in 2010.

By round 4, you're already selecting potential. Whether it's injury recovery or lack of skill issues. The end result is largely the same. Honestly, I was pulling for the guy even despite being a niner. Seemed SF treated him well regardless.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

I thought it was a good risk/reward pick. Virtually identical to our taking Walter Thurmond in 2010.

By round 4, you're already selecting potential. Whether it's injury recovery or lack of skill issues. The end result is largely the same. Honestly, I was pulling for the guy even despite being a niner. Seemed SF treated him well regardless.

Yeah, Jesse Williams comes to mind also. Everyone knew he was a 1st or 2nd round talent with terrible knees. Seahawks could afford to roll the dice in round 5. No big whoop.

 

[Popeyejones]

^^^^ Good comparison.

Williams was a good pick too IMO. I really liked that selection when the Hawks made it. With talents like Williams and Lattimore you don't even need those picks to pan out 1/4 of the time to be worth it, either. Most teams are looking for backups and ST contributors by that point. Dice rolls on difference makers >>>>>> IMO.