OK so first things first it's really hard to find sexy pictures of hot chick's with 49ers gear for some reason (at least in the 30 seconds I just spent on google images), but I love Miranda Kerr and this picture of her was taken in San Francisco so I felt like that worked. Anyway back to football. The 49ers are the classic example of a team that fucked up the #1 overall pick (selecting Alex Smith instead of Aaron Rodgers, or anyone else for that matter in 2005) and then trying to develop him, giving him second, third, fourth chances to succeed when it was clear he wasn’t the answer. Six years, zero playoffs wins, and $49.5 million later, I think it’s safe to finally pronounce Smith a bust. Not just a bust, but perhaps the worst kind of bust. When the San Diego Charger selected Ryan Leaf #2 overall, at least it was apparent very early on that he was clearly, unequivocably, without question NOT the answer. Alex Smith showed frustrating signs of promise that made the niners keep him around, and keep him around, and not draft or trade for another viable option, therefore crippling their real chances of competing for a much longer stretch of time. Ryan Leaf busted quickly, Alex Smith took a long time to get warmed up, then made you feel sort of good for a while but not completely satisfied, then busted just when you thought it was going to get good. I can't decide if this analogy works from a gay man or woman's perspective or just doesn't work at all. Let's move on.
There’s a common thread here. Guess who replaced Ryan Leaf as the starting quarterback in San Diego? Jim Harbaugh in 1999, yes that Jim Harbaugh, the current coach of the Niners. Harbaugh leaves an incredibly successful career in the collegiate ranks at Standford to take over the Niners, and join his brother John as the first ever brother head coaching tandem in NFL history. It’s going to be interesting to watch how he puts his stamp on the team, and without free agency because of the CBA, his first chance to do that is the draft, and the #7 overall pick.
(INSERT OFFENSIVE NAME) #7 OVERALL MOCK DRAFT PICK:
VON MILLER - OLB, TEXAS A&M
Miller has been described as the Clay Matthews of this draft, and there are some similarities there, well I guess not the whole long blond hair/white supremacist thing. Miller was a disruptive force at Texas A&M in his senior season - he had 10.5 sacks on the year and an equally impressive 17.5 tackles for loss despite facing double teams pretty consistently throughout the year. He sheds blocks well, is powerful and fast, and has a nose for the ball. He was without question the best player on the field at the Senior Bowl, earning defensive MVP honors for the game. There have been whispers about him being snatched up as early as #2 by the Broncos, but I can’t see it - he's the classic "tweener" who falls a bit because he might not have a true position in the NFL, that tears shit up when he gets there. While the niners have other needs for sure, the fact that they haven’t had a player get double digit sacks since 2002 speaks pretty highly to the value of this pick of Miller falls to him here. This is an absolute slam dunk of a pick for the Niners if it works out this way and a guy they are going to build their defense around for years to come.
Entire Mock Draft:
- Carolina Panthers - Marcell Dareus
- Denver Broncos - Patrick Peterson
- Buffalo Bills - Cam Newton
- Cincinnati Bengals - A.J. Green
- Arizona Cardinals - Blaine Gabbert
- Cleveland Browns - Julio Jones
- San Francisco 49ers - Von Miller
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