A Closer Look At the Newest 49ers

As coaches and GMs love to say on cutdown day, it's a numbers game. There are only 53 roster spots available per team at the start of the regular season. The 49ers added six draft picks. Some draftees - Kentwan Balmer, Chilo Rachal, Reggie Smith and Cody Wallace - are virtually assured roster spots. Josh Morgan and Larry Grant have work to do to stick on the final roster.
Here is the breakdown of what each new addition means to the team:

Defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer
What it means for him: Chosen in the first round, Balmer must make an immediate contribution. The 49ers are keeping an open mind. They plan to use him at nose tackle and left end before settling on a spot for him. Either way, he figures to get a lot of playing time as a rookie.
What it means for others: Aubrayo Franklin enters the second year of a three-year, $6.1 million contract. Isaac Sopoaga, who was Franklin's back up last season, recently signed a five-year, $20 million deal. Sopoaga will make twice as much as Franklin, which might be a clue which player's starting job is the most tenuous. The plan is to move Sopoaga to left end. Justin Smith, Sopoaga, Balmer, Franklin, Ronald Fields and Ray McDonald figure to be on the team. Guys such as Joe Cohen, Atiyyah Ellison and Melvin Oliver have to battle to stick around.

Guard Chilo Rachal
What it means for him: When minicamp opens on Friday, Tony Wragge will line up at right guard with the first-team offense. But the door will be open in training camp for Rachal (second-round pick) to get in there. If he shows he can handle the move up to the NFL, Rachal has a good chance to be an opening-week starter.
What it means for others: David Baas will miss a portion of training camp. It's a lot like his rookie season. He was projected as a starter as a rookie, but a hamstring injury kept him sidelined most of camp. He could not recover from missing so much time in training camp. Baas did not move into the starting lineup until injuries forced the issue late his rookie season. Again, he was scheduled to be a starter. Now, he has a long road in front of him to get back on the field after sustaining a torn pectoral muscle last week. After being cleared, he still has to regain his upper-body strength and win his way back into the starting lineup.

Defensive back Reggie Smith
What it means for him: Some view the third-round pick as a Cover 2 corrner. Others see him as a safety. The 49ers envision Smith as a physical, in-your-face cornerback. Because Nate Clements takes the opponents' best receiver and does not get much help, the 49ers want the corner on the other side to be physical at the line of scrimmage. The other corner generally has safety help over the top. If, over a period of time, Smith proves he can't cover NFL receivers, the 49ers have the option to move him to free safety.
What it means for others: Walt Harris is a 13-year vet who eventually must be replaced. The 49ers want to make sure they have some candidates ready to take over. Shawntae Spencer signed a reasonable contract extension in 2006 and has a deal in place through 2012. He has experienced difficulty staying healthy. When healthy, Spencer has not been the most consistent performer, either. Tarell Brown, whom many believed was a second-round value found in the fifth round, is not fully recovered from a partially torn ACL from the final game of the season. The injury did not require surgery. The club expects him to be ready for the start of training camp. After 2005, when the 49ers were picking up free-agent corners off the street and sticking them in the starting lineup, the club has at least built some depth at this spot. A decent player will probably be let go after camp. Marcus Hudson and Donald Strickland, along with Smith, Brown and Spencer will duke it out for backup spots.

Center Cody Wallace
What it means for him: The fourth-round selection comes to the 49ers as a backup to Eric Heitmann. It would be very difficult for a rookie to win a starting job at center over a guy who has been around like Heitmann. So much of the center position is having a grasp for the team's protections and a concept of what the defense is doing.
What it means for others: Heitmann is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season. Perhaps, they're lining up their contingency plan. Or, Nolan mentioned that Heitmann is capable of moving to guard, too. With Wallace on the team, obviously the 49ers are not projecting Baas as the next center. This is a big season for Baas, who is signed through 2009. If he has yet to establish himself as a starter, the club might decide he does not fit into their future plans. The 49ers want Adam Snyder to play guard, but I can't help but think the 49ers have the makings of a good long-term offensive line with Joe Staley and Snyder at the tackles, Baas and Rachal at the guards and Wallace at center.

Receiver Josh Morgan
What it means for him: There is not a bona fide No. 1 receiver on the team, so the door is wide open for this sixth-rounder to prove he can be of value to the 49ers. Playing time will be difficult to find as a rookie. He'll have to adjust to Mike Martz's offense and Jerry Sullivan's detailed coaching. He will have to battle through the frustration of learning things that are completely new to him. But Morgan definitely has a chance to stick around. If he takes advantage of some chances, he could work into a significant role. He better come to training camp in great shape. Rookies have never worked like they will during their first NFL training camp. And rookie receivers, in particular, are susceptible to leg injuries.
What it means for others: Jason Hill and Ashley Lelie must get off to a great starts to work their way into positions to get more practice reps. Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson and Arnaz Battle don't seem to be going anywhere. Morgan, conceivably, could push Hill or Lelie back a notch.

Linebacker Larry Grant
What it means for him: The good news for this seventh-round pick is that he projects at a position where the starting job is up for grabs. He'll have an opportunity to compete for the starting "ted' linebacker job. Although it's unlikely he'll win the starting job, Grant can still make a major impact on special teams as a rookie. But the 49ers might keep only four inside linebackers, which means that while he has an outside chance to win a starting job, he is also fighting for a roster spot.
What it means for others: If the 49ers had grabbed Curtis Lofton in the first round, Dontarrious Thomas would have been replaced as a starter before ever starting a game. Grant's acquisition appears to mean that Brandon Moore is, again, pushed to the background. Nolan said Thomas, Jeff Ulbrich and Grant would line up and compete at the "ted," while Brandon Moore will be Patrick Willis' backup at the "mike." The "ted" is the strong inside linebacker position. The team is obviously not convinced Moore has the ability to get off blocks effectively enough to play on the strong side. The door remains open for the 49ers to pursue veteran Takeo Spikes, who is returning from season-ending surgery on his rotator cuff. The Eagles released him (failed physical) earlier this offseason. Because Spikes would play the strong inside position, he would be taking on more blockers, thus exposing himself to more collisions.
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Nolan's Final Draft: A Master Piece of Wasted Opportunities

The 49ers totally screwed the pooch again on the most crucial day of Mike Nolan and Scot McCloughan's careers respectively. Draft day. If Nolan doesn't get the Niners off to a good start this season, he will undoubtedly be given his pink slip and McCloughan, Nolan's former assistant and now his "boss", (yeah, right, you really laid down the law, Dr. York) will be shown the door with him....and they did nothing this weekend to help keep that from being a reality.

Start with needs -- a wide receiver would be nice. With apologies to Arnaz Battle, Jason Hill, newcomers Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce, or any wide receiver. "Any" were there. Better than any, in fact. Devin Thomas was there for the picking and he was a first-round pick until pickers began plucking. So was James Hardy. And what about DeSean Jackson? Sorry. Niners pass, even though coach Mike Nolan said it: We need offense.

What else? Another linebacker -- one of those hybrids known as a "rushbacker" would be just the ticket. Or a versatile inside/outside linebacker who can move around and fill spots next time Manny Lawson blows out a knee.

This isn't their fault. They actually had one in mind and not the one I figured they'd look at in Quentin Groves but rather -- Penn State's Dan Connor, who went to Carolina one pick before the 49ers could nab him in the 3rd round, if you're wondering. Instead, they had their eye on Oklahoma's blockier, slower version of Connor, Curtis Lofton. They figured they'd wait until Round 2 to take care of the position. Two picks before their Round 2 shot came up, the Falcons stole him out from under their noses. So they took guard Chilo Rachal, another reasonable need given the injury status of David Baas and the who-knows-where-he-even-is status of Larry Allen, the free-est of free agents.

But what the Niners really needed was a defensive lineman. One of those nice pass-rushing kinds of guys , to play opposite Justin Smith, who will stop at nothing until he's shaken hands with a quarterback and told him how much his stuff stinks.

Instead, they took Balmer. Defensive tackle who will be asked to replace Bryant Young (like anybody could do that) at left end or maybe play a little nosetackle in the 3-4 ... where Isaac Sopoaga would seem to be in a blood feud with Aubrayo Franklin to start. Only Sopoaga is now being billed as a left end. It boggles the mind. Balmer presumably is a burr under the disappointing Franklin's saddle and asked to play . . . At end. At tackle. At discombobulation? Oh, and did I mention this? If it's end, as a sack guy Balmer collected exactly 3.5 last year when he had his one really superior year at North Carolina. That to go along with $45 million dollar man Justin Smith's whopping 2 sacks last year for the Bengals.

Later on, Reggie Smith, in the 3rd from Oklahoma is a solid project corner. Center Cody Wallace in the 4th was a good choice, but that's about it. Josh Morgan, WR from Virginia Tech, the only offensive skill player taken, has off field issues that smell like Thomas Clayton Part II. Nolan finished off with what I say will be his final 49er draft choice by selecting......wait for it.....oh shucks.....another Linebacker!!!!, Larry Grant from Ohio St. in the 7th, to add to the already deepest position on the team.

In summation, they did little to desuade me from expecting the worst. This final act for Nolan, Alex Smith and "GM" Scot McCloughan is in the hands largely of the self-proclaimed "genius" offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz. While Nolan keeps focusing on defense, with the worst offense in the league, Martz will have to make chicken salad out of chicken s@#t to give them any hope of .500. Defense is great Coach Nolan, but you have to score to win.

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Draft Day 1 Recap

The 49ers went for might instead of flight on the first day of the NFL draft, opting for linemen on both sides of the ball instead of a wide receiver to run down the field and catch it. With their first pick in the draft, 29th overall, the 49ers tabbed Kentwan Balmer, a versatile 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive lineman from North Carolina who can play either nose tackle or end. The club seems more inclined to play Balmer at nose tackle but he could also end up replacing the retired Bryant Young at left end.

It was an ecstatic Balmer who spoke to reporters Saturday in a conference call as he mentioned how his father, Charles Balmer, was an avid 49ers fan in the 1990s. No mention if dad is still as enthused now that the team is struggling.Ten picks later, at the eighth spot in the second round, San Francisco went for something of a surprise in guard Chilo Rachal of USC, who was picked higher than most people expected, including the player himself.Rachal, 6-4 and 319 pounds, is expected to compete for a job and could end up taking over for Larry Allen at left guard.Balmer's brawny presence on the defensive line, especially at nose tackle, will occupy blockers and allow Pro Bowl inside linebacker Patrick Willis, that tackling machine, to get to the ballcarrier. Rachal beefs up an offensive line that was responsible for 55 sacks in 2007, including the one that led to quarterback Alex Smith's shoulder injury and a ruined season.

The 49ers go into the second day of the draft with four picks, one each in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh rounds. With his first two picks, Nolan also considered Clemson defensive end Phillip Merling and Oklahoma inside linebacker Curtis Lofton.In going for linemen on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Nolan passed up an opportunity to select one of several wide receivers available at 29 and 39, in particular DeSean Jackson of Cal, Malcolm Kelly of Oklahoma, James Hardy of Indiana and Limas Sweed of Texas.

The coach said it's possible the 49ers will pick a wide receiver with one of today's picks but the fact he did not choose one on Saturday indicates he didn't believe any wideout deserving of late-first- or early-second-round status.

Day 2 Recap .... and opinion of picks on Sunday Night.
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