Hindsight: the 49ers' Draft Picks

The Niners have a problem.

Number 1 pick Alex Smith isn’t panning out the way everyone would have wanted him to, and now he has lost his starting job to resident 49ers QB Tim Rattay. Being a number one pick comes with great scrutiny - especially if you lose the starting job to one of the men who got the 2-14 record in the first place. That’s just a bit troubling to me, as a Niners fan. It makes me question the decision to take Alex Smith, considering the plethora of options we actually had with that first pick.

If I were in control of that pick, I would have gone about it differently. Right or wrong, here’s what I would’ve done –

I would play to the rest of the league, just like Nolan did, and would shop around to see if anyone wanted to trade for the pick. I would take an offer of multiple picks and an impact player – most likely a long shot, if not a stupid trade for the other team. If I was left with the pick, it would be one of two players – and neither of them would have been Alex Smith. Weighing the pros and cons, draft day would have gone something like this:

“With the first pick of the 2005 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers select … Mike Williams, wide receiver out of the University of Southern California.”

My other option would be Braylon Edwards, but I would take Williams over him, basically on upside. Plus, it’s a primer for next year’s draft. I liked Frank Gore as our third round pick this year, so I would probably do the same thing. Overall, it was a good rebuilding draft. But, I would also figure that we would, by no means, be that good of a team no matter who we took at number one. I’m not suggesting that the 49ers would throw this season away – it would be a learning experience for Gore and Williams. They would have a year under San Francisco’s system before next year. And, it’s not like Rattay’s a terrible QB – just not good enough to lead San Fran’s offense. Nonetheless, we probably wouldn’t win more than four games.

In any case, I would assume that we would have a top three pick. That would entail one of four choices in the 2006 draft – D’Brickashaw Ferguson, O-lineman out of Virginia to strengthen the running game and give Rattay more protection; Vince Young, QB out of Texas, could prove to be the next Michael Vick, with a cannon arm, if he decides to enter the draft next year; Reggie Bush, should Gore not work out, to add a much needed multi-faceted weapon to the 49ers’ O; or, the most coveted pick in the NFL draft next year: Matt Leinart. It would make perfect sense, with his offensive game, and a rapport with Mike Williams.

But, hey, I could be totally jumping the gun. I probably am – Alex Smith could be our guy for the next 5 or 10 years. He could just be having an Eli Manning-type of rough start. What could happen next year would be to pick up a Reggie Bush as a Running Back-slash-Wide Receiver. ‘Cause, let’s face it: no matter how good Alex Smith could be, it doesn’t look like that will show up any time soon. Give him time, but don’t expect a good season from him this year. Not with the team we have.

After all, the Niners do have a problem ... lots of them.