Rotoworld.com's Greg Rosenthal and Evan Silva recently released their final draft grades for the 2011 NFL draft, giving both the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders decent marks. Let's take a look at what they had to say.
Silva on the 49ers:
Pros: It's hard not to like Jim Harbaugh's first draft. Contrary to some belief, [Aldon] Smith draws DeMarcus Ware comparisons for explosive disruptiveness and a freakish wingspan. He gives the 49ers a legitimate double-digit sack threat in year one. [Colin] Kaepernick is set up for success under quarterback guru Harbaugh.
Cons: [Chris] Culliver has medical and character flags. [Ronald] Johnson is also brittle. [Curtis] Holcomb was a throwaway pick.
Grade: B+
As for Holcomb, how many picks at the very end of the draft really come to fruition in the NFL anyway? Oh yea, Dwight Clark did, going 249th overall in the 1970 NFL draft. But I digress...
I agree that Smith can be a 'freakish' addition to the pass rushing core, and that Kaepernick is the QB of the future. Coach Harbaugh can grow alongside Kaepernick and hopefully will form a great kinship a la Bill Walsh (former Stanford Coach, first year 1979) and Joe Montana (the 82nd overall pick in the 1979 draft). Anyone else seeing history repeating itself?
Greg Rosenthal took care of the Raiders, here's how he broke the Silver & Black down:
Pros: They didn't have their first round pick, although the Richard Seymour has worked out well enough. [Taiwan] Jones saves this somewhat generic draft because he could be a steal and gives an improving Raiders offense another dimension.
Cons: [Stefan] Wisniewski was a safe legacy pick, but lacks the high ceiling of his Pro Bowl uncle. [DeMarcus] Van Dyke was a backup in college, but at least the Raiders are now taking their track guys in the third round instead of earlier.
Grade: C
True, the Raiders didn't do all that bad considering they were without that first round pick , but the fact that Seymour is brought up shows you how blasé Rosenthal must feel about this draft. Wisniewski could definitely be better than people think, but will obviously be compared to his uncle constantly. I think the Raiders did better than a C, but that's may be just me.