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2011 NFL Draft Grades: 49ers Pick Aldon Smith, Mixed Opinions Abound

The San Francisco 49ers are set for the second and third rounds of the 2011 NFL Draft today, but there is still a lot of looking back going on about their first round pick, DE Aldon Smith. Some folks love the pick, others hate it, but either way Smith is a guy who does have serious skills and definitely makes the defense better in my opinion. But who cares what I think, here’s what others are saying.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com thinks that the 49ers dropped the ball by not picking a quarterback in the first round, and that Aldon Smith is overrated.

Brain Galliford at SB Nation gave the 49ers a B with their pick, but seemed to be waffling a bit and easily could have graded them worse.

Tim Kawakami feels that the pick leaves the Niners open to critique by not going with a bigger name with their first pick.

Over at our 49ers blog, Niners Nation, resident 49ers draft expert James Brady loves the pick, and explains why you should too.

Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicles feels that Smith wasn’t worth the 7th pick overall, and what the Niners should have done instead.

Chris Trapasso at Bleacher Report feels that the Niners fans shouldn’t panic, but shouldn’t be incredibly stoked on the pick either.

The second round of the 2011 NFL Draft starts at 6 p.m. (ET) on Friday, April 29th and SB Nation has everything you need to prepare for it – NFL mock drafts, draft projections, scouting reports, the full NFL draft schedule and more. Check it all out at SB Nation’s NFL Hub and our NFL Draft blog Mocking the Draft. Lastly, for more San Francisco 49ers coverage, check out our team blog Niners Nation.