Writing about and following the NFL draft in the age of rampant information dissemination leads to a rolodex of takes that age both very well and very poorly.
I went back through some past drafts and dug up some of my best and worst takes, and then issued grades for each one.
WR Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington
Kupp probably should’ve gone earlier than the 69th overall pick. He was a machine at Eastern Washington and earned a full article on this website early in his final college season.
It’s more realistic, however, that San Francisco elects to try filling that void through the draft. If they do, they need to draft Cooper Kupp out of Eastern Washington.
First things first – if that small school thing freaks you out as a 49ers fan- Mississippi Valley State and Tennessee-Chattanooga should ring a couple bells (Those are the alma maters of Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens).
Kupp, a senior, is good sized at six-foot-two, 205 pounds, and his on-field production is somewhere just north of asinine. This kid is big, gets open and catches the ball when it’s thrown to him. He’s a monster.
This is a good take because it turns out Kupp is a monster who gets open and catches the ball.
Grade: A
TE Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas
This seemed like a great idea at the time. Sprinkle’s performance in one game for the Razorbacks against TCU during his last year in college was enough to make him intriguing. He also got a full article on this website.
The 49ers are in need of a play-making tight end. Vance McDonald had a good preseason and caught a touchdown pass in the opener. But after him, the position is thin. In today’s NFL, a team can never have too many big, play-making tight ends. Sprinkle fits that bill.
Sprinkle was a fifth-round pick of Washington in the 2017 draft. He has 33 catches for 295 yards and three touchdowns in 43 games. Play-making tight end indeed.
Grade: D-
WR Malachi Dupre, LSU
Dupre also got an article on this website.
While he isn’t the best receiver in the draft, Dupre’s combination of size and productivity is intriguing. He is also very good at getting open and making plays down the field – something the 49ers need desperately. He’s not bad when running intermediate routes, but his specialty is getting vertical.
It turns out Dupre was not very good at anything in the NFL. The Packers took him in Round 7 of the 2017 draft. He was active for one game for the Cardinals in 2018.
Grade: F
WR Verlan Hunter, Grambling State
Hunter made one of the most remarkable catches you’ll ever see. It earned him an article on this website.
The numbers and competition level don’t inspire a ton of confidence that Hunter will be a viable NFL wide receiver, but that catch certainly makes him worthy of a look.
Washington signed Hunter as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He got a look in camp. Nailed it.
Grade: A
QB Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Looking back on Watson as a prospect is interesting because a lot of the analysis at the time seemed to be nitpicking a pretty stellar player, and leading up to the 2017 draft it really felt like Watson should’ve been the first quarterback off the board. Patrick Mahomes has proven himself the best quarterback in that draft, but Watson should’ve been gone way earlier than the No. 12.
Anyway, the 49ers should’ve taken him:
Grade: A
WR Noah Brown, Ohio State
Brown, like Hunter, made a catch awesome enough to get a post on this website.
The 49ers will undoubtedly grab a receiver or two in the 2017 NFL draft, and if I’m Trent Baalke (or whoever the GM is for the draft), I’m looking no further than Ohio State’s second-leading receiver, Noah Brown.
San Francisco did select a receiver in the 2017 draft – John Lynch’s first as the team’s general manager. It was Louisiana Tech’s Trent Taylor in the fifth round. Brown was taken by the Cowboys in Round 7. He caught nine passes for 87 yards in 21 games and he hasn’t played since 2018.
Grade: F
RB Nyheim Hines, North Carolina State
The “Hines is gonna be like Duke Johnson” part of this is pretty spot on. Johnson saw a little more volume in his first two seasons than Hines did after getting taken in Round 4 by the Colts, but their usage is very similar. The “he’s a really good player” part is probably too strong. Hines is just an okay player.
Grade: C-
RB Akrum Wadley, Iowa
This is a classic case of watching highlights first and then digging deeper later. Wadley’s highlight tape at Iowa is a blast. He’s just not good enough at enough things to be a viable NFL running back. The Titans signed him as an undrafted free agent, but he didn’t make the club, then he was in the Alliance of American Football and the XFL. He is not very good at professional football.
Grade: F
WR Corey Davis, Western Michigan
It turns out Davis is NOT the best offensive player from the 2017 draft (that’s the one Christian McCaffrey and Patrick Mahomes were in, FYI.) He might not even be in the top 10. Rough take.
Grade: F
LB Fred Warner, BYU
Warner hasn’t made a Pro Bowl yet, but he appears to be on that trajectory. The 49ers’ middle linebacker earned the green dot as the defensive play caller as a rookie, and looks the part of an eventual All-Pro.
Grade: A
QB Landry Jones, Oklahoma
Woof. Jones went No. 115 overall and was in the league for five years. He started five games, won three and tossed eight touchdowns with seven interceptions.
Grade: F
QB Sam Darnold, USC
Darnold went No. 3 overall. That’s a good reason to not go back to school. He’s struggled a little through his first two years, but it’s difficult to gauge how good he is because the Jets’ weapons have been so bad through his first two seasons. This take hasn’t had enough time to age well or poorly.
Grade: INC
QB Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
Big yikes!
Manziel was not good and already out of the league. Carr is fine led his team to the playoffs one year. Just a lot of losing in this one.
Grade: F-
