NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

49ers 2010 Draft Review

1 (11) Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers. The 49ers moved up two spots to select Davis. Most say that it was an unnecessary move because the teams previously at number 11 and 12 would not select him by any chance. I beg to differ. The way I see it, maybe there were teams behind the 49ers at 13 that were working on moving up in order to select Anthony Davis. Nonetheless, the 49ers selected Davis. Davis has been said to have some consistency issues, but I expect him to be completely fine because Mike Singletary can light a fire under him.

1 (17) Mike Iupati, OL, Idaho. Respected draft analyst Mike Mayock has said that Iupati is one of the better offensive line prospects that has come out in the last 10 years. That is no small talk. I, along with the entire 49er Faithful hope he is right. Iupati will be able to start at the Left Guard position from day one. With the 49ers having selected both Davis and Iupati in the first round, it will allow the team to pound the ball a whole lot in an improving NFC West.

2 (49) Taylor Mays, S, USC. Mays is an outstanding height-weight-speed athlete. At 6'3", 230 pounds, he is extremely big and physical. However, I think Mays will only be successful if, and only if, he has a limited amount of space to cover. If he is given too much space to cover, it might lead to the opposition making big plays every now and again. Expect Mays to be determined under head coach Mike Singletary, and watch for him to be inspired especially in the games against the Seahawks, as he was upset his college coach Pete Carroll passed up on him.

3 (91) Navarro Bowman, LB, Penn St. According to the National Football Post, Bowman seems to be a good athlete. It looks as if he has no difficulty playing sideline to sideline. The knock on him is that he is not the most physical tackler. Bowman is currently listed at 232 pounds. As time goes on, he will definitely add some muscle to that frame, which in turn should add some tenacity to him. He definitely must learn how to tackle properly. He is defined mostly as a "wrap-up" guy. He may have gotten away with that in college, but in this level Bowman will not get so many breaks if he cannot get into the grill of the opposing team and tackle them properly.

6 (173) Anthony Dixon, RB, Mississippi St. Dixon, a 6'1", 235-pound running back known is known for his size and quick feet. I can see Dixon as a guy who can come in late in game and finish off the game with his fresh legs. The scouting report on Dixon is that he is a physical and instinctive runner. Do not be surprised if sometime down the road he ends up being the team's featured running back.

6 (182) Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh. Byham is known for being an extremely good blocker in both the passing and running game. However, do not expect him to be a threat in the passing game. However, I am convinced that a hard worker like him will surely find a spot in the final roster.

6 (206) Kyle Williams, WR, Arizona St. Even though the 49ers just acquired Ted Ginn Jr. from the Miami Dolphins, I expect Williams to contribute mostly in the return game. Williams, standing at 5'10", 188 pounds is originally from the Bay Area. If he is to take part in the passing game, expect the 49ers to use him as a slot receiver.

7 (224) Phillip Adams, CB, South Carolina St. With their last pick, the 49ers selected Adams, a 6-foot, 190 pound cornerback from a small school. There is actually not a lot of information out there on Adams. His Pro Day numbers were actually not too bad, at the same time not eye-popping. He ran a 4.53 and a 4.52 40-yard dash. His vertical leap was 34.5 inches. In terms of stats, he recorded 11 interceptions in his 4 years playing in college.

Overall, the 49ers had a solid draft. I expect the first four or five players to become starters somewhere down with the road for the team. However, the 49ers certainly need players from last year's draft and from their rotation to step up as well, since all three other teams from the NFC West had remarkable drafts. Most pundits had the Arizona Cardinals and the 49ers vying for the top spot in the NFC West next season but do not be surprised if the Seattle Seahawks make some noise, even though most expect them to find success in another two seasons.

49ers Grade for 2010 Draft: B+/A-. I am hesitant to give the team an "A" or an "A+" because I have not seen the players produce anything as of yet. However, I command the 49ers for their selections as they filled a lot of needs.

From the New York Times Fifth Down Blog:

Football Outsiders has tracked 20-yard runs and passes over the past five seasons. Not surprisingly, winning teams tend to give up fewer explosive plays than losing teams. But the correlation between winning and preventing explosive plays is not as stark as the correlation between winning and creating explosive plays. And neither is as stark as the correlation between winning and explosive play differential.

On the other side, the Browns have averaged the worst explosive play differential (-19.8), followed by the Bills (-15), Rams (-12), Raiders (-10.2) and Lions (-8).

This is the reason why the Rams have drafted and signed players with game breaking ability in the offense (Sam Bradford, Mardy Gilyard) and the ability to tackle in the secondary (Jerome Murphy, Kevin Payne).

Plain and simple, teams that create explosive plays are much more likely to win the game and the Rams have failed at creating explosive plays on offense in 2009.  They also were subject to giving up big plays on defense as well.  Both need to be remedied for the Rams to have a successful season in 2010, but at least it look like the Rams are addressing their deficiencies.

Yes — the 38 year old veteran signed with the Redskins according to a report from a league source relayed via The Post:

The Redskins have agreed to terms with veteran wide receiver Joey Galloway, according to a league source.

Galloway, 38, is a 15-year veteran who would provide leadership for a mostly young receiving corps if he makes the roster. He signed a one-year deal with the team, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Galloway began last season with New England but played in only three games and was released in October. Pittsburgh picked him up late in December but he didn't appear in any games for the Steelers.

Galloway, who is joining his sixth NFL team, was with the Buccaneers when Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen was running Tampa Bay's front office.

He is a four-time Pro Bowl alternate and has tallied six seasons of 1,000-plus yards, though none since 2007. That year also marked the last season Galloway was a regular starter in the league.

The Redskins now have 10 wideouts under contract for next season. Last year, Antwaan Randle El was used as the team's the Redskins' third wide receiver, usually lining up out of the slot. Since his release, they've yet to sign a wideout that automatically replaces Randle El in the rotation, though Galloway could be an option.

The team's other wide receivers include Santana Moss, Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, Marko Mitchell, Anthony Armstronng, Marques Hagans, James Robinson and Roydell Williams. They also drafted UCLA's Terrence Austin laast weekend.

Well well, it seems the front office WAS looking for a veteran receiver afterall, just NOT Terrell Owens. And you know what? It makes all the sense in the world. You want that veteran lining up with the young guy, helping them to develop the finer points of their route running, getting available, etc. And the best part about Galloway is that he's not TO, doesn't come with all the baggage and the hype — he keeps his head down and plays ball.

I like this move because there was an ever so slight need at the WR position, and this move has something for everyone in it. He should be well rested, and ready to work out for a starting spot. For once in a long while, the Redskins have some competition at WR and the person who should feel best about these new targets this is the head gunner of course — Donovan McNabb.

How do you POSSIBLY not love the way Allen, Shanahan, and the coordinators have handled this off season? Talk about planting lemonade and getting back a forest of trees.

We didn't have to wait long for the first of the fallout from the Chris Harris trade to start the player exodus out of Chi-town.

On Wednesday, the Bears shipped safety Kevin Payne to the St. Louis Rams for a conditional draft pick. The Sun Times reported the pick was a seventh rounder.

While Payne will now go from one of the most mediocre teams last year to the absolute worst, he should take pride in the fact that he was probably the only Bears safety that would've netted the Bears a draft pick in return.

So assuming Lovie goes with a Major-Harris (remember the old West Virginia QB by the same name?) safety combo, that leaves Payne, Afalava, Steltz and possibly Manning as backups.

But with almost 3 months until the start of training camp, and considering the way the Bears have been wheelin' and dealin', that group could look different come July.