The San Francisco 49ers’ 2015 NFL Draft has been under scrutiny from fans and experts alike. I’ll admit, I was confused by some of the picks – well, I’m still confused by taking a punter in the 5th round, but moving on. Yet upon further review, I believe this draft is going to prove to be a strong one. These guys are tough, good players, who with hard work and good coaching, may just surprise us all. Last week, LB Ahmad Brooks was accused of sexual assault; his accuser is the same woman who accused formers 49ers’ DE Ray McDonald (now with the Chicago Bears) last year. If this accusation turns out to be true, it would make a lot of sense that Niners’ GM Trent Baalke focused on defense with the first three picks. Time will tell. In the meantime, let’s meet your 49ers’ draft picks with some fun facts. Go Niners!
DE Arik Armstead
- At 6’7, 292 pounds, the 17th overall pick in the draft, finished the 2014 season at Oregon with 46 tackles and 2.5 sacks. His brother Armond Armstead played in the Canadian Football League.
SS Jaquiski Tartt
- The safety out of Samford is best friends with none other than SF’s own Jimmie Ward, also a safety. I smell some friendly competition.
OLB Eli Harold
- Harold played defensive end, quarterback, running back, and wide receiver in high school. Oh, and he was on the track team. He was busy.
TE Blake Bell
- This QB turned TE was genetically predisposed to play football, with both his father and his uncle having played in the NFL.
RB Mike Davis
- Davis rushed for 1,183 yards and 11 TDs in 2013 and 982 yard and nine TDs in 2014. He decided to forgo his senior year to help his mom, who was recently evicted from her home, as reported here. I’m rooting for Davis to succeed big time.
WR DeAndre Smelter
- 49ers’ fans really wanted a strong wide receiver in this draft and Smelter and his torn ACL were not exactly what they had in mind from this deep WR class. However, a healthy Smelter has the potential to be a breakout star at 6’2” and enormous hands (size-11). In a couple of years, I think we’re going to see Smelter as a fourth-round steal for SF.
P Bradley Pinion
- I was pretty surprised – and by surprised, I was shocked, confused, and annoyed – to see a punter picked in the 5th round, as the Niners have a good punter in Andy Lee (and, again, it was the 5th round). They also have an expensive punter in Andy Lee, so Pinion could be the answer to freeing up some cap money. On average, he punts for 42.6 yards with a 4.1 second hang time. 44% of his punts were fair catches, so he’s clearly good at his job.
OL Ian Silberman
- His twitter handle is @Suupaman77. If that’s not fun, I don’t know what is. According to his NFL.com draft profile, he is both well-built and well-proportioned. Those are good things.
OL Trenton Brown
- Brown is 6’8, 355 pounds and his arms are 36 inches. He is a big dude, which is a good attribute in an offensive lineman.
TE Busta Anderson
- His given name is Rory, but he prefers Busta. Fair.