49ers: Regrading All 6 of GM Trent Baalke's NFL Draft Classes

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Feb 24, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke speaks to the media during the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Hindsight is the best tool when it comes to evaluating and NFL Draft. And it’s not an easy means of analysis since, well, one needs at least two or three years to determine whether or not any given prospect will live up to expectations.

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For general manager Trent Baalke and the San Francisco 49ers, the current state of the 2016 franchise tells us most of what we need to know.

The Niners are bad. Very bad. And much of it has to do with the on-field talent. That falls on Baalke.

And since Baalke isn’t exactly a free-agency-type of GM, we need to evaluate his efforts in the NFL Draft to determine how successful he has been since taking over the role in 2011. Based on the 49ers’ record and stat lines now, he isn’t very good.

But there’s more to it. There always is.

We’ll go back to each draft and look at individual picks between 2011 and 2016. And we’ll use the following numeric ranking scale for every player:

5 — Pro Bowl or Pro Bowl-caliber pick
4 — above-average starter
3 — adequate backup or reserve
2 — low-impact, depth player
1 — zero-to-minimal impact

From there, we’ll assess each draft class and assign it a grade like the ones you got in school (A through F), with emphasis given to higher draft picks and scaling down to the later rounds.

Make sense? Let’s begin with 2011.

San Francisco 49ers: Regrading All 6 NFL Draft Classes of GM Trent Baalke

By Peter Panacy | Oct 13, 2016

Niner Noise takes a look at all six of San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke’s NFL Draft classes dating back to 2011 and grades them based off specific criteria laid out in this slideshow.