With the already strong team basically returning in tact, the 49ers faced a draft this year in which they didn’t necessarily have holes to fill at a lot of positions like most teams in the draft, but more than that they had a game plan to bolster an already strong team with depth and strength by drafting the best player available. After the draft was over, and the 49ers had selected offensive players with their first three picks, it was blatantly obvious that the 49ers were making all the right moves in order to take the last step they couldn’t take in 2011 and get to and win a 6th Super Bowl.

So what rookies (if any) can make an impact for the 49ers this season? Will any of them even start? Of the seven draft picks the Niners had in this years draft will any of them be able to break through on a team that is very strong at a lot of positions? Or are these players of the future?

I think it is safe to say that A.J. Jenkins (WR) from Illinois, LaMichael James (RB) from Oregon and Joe Looney (RG) from Wake Forest could all three potentially see substantial playing time. While A.J. has had less than stellar reviews during mini-camps and OTA’s so far, this is typical for 1st year wide receivers. The terminology, routes, audibles, and in general the amount of learning is usually a lot for a young receiver to grasp right away. This is not to say that young receivers can’t get it, but it usually takes a little longer.

Running Back LaMichael James is a different story all together, he is a player that could very easily come in and make an impact for this 49er team this year. There are not a lot of players like LaMichael James, he is a rare breed. Comparisons to Darren Sproles, Danny Woodhead, and Reggie Bush hardly do this young man justice. LMJ (my new nickname for him) is a player that can very quickly become one of the top triple threats (running, catching, return game) in the NFL. His speed, cutting ability, field vision and general athletic ability will help him greatly but if he can grasp Jim Harbaugh’s offense quickly, look for LMJ to sneak in to a lot of Rookie of the Year conversations this season.

Joe Looney was the 3rd pick of the 49ers in the 2012 Draft and at Wake Forest played Guard and Center in a pro style offense. Most people in the know will tell you that while under the radar, Joe Looney was one of the best Guards available in this draft and could very easily compete with Daniel Kilgore for the starting Right Guard spot this season. He had good test scores and a great interview at the combine, he shows great potential and could be a staple of this burgeoning 49ers offensive line for some time.

My pick for the player that can make a huge impact this season is Trenton Robinson the Strong Safety from Michigan State. With the whole Dashon Goldson “thing” hanging in the balance still, and Donte Whitner ever climbing his way to an AARP card, the 49ers could be looking to upgrade or at the very least look in another direction when it comes to the one position on defense that some would say the 49ers are lacking in, Safety. Trenton Robinson is a player that some have said is too small to play Safety in the NFL, at 5’9″ and 195 lbs. but Jim Leonhard and Bob Sanders come to mind when talking about “small safeties” and those two guys were pretty good. I am not saying that Trenton will be either of them, and maybe he doesn’t even play safety, maybe they convert him to CB (which I doubt) but who knows? I am just saying, with a 4.52 second 40-yard dash time and a 35″ vertical jump, Trenton certainly doesn’t play like a guy who is 5’9″.

When it comes to rookies in the NFL, one can never be sure where they will end up when all is said and done. Truth be told, the majority of players that get drafted in to the NFL don’t even last 4 years in the league. That being said, let’s hope that at the very least, these four players can come in whether it’s this year or next and make an impact. The 49ers as a team and as an organization are this close to a Super Bowl run and more importantly, multiple Super Bowl runs. Let’s hope that the magic that Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers created on the field last year, can translate in to that same magic in the draft room, because if it can then 49ers fans are in for a heck of a season.

The 49ers obviously saw this problem coming this off season, they drafted Trenton Robinson from Michigan State in the 6th round of the draft and also grabbed 3 other undrafted rookie safeties in Mark Legree from Appalachian State, Colin Jones from Texas Christian and Michael Thomas from Stanford (where he played under Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio). The addition of these 4 safeties as well as the increased reps that backup safety C.J. Spillman is receiving due to Dashon’s abscence from OTA’s, means that this is not something that is going to shake the 49ers organization to it’s core. I believe this will be a “next man up” scenario for the Niners. This is not a position of a lot of depth for the 49ers but it is a position that has a lot of promise, albeit under the radar. When you enter a season with as much hype and expectations as the 49ers have this season, question marks and hold outs at a particular position are not good for your team. Having the Dashon Goldson conundrum hanging over your head could be just the distraction this team doesn’t need.

I think that it is almost a given that Dashon will sign his $6.2 million tender before the season but at what cost? More than the financial cost there is the distraction caused by however long this hold out will be. Should the 49ers be doing more to get Goldson a long term deal? 6 interceptions and his first Pro Bowl after taking a pay cut to come back to the team in 2011 says yes, they should be paying this man his money already. On the other hand, an NFC Championship game in which he was almost invisible (5 tackles, 1 pass defended) and a more than generous Franchise Tag offer says maybe he should just sign it and worry about long term next year or test the free agent market in 2013. It would be hard to argue that Dashon will get his money one way or the other, some one will pay him and why shouldn’t it be the 49ers? Safety is the one position of concern for this team if you wanted to nit-pick about it. While yes, Goldson did have 6 interceptions last season, the 49ers ranked 16th against the pass and would like to improve that statistic this season with another solid year and some better coverage from their safeties when it comes to the deep ball (they allowed 48 passes of 20 or more yards and 12 passes of 40 or more yards, 5th worst in the NFL). Dashon is definitely a hard hitter, with a pension for causing fumbles and coming up in run support, but that does make him vulnerable when it comes to playaction.

Let’s be honest, Dashon’s good plays are more visible than his bad plays from last season because when he made a bad play most of the time the rest of the defense helped out and saved him. I am not implying in any way that he had more bad than good plays but take a look at some film from that NFC Championship and tell me that Dashon didn’t look lost on a lot of plays and make some bad moves at the ball when he should have just played sound defense and made the tackle and/or batted the ball away. To me, it seemed as if he was trying to make a highlight reel on every play, which is something that he shouldn’t do, just make basic, smart football plays and the whole team will be on a highlight reel, at the White House, giving Barack Obama a jersey and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

So, what should the 49ers do here? Honestly, I say get him to sign the tender and then if you think that C.J. Spillman and the rookies you decide to keep (most likely Robinson and Thomas) can handle the backup role then trade him. There will be a market for him, either for a pick or two or a player. The problem is, if Dashon gets labeled as a head case, or a diva thanks to this hold out, would any team touch him? Or even talk to the Niners about taking him? Probably not. Once a player gets labeled as a problem, most teams won’t touch him, unless you are Cincinnati or Dallas (burn). So even though I think the 49ers would probably be better off without Dashon Goldson given the current circumstances, I imagine he will sign the tender within the next month and then test free agency next year. It’s sad too because after what he did last year I had a lot of respect for Dashon and without him putting up a fuss over this tender, I still would. If he has signed the tender with a promise from the 49ers about negotiating a long term deal during the season, then I don’t think we would even be talking about this. As it stands however, it’s the classic scenario of Dashon thinking the Niners owe him something and the 49ers thinking the opposite. Typically in these situations the team comes out on top unfortunately for Dashon. That’s why he is better off just signing the tender now and take what is (in most people’s opinion) a pretty lucrative contract. Even if it is only for one season.

Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

With their second pick in the sixth-round the San Francisco 49ers selected center Jason Slowey from Western Oregon.

Here is how Slowey stacks up:

Notes:

Also participated in basketball and track and field as an Oregon prep. Redshirted in 2007. Played nine games in ’08 and made three starts (two at right guard, one at left tackle). Started all 32 games at left tackle 2009-11. Also was a standout thrower on the WOU track and field team.

Summary:

Good-sized, long-armed, athletic Division II left tackle who engages quickly, works his hips and can slide and mirror. Shows foot speed, balance and body control to project to center in the pros, though he will have to answer questions about anchor strength and sustain ability. Is smart, plays aggressively and flashes some nastiness. Has moldable physical ability as a developmental conversion project.