2016 NFL Draft: 5 Burning Questions Facing the San Francisco 49ers
By Peter Panacy
How Will the 49ers’ 2016 NFL Draft Class Pan Out?
Yes, the all-too important question is the one which will take the longest to answer.
The results of general manager Trent Baalke’s efforts in the 2016 NFL Draft won’t totally be revealed until training camp, the preseason and, ultimately, the regular season and beyond.
And the initial evaluation of the criteria won’t be easy to deduce right away.
Case in point, let’s take a look at Baalke’s last two draft picks: defensive end Arik Armstead and defensive back Jimmie Ward.
Ward struggled in his rookie season back in 2014 before being sidelined with an injury. But he turned things around his sophomore year, as Pro Football Focus’ Jeff Deeney indicated:
PFF's No. 1 CB over the last 3 weeks? None other than Jimmie Ward (+9.0). 3-7, 10 yards allowed in coverage with a pick six and 3 run stops.
— Jeff Deeney (@PFF_Jeff) December 24, 2015
The same could be said of Armstead, although over a shorter time span.
Arik Armstead just put that poor guard on skates. Pushed him clear off the screen. So much power. #49ers https://t.co/krjIipcecc
— Oscar Aparicio (@BetterRivals) January 3, 2016
So these returns seem to be trending in the right direction. The 49ers are hopefully going to get their investment’s worth from both these players. And players like linebacker Aaron Lynch and defensive tackle Quinton Dial are additional examples.
But the 49ers can’t be hoping for a moderate-to-good return on investment. Not if they want to turn things around in relative quickness.
The 2016 NFL Draft class will need to generate a much larger return than what most general managers expect or experience. So, as has already been noted, the pressure will continue to fall on Baalke to get it right to the best of his abilities.
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For a quick-take prediction, let’s say 50 percent of the 49ers’ 12 picks wind up sticking on the roster for four-plus years. That would give us six players in total. Out of that crop, it’s reasonable to have three wind up being true “impact” players. Even that can be a tough mark to reach. Just look at the Niners’ returns from the 2012 and 2013 draft classes.
To put things simply, will the 2016 class be bad, just OK, decent or outstanding?
That’s the biggest question of all. And one which will take a long time to answer.
Next: NFL Draft: The 49ers Shouldn't Trade Up to No. 1 Overall
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.