San Francisco 49ers: Reevaluating the 2011 NFL Draft, Five Years Later

Round 3, No. 80 Overall: Chris Culliver, DB, South Carolina

Nate Clements was getting expensive in 2011, and frankly, wasn’t worth the money, anyway.  Shawntae Spencer was inconsistent at the other starting spot. The 49ers needed young, cheaper blood in their secondary, which is where Culliver comes in.

The 49ers traded back four slots, picking up Culliver and an extra sixth-round pick to make up for the the picks they traded away for Kaepernick. Culliver was considered an athlete, for sure—he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash and boasted a 38.5-inch vertical jump. He had great pure cover skills, but questions were raised about his instincts and willingness to help in the run game. The third round felt like a reach for him, though he had a very high ceiling.

Culliver missed the entire 2013 season with a torn ACL, and only had one season as a full-time starter for the 49ers, a solid year in 2014. He contributed as a nickel corner in 2012 and saw some success, as well.

He’s not someone who knocks your proverbial socks off or anything, but for a third-round pick, there are much worse outcomes than “solid nickel back”. He’s sort of been promoted above his pay grade as a starting corner, both in San Francisco and Washington, but he hasn’t been bad at all.

As far as defensive backs go, Chris Conte (no. 93 to Chicago) would have been a better selection, and some other names who went just after Culliver have gone on to better careers, such as  Mason Foster, Allen Bailey, Akeem Dent and Joe Barksdale.

Still, Culliver proved to be a better-than-average selection for the third round.

Grade: C+

Next: Kendall Hunter