Niner Noise plays the part of 49ers general manager and with the second overall pick, selects Myles Garrett, EDGE rusher out of Texas A&M. Garrett is an absolute must-draft player and Niner Noise explains why.
Texas A&M defensive lineman Myles Garrett is a must-draft college prospect.
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No, he does not play the most important position in football. Yes, the San Francisco 49ers have an uncertain situation at the quarterback position.
And yet, if Garrett is there at the second overall pick, the 49ers need to rush their card to the podium. There should be no debate. This is a no-brainer of a decision.
There is only one other scenario that makes as much sense as selecting Garrett and that is trading down.
While trading down makes sense, the decision is not as clear-cut as it may seem.
Let’s explore some reasons why Garrett should be selected at the No. 2 overall spot and why other options are don’t quite stack up.
Arguments Against
Let’s start with the arguments used to not draft Garrett. Here are the four points most commonly said against drafting Garrett:
QB is most the most important position
The 49ers have multiple positions of need
There are plenty of quality EDGE rushers
Trading down is the best option
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Let’s address the first two bullet statements right now. But first, for context, readers should understand where the other football positions rank in terms of importance.
According to NFL.com, here are the top-five most important positions in football:
- The Quarterback
- The Pass Rusher (aka EDGE)
- The Left Tackle (aka the blindside tackle)
- The Left Cornerback (aka a team’s No. 1 cornerback)
- The Wide Receiver (a team’s true No. 1 wide receiver)
The QB is undoubtedly the most important position in football. If you are a team with a top-shelf QB, then you could be a perennial playoff contender like the Green Bay Packers or the New England Patriots.
However, what is often missed is that the QB position is so important that when a team misses, that deficit in talent at that position causes a team’s overall talent level to plummet. Imagine that we are in a court a court of football law and you are the jury. I present to you, the jury, the following cases as precedents:
Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns.
The growing consensus among draftniks is that this year’s crop of high end QB prospects are not elite-level prospects. These players come with plenty of question marks.
Pick wrong and the 49ers will be set back for a number of years.
The other positions of need for the 49ers are the cornerback, safety, nose tackle, the inside linebacker and the wide receiver position. The 49ers could trade down to address the multiple positions but what are those positions and what rounds will you select those players?
In today’s NFL, you don’t select linebackers in the Top-10 unless you are set at other key positions. Excellent nose tackles can be had in the third-round. There isn’t a shutdown cornerback anywhere in this draft class.
That leaves the wide receiver and the safety position.
Just ridiculous range. Malik Hooker is going to make an NFL DC very happy pic.twitter.com/8ZL06EuPqz
— Nicholas McGee (@nicholasmcgee24) January 18, 2017
The draft does provide top-tier talents such as Clemson WR Mike Williams and Ohio State safety Malik Hooker. Niner Noise’ very own Nicholas McGee recognized Hooker’s amazing speed and play recognition.
Still, the 49ers’ have options at the safety position by moving current slot corner back Jimmy Ward to the safety position. In addition, the 49ers could also choose to add proven WRs via free agency such as current Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffery.
All of this brings us back to the reasons why the 49ers should draft Garrett.
Arguments For
Now let us examine the reasons why the 49ers’ brain trust (whoever that may entail) should draft Garrett with the second overall pick.
- Garrett has almost no flaws
- Garrett is a can’t miss prospect
- Best Player Available philosophy
- Addresses a premier positional need
- Minimal risk to miss on an EDGE rusher
- Solid QBs options will be available via FA/Trade
- Solid QBs options will be available later in the draft
- To beat Russell Wilson you need an elite EDGE Rusher
- Garrett possesses elite physical abilities
Garrett has almost no flaws. His most notable flaws, and scouts readily admit that they are nitpicking, is that he sometimes stands too tall and he could add some more pass-rushing moves.
However, this is following the notion that every player has to have flaws. In truth, Garrett is a much more advanced pass rusher than Von Miller, Aldon Smith, Khalil Mack or Vic Beasley were coming out of college.
This just about guarantees that Garrett will turn out to be a pro-bowl level player. A generational, once-in-a-decade-type of player. This should cover bullet point one and two and leads us to bullet point three — BPA philosophy.
Best-Player-Available Philosophy
Listen to any of the popular draft analysts and you will hear the same thing: drafting the best player available is the best draft philosophy.
Why? Because teams tend to reach for players that are not as talented for where they are being selected.
This is why forcing QBs to be something that they are not consistently fails. Not to mention that these QBs seem to always land on team’s with rosters deprived of talent.
Sound familiar? Talent at the QB position can be had later in the draft if it is not forced. Just like Minnesota did with Teddy Bridgewater or Oakland did with Derek Carr.
There are arguments for drafting for positional needs. In reality, BPA and positional needs are more intertwined than separate draft ideals.
Each team’s draft approach depends strictly on their individual situation. For the San Francisco 49ers, they are in a position where they can focus on BPA and positional needs simultaneously.
By drafting Garrett you take the draft’s No. 1 ranked player to fill a premier position for the 49ers.
Little Risk, Big Rewards
We have established that when teams reach for a QB and miss they end up setting their franchise back several years.
According to the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective, 61 percent of first-round QBs turn out to be mediocre or out-right busts. In fact, according to the same analysis only 39 percent of first-round QBs become above-average signal callers.
This analysis is a strict mathematical analysis which fails to take into account when teams reach for QBs that are not capable of being franchise-leading QBs.
However, miss on an EDGE rusher and the damage is significantly minimized. Yet, hit on an elite EDGE rusher, like the Denver Broncos did with Von Miller, and the 49ers can reap the rewards.
The 49ers can still select a QB in the first round by trading back in to the back end of the first round. The 49ers second round pick can be used in a trade up scenario to secure a late first round quarterback.
Players like Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes or Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans could be available later in the first round.
In addition, there are also plenty of QBs available through free agency or through trades with other teams.
Players like Washington Redskins’ Kirk Cousins, Buffalo Bills’ QB Tyrod Taylor and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Glennon will all be FAs in 2017.
New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo and Minnesota Vikings’ Teddy Bridgewater or Sam Bradford could be available through trades.
Sack Russell Wilson!
There is more than one way to win in the NFL and in the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson makes a really good team, a deadly team. The Seahawks are a team built around a dominant defense and superb QB play. Seattle has been able to keep stalwart defensive players and also keep Wilson by signing them to lucrative deals while ignoring other positions.
The most ignored positional group is the offensive line. Seattle’s O-line has consistently ranked as one of the worst in the NFL.
Wilson has been sacked an astronomically-high 86 times over the last two years per Pro Football Reference.
Now imagine that same porous Seattle O-line trying to block this monster:
Having Garrett immediately provides a pass rush to disrupt Wilson and finally ground his wizardry in the pocket. But wait, it gets better! Garrett does not bring off the field baggage concerns like former 49ers EDGE rusher Aldon Smith. In addition, Garrett is a high motor player like current 49ers defensive end DeForest Buckner.
In a sentence, Garrett is an amalgamation of Von Miller’s speed and bend combined with Julius Peppers size and strength.
Take a look at his measurables below. He is the real deal.
Measurables:
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 270 pounds
Position: EDGE
School: Texas A&M
Year: Junior
Projected 40 Time: 4.60 (per Walter Football)
The measurements are taken from the Texas A&M’s 12thman.com website.
If the Browns reach for a QB (again) at the No. 1 spot, the 49ers need to be smart and pick the BPA and solidify a premier positional need.
Next: 49ers Prospect Watch: Virginia Tech WR Isaiah Ford
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