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San Francisco 49ers: If 2012 was Trent Baalke’s worst NFL Draft, 2013 was almost as bad

By Peter Panacy

Nov 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke before the game against the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke before the game against the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 4, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Quinton Dial (92) reacts after making a tackle against the Green Bay Packers in the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Quinton Dial (92) reacts after making a tackle against the Green Bay Packers in the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

The “Best” 49ers Draft Picks from 2013

Eric Reid has been a solid contributor if not overly stellar. For a first-round pick, that’s OK.

But the Niners hardly got anything else afterwards.

Sure, hindsight is always 20-20. And we can easily look back now and judge Trent Baalke’s efforts with all the criticism they deserve. After all, it was his job to project how these players would provide the impact and negate the pending roster changes all NFL teams go through.

Tank Carradine? No, unfortunately. Vance McDonald? Certainly not. Corey Lemonier? Nope.

Wide receiver Quinton Patton could have turned into a decent contributor, but even he didn’t make much of an impact. And memories of him running the wrong way on plays — or even sitting on opposing players — stick around in 49ers’ fans minds.

So, aside from Reid, Baalke’s best pick from this particular year was defensive tackle Quinton Dial.

Dial has been one of the Niners’ unsung heroes in recent years. He’s versatile enough to play any position along the defensive line, but there isn’t exactly one portion of his game separating him into that Pro Bowl level.

Yes, Reid and Dial — the best players out of an 11-player haul. And Dial was a fifth-round pick.