Bleacher Report lists Trent Baalke as the 49ers’ biggest mistake of the decade

The folks over at Bleacher Report compiled a list of all 32 NFL teams’ biggest mistake of the decade, citing former general manager Trent Baalke as the San Francisco 49ers’ own gaffe.

It’s officially the NFL’s down period, as most teams’ training camps won’t pick up until late July.

So it’s no shock Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon spent some time compiling a list of each team’s worst mistake of the decade so far. His choice for the San Francisco 49ers?

You guessed it… former general manager Trent Baalke.

More specifically, Gagnon referred to Baalke’s promotion from scout to Vice President of Player Personnel in 2010 and, a year later, GM.

Here’s what Gagnon had to say on the selection:

"Sure, the 49ers became a contender soon after Baalke took over, but they were already ascending with players Baalke inherited such as Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree and Dashon Goldson.Only three of the 68 other players Baalke drafted from 2010 to 2016 became Pro Bowlers, and one of those was flameout Aldon Smith (taken four spots ahead of J.J. Watt in 2011). Baalke drafted bust after bust in Round 1 (Anthony Davis, A.J. Jenkins, Jimmie Ward and Arik Armstead, and the jury’s still out on Joshua Garnett and DeForest Buckner), he foolishly let Delanie Walker walk, and he continually employed players with questionable reputations off the field.On top of all that, he traded the wrong quarterback when he sent Alex Smith packing in favor of Colin Kaepernick in 2013 and then inexplicably clashed with head coach Jim Harbaugh, which led to Harbaugh’s departure."

Baalke certainly inherited a talented-yet-poorly led roster. And, yes. His 2010 and 2011 NFL Draft efforts were good enough.

But almost any 49ers fan can recall how bad the 2012 draft went, highlighted by Baalke’s first-round selection of Jenkins.

That wouldn’t have been bad in of itself. But one could easily make the argument Baalke’s 2013 draft class was nearly as lackluster as the previous year.

Yet two of Baalke’s biggest mistakes during his elongated tenure were his clashes with head coaches, particularly Harbaugh and Chip Kelly later, along with the ever-reoccurring draft selections of injured players.

You know, the famous “All-ACL” team Baalke created from 2013 through 2016. Instead of using draft capital on ready-to-contribute talent, Baalke hoped stashing guys like Tank Carradine, Marcus Lattimore, Will Redmond and many more.

This strategy made some sense when the Niners were laden with all that inherited talent back in 2011 and 2012. But when the team started to age and fracture in 2014, those moves helped usher in a free-fall from which San Francisco is still somewhat recovering.

And Baalke’s efforts to hasten a much-needed retooling never panned out either.

If one needs to find a silver lining, though, Baalke’s influence on the roster, paired with its downfall in 2015 and 2016, ultimately led to the 49ers boasting the current combination of general manager John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan.

Next: 49ers: Top 20 NFL Draft picks from the Trent Baalke era

So maybe it’s a good thing Baalke did what he did, right?