10 superstars 49ers could have drafted but unwisely didn’t

49ers 2011 draft re-do

Actual pick: Colin Jones, DB, TCU – Rd 6, Pick 190

New pick: Jason Kelce, C, Cincinnati – Rd 6, Pick 191 (Philadelphia)

Full disclosure: I almost wiped Aldon Smith off the 49ers’ history books with this pick, replacing him with J.J. Watt, the former Texans All-Pro out of Wisconsin whom the Texans took at No. 11 overall after the Niners grabbed Smith out of Missouri at No. 7.

This, of course, had nothing to do with how talented Smith was or how much of an impact he had with San Francisco during his three-and-a-half years there. It has everything to do with what happened to Smith in his personal life during the tumultuous end of his tenure, leading the team to move on from the pass-rusher while Watt thrived in Houston.

It would have been incredible to see Smith build upon the 33.5 sacks he had in his first two seasons, but it was not meant to be.

Still, that’s not the move here, simply because Smith was so good when he was on the field that it’s difficult to envision him not on the 49ers during those Jim Harbaugh years, no matter how good Watt was in Houston.

The move, then, is a later one to shore up another position for a long time.

The Niners drafted TCU defensive back Colin Jones with pick No. 190 when they could have had Cincinnati center Jason Kelce, who went to the Eagles with the very next pick.

Granted, the 49ers might not have seen center as a need, having just signed Jonathan Goodwin as a free agent from New Orleans. And while the veteran was quite good holding down the middle of the offensive line for three seasons, grabbing a potential long-term replacement in the sixth round is never a bad move.

Like Taylor Mays, the Niners got one season out of Jones before shipping him off to the Panthers for a 2014 seventh-round pick, although they got even less production out of Jones, who was exclusively a special teams player, than they did Mays.

Kelce might have been a luxury, but he stepped in as a starter for the Eagles from day one and has been a stalwart along their offensive line ever since, missing just 18 games in 11 seasons, while being selected to five Pro Bowls and voted as an All-Pro four times.