49ers earn most NFL Draft praise among Cardinals’ NFC West foes
May 1, 2017, 3:52 PM | Updated: 9:20 pm
San Francisco 49ers draft picks Reuben Foster, left, and Solomon Thomas pose for photos at a news conference in Santa Clara, Calif., Friday, April 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
The Arizona Cardinals received As and Bs for their work in the 2017 NFL Draft, but not every team in the NFC West could say the same.
Positive reviews of the San Francisco 49ers’ draft class came in for first-year GM John Lynch, but the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams both earned tepid reviews, especially from ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. Here’s a quick peek at each of the Cardinals’ NFC West opponents and what stood out about their decisions in the draft.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers’ list of needs isn’t a short one. Regardless, it appeared that Lynch won the press conference after his first draft. Not only did he trade the second pick to move down a spot while acquiring two more selections in the first three rounds, he made the most out of his selections.
Stanford defensive tackle Solomon Thomas was an easy choice third overall, and at 31, Lynch took a swing at Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, who for myriad reasons fell down the draft boards after being regarded as a top-15 selection.
Lynch addressed needs across the board by taking two cornerbacks, two defensive tackles, a defensive end, a linebacker, a tight end, a quarterback, a receiver and and a running back.
Kiper says: “Overall, the 49ers did well to not just settle for picking good players and make a play for adding a second elite player. Reuben Foster carries some risk, but at No. 31? Bring it on. This is a good start to the Lynch era.”
| Round (pick) | Player | School | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (3) | Solomon Thomas | Stanford | OL |
| 1 (31) | Reuben Foster | Alabama | ILB |
| 3 (2) | Ahkello Witherspoon | Colorado | CB |
| 3 (40) | C.J. Beathard | Iowa | QB |
| 4 (15) | Joe Williams | Utah | RB |
| 5 (2) | George Kettle | Iowa | TE |
| 5 (34) | Trent Taylor | Louisiana Tech | WR |
| 6 (14) | D.J. Jones | Ole Miss | DT |
| 6 (18) | Pita Taumoepenu | Utah | DE |
| 7 (11) | Adrian Colbert | Miami | S |
Seattle Seahawks
Seahawks general manager John Schneider must be a numbers guy. The more opportunities to land a star, the better.
He turned the No. 26 pick, his highest, into five players after a series of trades backward in the draft. After all that, Seattle first picked No. 35, taking Michigan State defensive tackle Malik McDowell in the second round before using the trade-backs to select three defensive backs — Michigan’s Delano Hill, Colorado’s Tedric Thompson and Cincinnati’s Mike Tyson — and a running back.
Overall, the Seahawks addressed the most talked-about needs at offensive line and defensive back — they selected four DBs out of 11 picks.
Kiper says: “I can quibble with value at a couple of spots here, but if they get the best of McDowell, that’s a potentially massive steal.”
| Round (pick) | Player | School | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (3) | Malik McDowell | Michigan State | DT |
| 2 (26) | Ethan Pocic | LSU | C |
| 3 (26) | Shaquill Griffin | UCF | CB |
| 3 (31) | Delano Hill | Michigan | S |
| 3 (38) | Nazair Jones | North Carolina | DT |
| 3 (42) | Amara Darboh | Michigan | WR |
| 4 (4) | Tedric Thompson | Colorado | S |
| 6 (3) | Mike Tyson | Cincinnati | S |
| 6 (26) | Justin Senior | Mississippi State | OT |
| 7 (8) | David Moore | East Central | WR |
| 7 (31) | Christopher Carson | Oklahoma State | RB |
Los Angeles Rams
The goal: Get second-year quarterback Jared Goff some darn help.
Los Angeles drafted a tight end (South Alabama’s Gerald Everett) and two receivers (Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp and Texas A&M’s Josh Reynolds) with three of its first four picks. In the later rounds, the Rams added two outside linebackers, a fullback and a defensive tackle.
With the exception of Reynolds, the picks came from schools not known as power conference football programs with two players out of Eastern Washington and selections who hail from Tulane, Boston College and Pittsburgh.
Kiper says: “Overall, I think the Rams were smart to go after weapons for Goff (and McVay), I just questioned value in spots. Ironically, the most important aspect to both this draft and last year’s won’t be Goff or these wide receivers, it’ll be if the Rams can block well enough to unleash any of them.”
| Round (pick) | Player | School | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (12) | Gerald Everett | South Alabama | TE |
| 3 (5) | Cooper Kupp | Eastern Washington | WR |
| 3 (27) | John Johnson | Boston College | S |
| 4 (10) | Josh Reynolds | Texas A&M | WR |
| 4 (19) | Samson Ebukam | Eastern Washington | OLB |
| 6 (5) | Tanzel Smart | Tulane | DT |
| 6 (22) | Sam Rogers | Virginia Tech | FB |
| 7 (16) | Ejuan Price | Pittsburgh | OLB |
