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Well the draft is in progress, and day 1 is over. As we wait another 15 hours or so for Day 2 to get rolling, it’s been quite a day if you’re a 49er fan. The 49ers promised to land two impact players in this draft, and did they ever? On with the review:

Round 1, Pick 6 – Vernon Davis, TE, Maryland – The best possible scenario played out this morning. In December the Bay Area was hit with Reggie Bush fever. Then the 49ers decided to wake up and win two games, taking them out of the running for Bush. But the problem was that the 49ers, anemic on offense to put it mildly, still needed a playmaker. Enter Vernon Davis. I could go over this guys 40 time, his combine, and his athleticism, but by now you’ve heard of all of this. More than all of that though, this guy is a football player who loves the game. He’s confident, he’s strong, and he’s a target for Alex Smith to develop with for years to come. Thank you Green Bay for going with your most sensible pick in AJ Hawk and allowing us to get Vernon Davis.

Grade: A+

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With the 84th pick in the 3rd round, the 49ers select, Wide Reciever Brandon Williams…

Height: 5-9, Weight: 180, 40 Speed: 4.51
Position: Wide Receiver, College: Wisconsin

SUMMARY
Williams was a very productive receiver and returner at Wisconsin, with many of the athletic traits necessary to overcome his lack of size. He is no doubt a smart kid who learns well when you see how sharp his routes are—he closes the cushion quickly, uses his shoulder dip to freeze the cornerback, and has a burst out of the cut to get separation consistently. On passes outside of his frame, he does a good job of reaching out and plucking the ball with his hands, but on easy passes, he will body catch and drop some passes he should catch. He is surprisingly good at avoiding the jam and getting into the route quickly. He is a very quick and elusive runner in the open field—he has the vision and instincts to find the hole, follows his blockers very well, and has the burst to get through cracks and make big plays. Obviously, the big problem is that short and thin receivers struggle to be productive NFL receivers. Overall, Williams is going to be over-looked because of his size, but will stick in the NFL and within a season or two, he will be a good No. 3 receiver and will be able to contribute as a returner. Whatever team that gets him needs to be sure not to over-use him in order for him to be a productive receiver and returner in the NFL.

STRONG POINTS
Williams is a very quick-footed receiver, who runs very sharp and precise routes—his burst out of cuts enables him to consistently get separation. He has good hands and has shown the ability to adjust to off-target passes and make tough catches in traffic consistently. He consistently has shown an ability to make catches in traffic, take hard hits right after the catch, and hold on to the ball. He is a quick and elusive runner in the open field, and consistently makes plays with the ball in his hands (both as a receiver and return man). He is a highly competitive blocker, who has shown a knack for finding a way to eliminate his man.

WEAKNESSES
Williams’s biggest weakness is his lack of size—he will struggle to stay healthy if he is over-used in the NFL. He lacks the bulk and playing strength to break tackles in the NFL, and he will struggle to gain yards after contact consistently. He has a bad habit of letting passes within his frame get into his body, and he ends up fighting the ball and dropping some easy passes. He does not consistently get down low to catch the low pass well.

With the 22nd pick in the 1st round the 49ers select, Manny Lawson…

Height: 6-5, Weight: 240, 40 Speed: 4.48
Position: Outside Linebacker, College: North Carolina State

SUMMARY
Lawson was a tough player to get a good feel for because he struggled to consistently pressure the quarterback from his defensive end alignment, but was clearly an elite athlete who has the tools to play somewhere in the NFL. From watching him on film, he does not look like he has the frame to add the necessary bulk/weight to be able to hold up as a defensive end—he looks much more like a linebacker on the ‘Hoof’. No question whatever team drafts him will need to be patient as he learns the linebacker position, but his explosiveness and athleticism will enable him to contribute as a pass rusher and on special teams. He was a dangerous punt rusher at N.C. State and he will be a very good special teams player as a rookie. Overall, teams should be careful not to over-draft Lawson based on his tremendous workout numbers, but he doe have athleticism, explosiveness and playing speed. He is going to need a season or two as a backup linebacker before he becomes comfortable playing behind the line of scrimmage. He would be best suited to go to a team that plays a 3-4 defense, where he could play the hybrid rush-linebacker position and take advantage of his ability to rush the quarterback from a wide alignment.

STRONG POINTS
Lawson is a very good athlete with all the physical tools. He has the foot quickness, acceleration and playing speed that are hard to find. He consistently hustles and chases hard in pursuit and has the playing speed and closing burst to finish plays when he gets close. He has very good size for a linebacker and will be a strong player at the point of attack. He has long arms to jolt blockers and can stay free to make plays. His experience at defensive end will combine with his natural explosiveness and athleticism to make him a dangerous pass rusher from his linebacker alignment.

WEAKNESSES
Obviously, the biggest negative is that Lawson played defensive end at N.C. State and will have to learn to play linebacker in the NFL. At defensive end, he did not consistently explode off the ball and he must show that he can get started moving quickly right at the snap from his linebacker alignment. He must use his hands more consistently to aggressively punch blockers to stay free and make tackles. He has virtually no experience in coverage and will need to really learn and adjust to playing behind the line of scrimmage.

With the sixth pick in the NFL, the Niners select Vernon Davis.

Height: 6-3, Weight: 256, 40 Speed: 4.40

SUMMARY Davis is a junior tight end who came out early for the draft—even though there are so many very good tight ends available, he is the best of them all and has made the right decision. He is an elite athlete with the hands, explosiveness and playing speed to make an immediate impact as a receiver and will force defensive mismatches consistently because linebackers lack the speed to cover him in tight man-to-man and he can out-muscle safeties who try to cover him. He is not as competitive or aggressive as a blocker as you’d like, but he has the athleticism and playing strength to be a good blocker when he competes hard on every block. Some teams will downgrade him due to his inconsistent blocking ability, but he has the receiving skills to make the impact of Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez early in his career. His athleticism and smarts will enable him to line up all over the field on offense to create mismatches and he will make a ton of big catches.

STRONG POINTS Davis is an elite athlete with the explosiveness, playing speed and hands to consistently make big plays as a receiver. Despite running upright in routes, he consistently gets in and out of cuts in a flash, bursts away from the defender to get separation and can stretch the field deep. He avoid the linebacker jam easily and explodes into his route after defeating the jam. He has the hands to reach out and pluck the ball away from his body very easily. His agility, playing speed and strength help him consistently make plays running with the ball after the catch. When he blocks aggressively he can consistently eliminate his man from the play—he can get to the second level fast, delivers a good initial blow and when he stays after block, he eliminates his man.

WEAKNESSES The biggest issue with Davis is his lack of consistent competitiveness as a blocker—he often just tries to stand in the way and does not attack the defender. He needs to bend his knees and block more aggressively in order to consistently eliminate his man

In order for the 49ers to grab Bush now, they likely would have to work a deal with the New Orleans Saints, who own the No. 2 overall pick.
The problem is the 49ers don’t have the ammunition to swing a deal. In the NFL, teams hold as gospel a draft valuation chart that assigns a numerical value to each draft slot.

Even if the 49ers packaged their No. 6 and No. 22 picks in the first round, they would have only enough value to trade for the No. 3 overall pick. According to the chart, they would have to offer the Saints their first five picks, something coach Mike Nolan would be loath to do.

San Francisco certainly could sweeten the deal by throwing a player or two into the trade, but on a talent-starved team such as the 49ers, that also seems unlikely.

[Sacramento Bee]