San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers might have reached a little bit here but that’s only because Rachal probably could have used another year in college.  His mother has been sick and needed money for an operation and that’s what likely motivated Rachal to come out early.  Rachal will begin his career in the NFL likely as the backup at left guard but he has the potential to start at either guard or tackle for a long time.  He’s a very good technician in the passing game and he also finishes his blocks in the running game often planting defenders in the ground.  Rachal was a first team All-American last season at USC.  He stands 6′5″, 315 pounds so Frank Gore will likely enjoy running behind him often in the future.  Rachal played in 35 games (22 starts) at USC.  This was a good pick for the Niners as Rachal would have been a first round pick if he stayed in school one more season.

The 49ers want to get more physical up front so they took a gamble on Kentwan Balmer from North Carolina in the first round.  Balmer is 6′4″, 308 pounds and he runs a 5.1 40.  Balmer is adept at taking on double teams which would make MLB Patrick Willis even better than he already is and that’s hard to imagine.  Balmer will battle Aubrayo Franklin for the starting NT spot for the 49ers and he can win the job if he’s motivated from day #1 which has been a problem for him.  Balmer played in 42 games (22 starts) at North Carolina and he made 93 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, had 7 sacks and batted down 3 passes.  This was a reach for the Niners but Balmer does have a nice upside.