The 49ers had a really solid 2011 NFL Draft.  Here is a look at how well the rookies adapted to the NFL in their first taste of it:

22-year old OLB Aldon Smith came to the 49ers in the first round.  He played in 16 games for the Niners this year and he had 37 tackles, 14 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed.  Smith was awesome as a rookie and he will likely just get better.

24-year old QB Colin Kaepernick was a 2nd round pick for the Niners.  He played in 3 games for the 49ers this year and he completed 3 of 5 passes (60%) for 35 yards without a TD pass or INT (81.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for -2 yards (-1.0 ypc).  Kaepernick will be Alex Smith’s backup for a long time.

23-year old CB Chris Culliver was picked in the 3rd round pick by the 49ers.  He played in all 16 games for the 49ers this year and he had 35 tackles, 7 passes defensed and 1 interception. Culliver could be a starter in the near future for the Niners.

23-year old RB Kendall Hunter came to the Niners in the 4th round.  Hunter played in all 16 games for the 49ers this year and he carried the ball 112 times for 473 yards (4.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 16 passes for 195 yards (12.2 avg) this year.  He is behind Frank Gore, but they make a nice tandem.  Hunter also returned 6 kickoffs for 156 yards (26.0 avg) for the Niners this year.

24-year old OG Daniel Kilgore came to the Niners in the 5th round.  He only played in 1 game off the bench for the Niners in 2011.

23-year old WR Ronald Johnson was picked in the sixth round.  He was cut before the season started and ended up with the Philadelphia Eagles, but, he didn’t get into any games for them.

24-year old safety Colin Jones was picked in the sixth round.  He played in 13 games for the Niners this year and he had 6 tackles.

24-year old fullback Bruce Miller was also picked in the sixth round by the Niners.  He played in 15 games for the 49ers this year and he carried the ball 4 times for 8 yards (2.0 ypc).  Miller also caught 11 passes for 83 yards (7.5 avg) with 1 TD grab and he had 6 tackles as he also helped out on special teams.

23-year old OG Mike Pearson and 23-year old CB Curtis Holcomb were both picked in the 7th round by the Niners.  Pearson didn’t get into any games.  Holcomb spent his entire rookie season on I.R.

GRADE FOR 2011:  B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A+

22-year old OLB Aldon Smith has been outstanding as a rookie for the Niners this year.  He was the 49ers’ first round pick last April out of Missouri.  He has played in all 12 games for the Niners so far this year and he has 23 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed.  The defense has been a big part of the 49ers’ success this year and Aldon Smith has been a big part of it.  His upside has got to be scary for the rest of the teams in the NFC West.

The 49ers took a  lot of players that were off the board as far as the draft experts were concerned.  But, I did like three of the first four players the Niners took.  OLB Aldon Smith will fill a huge need for the Niners who didn’t have much of a pass rush at all last year.  QB Colin Kaepernick gives the Niners a solid QB for new head coach Jim Harbaugh to develop.  RB Kendall Hunter came to the Niners in the 4th round and he should have been gone by the time they picked.  Hunter will be able to give Frank Gore a break when he needs one.  I really don’t like any of the rest of the 49ers’ picks as they seemed like they were reaching with almost every one of them.

PROJECTED GRADE:  D+

The San Francisco 49ers took cornerback Curtis Holcomb out of Florida A&M with the 250th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Holcomb is 5’10″, 190 pounds and he ran a 4.47 40 at the Rattlers’ Pro Day.  Holcomb will have to adjust to a huge jump in competition but he has the physical tools to make that jump.  He played in 45 games in his four years at Florida A&M and he had 12 interceptions that he returned 213 yards (17.8 avg).  If nothing else, Holcomb should be able to help the Niners right away on special teams.

The 49ers took G/T Mike Person out of Montana State with the 239th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Person is 6’4″, 299 pounds.  He will likely have to kick inside in the pros because he’s not fast enough to handle the speed rushers in the NFL and he doesn’t have the size to handle the bull rushers.  At least inside, the Niners will be able to help him a little bit.  Person played in 12 games (all starts) for Montana State last year and he played in 53 games (all starts) in his four years there.  He is a developmental project for the Niners.

The 49ers picked safety Colin Jones out of TCU with the 190th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Jones is 6’0″, 208 pounds and he ran a supersonic 4.34 40 at TCU’s Pro Day.  Jones didn’t play much until his senior season with the Horned Frogs.  Jones played in 13 games (12 starts) for TCU last year and he had 80 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks.  Jones is purely a strong safety type as he is a very aggressive player against the run and short passes.  He also will be an asset on special teams.  But, he has issues running on the longer patterns with WRs.

The 49ers took C/G Daniel Kilgore out of Appalachian State with the 163rd overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Kilgore is 6’3″, 305 pounds and he runs a 5.28 40.  Kilgore is not a mauler as he gets by on athletic ability.  He played left tackle his last season at Appalachian State and he started all 13 games.  He played in 48 games in his four years in college.  Kilgore will have to kick inside in the pros as he would get destroyed at tackle without any help.

The 49ers took 22-year old RB Kendall Hunter out of Oklahoma State with the 115th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Hunter is 5’7″, 199 pounds and he runs a  4.4 40.  Hunter is a tough guy who runs really hard despite his lack of size and he has the speed to take the ball to the house any time he touches it.  Hunter played in 13 games (all starts) for Oklahoma State last year and he carried the ball 271 times for 1,548 yards (5.7 ypc) with 16 TD runs.  He also caught 20 passes for 101 yards (5.1 avg) last year.  Hunter played in 46 games (28 starts) in his four years with the Cowboys and he carried the ball 708 times for 4,181 yards (5.9 ypc) wiht 37 TD runs.  He also caught 63 passes for 519 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs at Oklahoma State.  This was an outstanding pick for the Niners as many draft “experts” had Hunter getting picked in the 2nd or 3rd round.  Hunter should be able to give Frank Gore a break more often than he got one last year.

The 49ers selected CB Chris Culliver out of South Carolina with the 80th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Culliver is 6’0″, 199 pounds and he runs a 4.37 40 as he is a pretty good athlete.  His future might be at safety though in an effort to keep him healthy as he’s pretty injury prone.  He played in 7 games for South Carolina last year and he had 34 tackles, broke up 2 passes, had 2.5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and he forced 1 fumble.  He also returned 12 kickoffs for 261 yards (21.8 avg) last year.  Culliver played in 43 games in his four years with the Gamecocks and he had 156 tackles, broke up 14 passes, had 3 interceptions, 9.5 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks and he forced 3 fumbles.  Culliver also returned 106 kickoffs for 2,476 yards (23.4 avg) for South Carolina.  Culliver wasn’t expected to get drafted by a lot of experts, so the Niners reached big time here to try to fill a need.

The 49ers traded up to select 23-year old QB Colin Kaepernick out of Nevada with the 36th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Kaepernick is a outstanding athlete at 6’4″, 225 pounds and he runs a 4.53 40.  He doesn’t hesitate to take off running when a play breaks down.  He also has a rifle attached to his right shoulder as he can make all the throws.  He played in a very wide open offense in college, so it might take him a little while to adjust to the NFL style of play.  Kaepernick played in 14 games (all starts) for Nevada last year and he completed 233 of 359 passes (64.9%) for 3,022 yards with 21 TD passes and 8 INTs.  He played in 51 games (47 starts) in his four years with the Wolfpack and he completed 740 of 1,271 passes (58.2%) for 10,098 yards with 56 TD passes and 31 INTs.  Kaepernick will likely get to battle for the starting job at QB in 2011, even if Alex Smith is brought back.  I really like this pick for the 49ers, as QB was a huge need for them.