Last April the 49ers thought they picked a great set of players but it didn’t show in 2009.  WR Michael Crabtree out of Texas Tech was the Niners’ first round pick (#10 overall).  He held out the first five games before quickly moving into the starting line-up with mixed results.  He played in 11 games for the Niners and he caught 48 passes for 625 yards (13.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  His toughness was questioned on more that one occasion as he sometimes had a case of alligator arms.  If he can just man up he will be a good WR in the NFL.  Glen Coffee was selected in the third round (#74 overall) by the Niners out of Alabama.  He served as Frank Gore’s back-up in 2009 but he didn’t look too good.  He played in 14 games for the Niners last season and he carried the ball 83 times for 226 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Coffee also caught 11 passes for 76 yards (6.9 avg) and he returned 3 kickoffs for 42 yards (14.0 avg) last year.  He will likely have to show a lot of improvement just to make the Niners next season.  5th rounder (#146 overall) Scott McKillop was a solid special teams player for the Niners last season.  The inside linebacker played in all 16 games for the 49ers last season making 19 tackles.  QB Nate Davis out of Ball State was selected in the 5th round (#171) by the 49ers.  He was a longshot to make the team but he made enough progress during the pre-season and training camp to stick all year with them.  He will be the #3 QB for the Niners again next season.  TE Bear Pascoe was picked in the 6th round (#184 overall) out of Fresno State.  He didn’t play a down with the 49ers but he did played in 4 games with the New York Giants catching 1 pass for 9 yards.  Free safety Curtis Taylor was selected in the 7th round (#219 overall) out of LSU and he played in 7 games making 4 tackles for the 49ers.  DT Ricky Jean-Francois was the Niners’ final pick last April (7th round, #244).  He played in 2 games without making any tackles.

GRADE FOR 2009:  D+

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

22-year old rookie WR Michael Crabtree is off to a good start to his NFL career.  He held out for the first fix weeks of the season before signing with the 49ers.  He has been thrown right into the fire and the results are promising so far.  Crabtree has played in 6 games for the Niners this season and he has caught 26 passes for 346 yards (13.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for Crabtree to play even better down the stretch for the Niners as they are in the middle of a playoff run.

The 49ers have lost 24-year old rookie free safety Curtis Taylor for the season with a hip injury.  Taylor had 4 tackles in his rookie  season for the Niners.  He was a 7th round pick out of LSU so not a lot was expected of him but he made the team so it was a good pick.

The 49ers had to be doing cartwheels when they saw Crabtree available in the first round for them.  He is a big guy at 6′2″, 215 pounds but he’s a tad slow running a 4.55 40.  Still, Crabtree was the best available WR in this draft and he could be as good as he wants to be.  If he works hard the sky is the limit for him.  Crabtree played two seasons at Texas Tech appearing in 25 games (all starts) in which he caught an amazing 231 passes for 3,127 yards (13.5 avg) with 41 TD grabs.  The Niners might have drafted the offensive rookie of the year at #10.

Last April’s Draft could look a lot better down the road for the 49ers than it did in 2008.  DE Kentwan Balmer (1st rounder) played in all 16 games (0 starts) last season and he made only 7 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  In the 2nd round the 49ers might have found a future starter in guard Chilo Rachal.  Rachal played in 8 games (6 starts) as a rookie for the Niners last season.  The Niners expected much more from CB (3rd rounder) Reggie Smith who played in 3 games (0 starts) last season and he made 3 whole tackles.  4th rounder (center) Cody Wallace was inactive for the whole 2008 season.  In the 6th round the Niners might have found a impact player for the future in WR Josh Morgan.  Morgan played in 12 games (1 start) for the 49ers last season and he caught 20 passes for 319 yards (16.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He also made 4 tackles last season.  He should be a starter as early as 2009 for the Niners.  OLB Larry Grant was a 7th round pick for the 49ers last season and he was cut and then was signed by the Rams.

GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B-