I say you trade down 4-5 spots, get a talent and another pick to use on a lineman later in the draft.

I like both McClain and Haden. Best prospects at their positions, seem to fit our defense and well worth a pick around 10. If it were possible, I would love to get Ndamukong Suh, but I don’t think we will move up.

If neither McClain nor Haden are available, trade down get extra picks.

In the second and third rounds I want to see linemen (both OL and DL). I think a C is more important than G (particularly someone like Maurkice Pouncey who could provide cover at both). Wiegmann is old and on the decline and only Hamilton has experience there (to my knowledge). If we retain Kuper at RG I think LG will be fine between Hochstein and Olsen.

Trade down and get another value pick

They are both much smarter than I am (and seem to do ok)

One report: Mike Iupati.

Check out this, “He is a big strong man who has great athletic ability…” This quote, plus more, is found in the fourth entry.

Pancaking Ray Malaluga like he’s Alphonso Smith…

I know some are probably getting sick of my Iupati chants, but after this Sunday my resolve has grown. This is a freak athlete in a maulers body (with mauler strength) and the only reason he is still relatively unknown is because he plays at Idaho. If McD wants to continue trying different blocking schemes, there is no better fit than this man.

He can probably be had in the low-mid 20’s. So you get a massive solution for part of the interior line woes plus an extra 2 out of the deal.

Iupati! Iupati! Iupati!

from a ring yet. might as well get 2 quality players for the price of one.

compared to how excited I am to see Al Davis draft another speed demon with stone hands. :D

Calls to trade down have become commonplace and NFL teams agree. The problem is that there are more teams who want to trade down than up.

Cap logic determines that few athletes are worth paying the salaries that top ten picks now earn. A positional logic dominates the thinking regarding top ten picks but there are some athletes who are considered special cases that break though. For instance, Safeties aren’t considered worth a top ten pick but two of them — Mays and Berry — are probably going to be selected in the top ten this year.

One position that’s considered worthy of a top ten pick is LT. And this may be significant for us because our ability to entice a trade depends on our having something that other teams consider worth trading for. Last year’s draft is a good example of this, as 3 LTs went in the top ten, at #2, #6 & #8. There are some other positions deemed worthy of a top ten pick and the most obvious example is QB. There are also particular players who are deemed worthy of top ten picks, and positional logic often plays a role here, too. Some players are so exceptional that the positional logic of top ten picks doesn’t apply (much). You won’t find a Center or Guard (with rare exceptions) in the top ten but most other positions have at least occasional entrants in the top ten.

The big question then is whether there’s someone projected to go in the top ten that another team would be interested in trading for. Also, it would make sense if that player was someone that we aren’t also interested in drafting, since our motivation for trading diminishes if we have who we want. It’s not necessary that we wouldn’t take that player under any circumstances, since our leverage is aided by having a plausible threat of taking the player that another team covets. If we have no use for the player, then it’s possible that he would drop, which would allow alternative trades or even waiting by the team that covets him. However, the best form of enticement is having other teams vying to draft a player we’re in position to select.

it’s difficult at this point to project a draft day trade because too much is still unknown. Ratings are still fluid and early entrants (and non-entrants) will change the shape of the Big Board. There will also be a FA signing period, although if a new CBA hasn’t been agreed upon then there will be far less movement.

One scenario could be a trade with Green Bay, which needs OTs badly. This is a trade that someone else suggested and it fits the contingencies that I’ve discussed quite well. The Packers might enticed by a Bryan Bulaga or another top OT but it’s hard to tell. Russel Okung would clearly be of interest but it’s unlikely that he’ll be available. There are other scenarios involving QBs (Bradford, Clausen, McCoy), WRs (LaFell, Bryant), a RB (Spiller), and others, but it’s hard to predict which team that would be interested and the rankings are still too fluid.

I like the idea of trading down just like (nearly) everyone else. There are a number of positions where we would be helped by an influx of talent. A long list would include: (OFFENSE): RB (power or speed), WR (tall or speed), RT, OG, OC; (DEFENSE): DE(2), NT, LB (either ILB or OLB), CB.

It’s a long list and some people would argue with parts of it, such as LB, but it’s based on weak positions on our current roster (as shown by reserves, since 3rd stringers are vulnerable) and some fairly inarguable assessments, such as the need for an upgrade at DE.

Starter-quality players are generally found in the earlier rounds so an ideal assortment of picks would include at least 2 more picks in the early rounds. And this could be easily accomplished, since our top pick is ‘trade-able’ and a player such as Scheffler would garner at least a #2 pick in trade. My perfect (and plausible) draft might look something like this:

1. (~#27) DE34
2 (~#10/42) OG/OC or CB (pick in trade)
2 (~#25/47) OC/OG or DE34/NT
2 (~#27/49) RT or RB/WR (playmaker)
3 (~#25/89) ?
3 (~#27/91) ?
,,, and so on
4 ?
6 ?
7 ?

There’s no sense in predicting each pick since they would be partly contingent of what had been taken previously. The list of positions from above provides a guide:

A long list would include: (OFFENSE): RB (power or speed), WR (tall or speed), RT, OG, OC; (DEFENSE): DE(2), NT, LB (either ILB or OLB), CB.

The normal timeline for switching to a 3-4 scheme is 2 years, and we’re ahead of that pace. We still need a an influx of talent on both the offensive and defensive side in order to stock this team for the future. We’ve already acquired a substantial amount of talent, In fact, it’s a stunning amount. Putting another large class along with last year’s should have a dramatic effect, in time. Most of these prospective draftees would serve as reserves behind veterans, which is what we should want.