Falcons move into 2nd place in CVC
Prep softball
River Valley 11, Antelope 1 (6)
The Falcons moved into sole possession of second place in the CVC with a run-rule win over Antelope Wednesday.
Isabella Castaneda went 3-for-3 with four runs batted in, while Harmony Balchus added three hits and two RBI.
the Niners in the 2022 season, but it’s a far better option for the upcoming season than trading Samuel for future draft considerations.
Samuel would cost a pretty penny when it came to picks as well.
The Miami Dolphins just traded picks Nos. 29, 50, and 121 (as well as two Day 3 picks in 2023) to Kansas City for Tyreek Hill.
Some would view that as a baseline for Samuel. I find such a notion ridiculous, as Hill has been a Pro Bowler every year of his six-season career and has three Allpro teams to his name.
But should the Niners be able to land two picks in the top 50 of this year’s draft, including a firstrounder, I think they’d be hard-pressed to not accept the deal.
That’s because I see two players in this draft as ideal fits for San Francisco, and while they might not be Samuel, in the not-too-distant future, selecting these two prospects could prove to be better for the Niners than keeping Deebo in red and gold.
The first prospect is the best center in this draft, Tyler Linderbaum from Iowa.
I’m still peeved that the 49ers didn’t take my advice and select Creed Humphrey in the second round of last year’s draft.
He was right there, for the taking. And the Niners passed.
Instead, they selected Aaron Banks at pick No. 48 overall. He played five (meaningless) snaps in his rookie season.
Humphrey, selected at No. 63 by the Chiefs, was arguably the best center in football last year. You don’t think he could have been effective at guard for a year?
A year after passing on Humphrey, San Francisco finds itself in a position where it simply does not know if starting center Alex Mack is going to play this upcoming season. That, plus the departure of Laken Tomlinson from his starting left guard role and the question marks surrounding right tackle Mike Mcglinchey, who is returning from a serious quad injury, make the Niners’ offensive line a point of emphasis in this draft.
Lucky for San Francisco, Linderbaum is a player in the same class as Humphrey. He’s squatty, mean, and perfect for a wide-zone system for a decade to come.
The 49ers’ current issue is that Linderbaum will not be available when the team picks at No. 61. Not a chance.
San Francisco will likely need to trade into the first round to land him.
If the Niners are going to trade Samuel, ensuring they land Linderbaum for the trouble would be a good start.
But they’ll need a
Samuel replacement as well.
And while No. 19 proved last year that no one can do what he does on the field, the 49ers might not need that kind of player with Trey Lance taking over as the team’s starting quarterback.
Enter North Dakota State’s Christian Watson.
Lance’s former college teammate is an athletic marvel. The indispensable Relative Athletic Score database, which compares athletic testing numbers over the history of the draft, has Watson down as one of the best athletes in this draft class.
In fact, he’s one of the best athletes at the wide receiver position over the last 20 years.
Factoring in size and speed, RAS gave Watson a score of 9.96. That’s on par with Julio Jones and just behind Calvin Johnson (a perfect 10) and Andre Johnson (9.98).
Now, there’s not a direct correlation between athletic excellence and NFL success, but when you’re as athletic as Watson, it’s going to be pretty hard to be a bust. Watson has easy speed that can take the top off a defense and the frame to eventually be an outstanding possession receiver as well. He’s a bit of a project, but this is the kind of receiver who could have the Niners’ offense under Lance humming like the 2016 Falcons.
Playing in the NFL will be a marked step up in competition for Watson, who never played an FBS team during his time at NDSU. That, paired with his questionable strength, could have him still on the board in the early second round. Sorry, I’m just not buying into the firstround hype that’s being pushed in mock drafts as of late.
A stalwart center who can hold down one of the most important positions in Shanahan’s offense for a decade to come and a wide receiver with a rare athletic pedigree who already has chemistry with Lance?
That’s a pretty excellent haul if the Niners do, indeed, move on from
Deebo.
So who could provide the two top-50 picks necessary to make this kind of move?
The New Orleans Saints have picks Nos. 16, 19, and 49. They’ve also shown that they simply do not care about the NFL’S salary cap. The problem? They’re an NFC rival. No deal.
The Eagles have picks 15, 18, and 51, but they’re also in the NFC. No deal there, either.
The Packers just miss the cut with picks Nos. 28 and 53, as do the Cowboys, who hold Nos. 24 and 56.
Not that the Niners would trade Samuel to those two teams, anyway.
The Jets are in the AFC and have picks Nos. 4,
10, 35, and 38, but those don’t seem to align with these draft targets. Plus: is Robert Saleh willing to bet on Samuel? I’m not so sure about that.
There are two ideal trade partners here. The first is the Baltimore Ravens, who have picks Nos.
14 and 45. The Niners can surely get both of these players with that draft capital. I question if Baltimore would even consider such a deal.
The other option is in the NFC, but it’s hardly a threat to the Niners: the Lions. Detroit has picks Nos. 32 and 34.
The Niners would need some draft luck, but they could add Linderbaum and Watson with those picks and Samuel could land his big-money deal in Detroit in the ultimate “be careful what you wish for” moment.