Despite still being mathematically eligible for the playoffs, any excitement and hope for the rest of this season is over for me. What I saw on Thursday was a 49ers team who was outplayed in every way possible (except maybe not on special teams). Watching the Chargers, I felt that they were a team that was fighting for their playoff lives. Going into this season, us 49ers fans came in with so much excitement from finishing strong last year.

                     Our defense has not been up to par with last year, while many of us expected them to be a top 5 (me at least) or top 10 defense. Our offense has struggled mightily. We can't get the ball to Vernon Davis for some reason. Frank Gore is out for the rest of the year. Even if we get to the playoffs, does anyone think we have a shot? I'm not saying I'm rooting for us to lose. If we do win out and somehow get into the Playoffs with an embarrassing 7-9 , I'm sure my confidence and excitement level will rise again. My morale is low but how does everyone else feel about the remainder of the season?

          The weakness of our defense last year as everyone knows was our pass coverage. After Clements was injured, all our other corner backs stepped up (Shawntae Spencer, Tarrel Brown & Dre Bly) but still did not keep opposing teams wide outs from the end zone. Since Clements has come to the 49ers there is no question he has been disappointing but there are a few things that have pleased me about his game. He definitely hasn't gotten the expected interceptions but he has helped the team in other ways. I would like to start with his role in run support. As far as corner backs in this league, only Antoine Winfield is a better run stopper at CB than Clements. Clements is a great tackler for the position. I also think that he has good coverage skills. He hasn't gotten a lot of interceptions but most teams don't throw it his way. And when a receiver does catch a ball on him, he has a knack for knocking the ball out and forcing fumbles. Sometimes he goes for the strip too often instead of wrapping up the ball carrier which you have to live with since he gets so many forced fumbles but i would like to see him wrap up better. I feel that Clements is a big time player on our team that doesn't show up in the stats like Justin Smith. I feel that if Clements could play up to his full potential, there is no doubt we would have a Super Bowl caliber defense. Even if he plays at the same level he has been since coming to San Fran, i like our chances.

              With the upcoming 2010 NFL draft right around the corner, I thought some scenarios should be discussed. The most glaring need has to be offensive tackle. Most experts seem to think that their will be a run of tackles in the top 10 picks. Does that mean we should reach for one of the lower echelon tackles? I feel that if the top 3 tackles are gone by our 13th pick, Anthony Davis can fall to us at 17 but is that still a reach? I think he can be a good player but I honestly really wanted one of the top three and with so much talent on the board should we really be looking at tackle in the first round? I think that Joe Haden or CJ Spiller would be good picks at 13. At 17 I'm looking at Earl Thomas. Yeah, we could draft a tackle but again I feel like there is too much talent on the board to reach for players. Earl Thomas has the speed and playmaking ability the 49ers defense needs and I think I would take him at thirteen if I didn't think he would drop. Aside from Eric Berry (who we have no chance getting), there isn't another player in this draft who I think would have the impact of Earl Thomas on our defense (maybe Suh too). I'm also intrigued by Iupati. He is big, strong and fast.He is a great guard and he might be able to play OT. If not he is said to be a Pro-Bowl caliber guard and don't the 49ers need that. I think he is definitely worth us taking a look at him at 17. There is also a possibility that Jimmy Clausen  falls to 17 where we must trade down for the best extra picks we can get unless there is someone we want at 17 who won't be there when we pick again. Now that you know my opinion on this years draft, this is how I see our draft going assuming the top 3 OT are gone.

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Last year the 49ers played good enough to win 11 games but only won 8. There were three games last year where our inexperience as a team cost us the game. As I look back at last year and why certain winnable games went down the drain, a few things pop into my mind. Number one is of course the offensive line. The 49ers line was fairly consistent in run blocking but failed to show up on passing plays. The 49ers can find a replacement in this draft at the #13 spot for either RG, LG, or RT. The second biggest need is help with defending the pass. Too many times last year did we stop teams on 1st and 2nd down just to let the opposition throw for first downs. Now you can put the blame on the fact that Nate Clements and Walt Harris were out for most of the year but we can't be sure that either of them will return to Pro Bowl form after their injuries. Regardless of how they will do, our safeties were also an issue. Dashon Goldson is a stud and it was an instant and long awaited upgrade when they got Mark Roman out of there. Michael Lewis is a good run stopper but he can't cover. I also thought we could use another pass rusher for our linebacker rotation. So these are the players I think the 49ers will draft based on the best players available and our team needs.

 first 3 rounds

#13th pick Trent Williams

Most likely the best OL left in the draft at our pick. A good pass blocker and run blocker and would be a good fit for our team. Many other good players available but Trent Williams is a solid pick that fills a need.Would take Bulaga or Okung if either fell that far.

#17th pick Taylor Mays

Physical standout who was a stud at USC. Many say he is not a playmaker because of his interception totals decreasing after his first year. Mays can sit and share time with Michael Lewis and get experienced. Taylor Mays is too good for us to pass up and if it doesn't work out at safety he can still be a freak linebacker. 

#49th Jahvid Best

Dynamic playmaker at Cal. I think he is the best running back coming out and was the best college RB last year before his concussion. He will be our kick returner as well as a secondary RB.

#71 Mardy Gilyard

Another good kick returner as well as a good slot receiver. If he falls to this pick i can't see the 49ers not taking him.

#79 A.J. Jefferson

A good solid corner that is athletic and can sit and develop as well as help on special teams.

Last year the 49ers made what I considered a great draft choice by selecting Michael Crabtree despite the contract stalemate. The 49ers seem like Alex Smith is the guy for now with the spread offense so why not surround him with all the talent on offense we can. Josh Morgan was highly inconsistent throughout the entire year whether he was starting or not. I cannot think of a more dominating young trio of receivers than Crabtree, Vernon and Dez Bryant. If he is available at 13 I would take him over C.J. Spiller or Trent Williams. There is a lot of depth at tackle so I'm sure we can pick one up in later rounds (Vladimir Ducasse?) Adding Dez to our team will cement our offense as one of the greats as long as Alex Smith's development continues. What does Niners Nation think about that?