49ers mine draft for return to golden era

By Chris Cluff  |   Tuesday, May 01, 2007  |  Comments( 15 )

San Francisco 49ers
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In the 1980s, the San Francisco 49ers were the NFL's bell cow -- the best franchise in the league under the guidance of coach Bill Walsh and General Manager Carmen Policy.

Even though Walsh left after the 1989 season, Policy kept the Niners stocked up through the mid-1990s, and then the salary cap caught up to them and turned them into a gutted also-ran for much of this decade.

But now the young duo of Mike Nolan and Scot McCloughan seems to be making all the right moves to turn the 49ers back into the playoff team they were for so long under Walsh and Policy.

The 49ers went 7-9 last season, with a sweep of the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks, and many pundits are predicting that San Francisco will take command of the division this year.

While that might be a bit premature -- the Seahawks are still a formidable team and 49er quarterback Alex Smith still has much to learn -- Nolan and McCloughan have continued to remake the Niners into what looks like a better team than the one that went 7-9 last season.

The duo has focused largely on reshaping the defense, which was one of the league's worst in 2006 (28th in yards allowed and last in points allowed). Nolan wants to use an attacking 3-4 scheme, and he and McCloughan have spent the offseason gathering players who should fit it.

First, they made it a priority to retain Bryant Young, who has been a mainstay along the defensive line since he was drafted in the first round in 1994. Then they opened free agency with a bang, signing cornerback Nate Clements, safety Michael Lewis and nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin on the first day. The next day, they re-signed cornerback Walt Harris, whose 11th season in the NFL (and first in San Francisco) was perhaps his best. Nolan and McCloughan then added linebacker Tully Banta-Cain and re-signed fellow LB Hannibal Navies.

And that was all just a prelude to a draft weekend that netted six more defenders. In just two months, Nolan and McCloughan have revamped their defense with 10 new faces -- with as many as five expected to be in the starting lineup when the 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals in a Monday night doubleheader to open next season.

While Clements was the ace catch in free agency, linebacker Patrick Willis was the main man on draft day as the 49ers got the guy many wanted and expected them to grab with the 11th pick.

Armed with 10 choices, Nolan and McCloughan negotiated the draft with savvy. They appeared to give up a lot when they dealt their 2008 first-round pick to New England to climb back into the first round for tackle Joe Staley with the 28th selection. But that was a calculated risk, because if the 49ers do in fact make the playoffs next season, that pick will be pretty low anyway.

Of course, that giveaway was offset when Nolan and McCloughan shrewdly put themselves back into the first round in 2008 by giving their second-round pick in this draft to the Indianapolis Colts. They also received a fourth-round pick in that deal, which replenished the fourth they had given to the Patriots in the first trade. Essentially, the 49ers found a way to get a second first-round pick at what could turn out to be almost no additional cost (unless the 49ers backslide and end up giving the Patriots a top-15 pick).

Nolan and McCloughan also brought in reinforcements for the D-line, adding ends Ray McDonald and Jay Moore and tackle Joe Cohen.

Beyond the first-round maneuvering, though, the best deal the duo made was to snag receiver Darrell Jackson from the Seahawks for a mere fourth-round pick. McCloughan, a former personnel guy for Seattle, took advantage of the bad blood between Jackson and Seahawks management. Now, the 49ers suddenly have a No. 1 receiver for the first time since Terrell Owens left after the 2003 season.

Of course, the Jackson deal does not come without injury questions: He has missed 13 games over the past two years due to knee and toe ailments. But for a guy who caught 10 touchdown passes last season, a fourth-rounder looks like quite a steal. Jackson and Ashley Lelie (signed in March), along with Arnaz Battle and third-round pick Jason Hill, should form the best receiving corps the 49ers have had since Owens left.

Just like that -- in two months -- Nolan and McCloughan have reconfigured the receiving corps and their entire defense. With 10 new defenders -- and the right kinds of defenders in the front seven -- Nolan can now install the full 3-4 scheme he has wanted to use since he arrived two years ago.

If it all works out, Nolan and McCloughan just might become the next Walsh and Policy by ushering in a new golden era for the 49ers.

Daily San Francisco 49ers coverage, courtesy of RealFootball365.com

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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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CommentsComments: 15  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Mike Cortese		11:24 AM
05/01/2007
Good article...The niner are looking great again and have spent good money in free agency. The draft filled in alot of needs at...
No.2
Rachie		11:34 AM
05/01/2007
Time will tell just how good Nolan and McCloughan are. They have done a good job so far in rebuilding this team. I give them...
No.3
VaNiner		11:49 AM
05/01/2007
Don't you think that the Niner's can't overlook the Arizona Cardinals? This is a team that Nolan himself said they don't match...
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