Quick note, looking ahead to the draft.

"The 49ers have tons of picks in 2013. They have their seven and four more from previous trades. With three additional compensatory picks, they'll have a total of 14. And the 49ers will get several draft picks in 2014 for an Alex Smith trade, as explained by Matt Maiocco from CSNBayAera.com."


My prediction: We will not be drafting 14 new guys this off season. We're not that kind of team anymore. We don't need that many new bodies. But there are teams that do need extra draft picks, and I expect to see our GM on draft day wearing a green eye shade, chomping on a stogie, with ink stained sleeve covers on his forearms, waving picks above his head, talking on three phones at once.

My first mock draft?

Round 1: Jesse Williams, DT/DE. The Aussie from Alabama. In a season or two we'll need to replace Justin Smith with a player who can play like Justin Smith. Williams is that guy. Or at least I think he can be if he gets to play behind, and learn from Justin for a season or two.

Round 2: David Amerson, CB N.C. St. Amerson was the darling in 2011. At 6'3" 200lbs, he was pretty much thought of as the next big star. Well... he had a lousy 2012 season. Well... lousy for a star. Mostly he seemed to let all the attention get to him, and he just had a bad year. But he still has the size, speed, and skills that made him everyone's favorite, and I'll bet we have the Secondary Coach needed to bring him along. He's my favorite gamble pick this year.

Round 3: Chase Thomas, OLB Stanford. Thomas is a 6'4" 250lbs run stuffer. He's also the best cover LB in the Pac 12. And oh yeah, he's a terror when he decides to put pressure on the QB. I have no idea if he'll last long enough for us to get him, but he's exactly the guy I'd like to put into a LB rotation.

AFter that... I have no idea.