Arik Armstead

[obiken]

Sorry but I called Dion Jordan a bust when the Fins took him. He did nothing for us. But he was prototype size and speed. Right, how is out of the league for a year. Now my new prediction is AA, he did even less for us, we got him at Oregon only because he was a 5 star lineman on offense and a 4 star on Defense, Oregon was the only school to let him play DL. He was a major bust for us and I don't see where the 49ers do anything but take it in the shorts on this pick. When will Pros learn, The best prediction for future performance is past performance.

[Futureite]

I love the pick. He's huge and explosive, and he's just a baby. 20 yrs old. Perfect guy for our system. I could give 2 s--- what he did playing for a D that was on the field over and over again after 5 play drives, chasing Pac-12 scat backs and AZ State and WA Stare airing it out 70 times in a game. Now he's surrounded by great talent, and he's going to be asked to tie linemen up and bully them, stop the Marshawn Lynch's of the league. Sure looks the part to do that.

[NorthHawk]

He's one of those guys that has all of the measureables but needs to put it all together.
SF might be the right place to develop, but he's no sure thing yet as there's a lot of room for improvement.
Probably not a bad risk at that 17.

[jshawaii22]

Jon Gruden did not have anything good to say about him... not one thing. Stretch.... about exactly like the talking heads thought about our DE about 4 years ago named Bruce Irvin. The video's they showed of him.. he was slow and got beat off the ball all the time. 3 Sacks in 3 years in College.

js

[obiken]

I've been wrong before but your saying a guy that was dominated will be a dominator?? I don't see it. I think he will be a major bust. Hitting is different than blocking, he could have been a great OL. I would have forced him last year to reconvert to the OL or hit the road.

[HumanCockroach]

I think some of you are kind of skipping over the way SF plays defense. They don't ask their d line to be "productive" they want them to tie up the offensive lineman, eat space and allow the linebackers to roam and make the plays. They are not looking for the next JJ Watt, they are looking for guys that for lack of a better term, block the offensive lineman ( or even grab them) to keep them off the linebackers. Don't know if this guy excels in that regard, but defenses are based on doing your job, and doing it well, if he is not being asked to garner pressure, or create sacks on his own, what does it matter if he did or did not, in college?

Add in the fact that Oregon and SF is about night and day in defensive philosophy as you can get, and I'm not sure how anyone can project how he fits their defense or scheme in the least.

[Zorn76]

SF has a lot of holes to fill on their roster, so taking on a project in the opening round was an interesting choice.

Regardless, the kid will have plenty of opportunity to play. That defense took major hits this offseason. Coupled with a new coaching staff, I think they're looking at another 8-8 year.

[Seahawks4Ever]

You got that right Zorn, St. Louis should be able to climb out of the NFC West basement while SF goes into rebuild mode.

We should win a 3rd. straight division title, that doesn't mean we will, but, I like our chances.

Well, my prediction last off season that our beloved Seahawks would win back to back Super Bowl titles on the way to the very first Super Bowl 3 peat didn't happen, but it was OHSOCLOSE.

OK, I will make a revision. Our Seahawks are going to play in Super Bowl 50 and will win and make it two out of three championship years.
Oh, one more thing, it is going to be against Brady and the Pats. We are going to rip the crown right off of their pin heads. That is going to set up a Super Bowl "rubber game" for the ages.

The Seahawks and the Patriots are going to be a great cross conference rivalry, like the way Pittsburgh and Dallas were in the '70's.

[NorthHawk]

That's an interesting take on the 2 Super Bowl opponents.

I worry about the Cards most of all and if the Rams QB situation is settled, they can be a real factor.

[Oly]

I'm just not sure about Armstead. I'm also a U of O alum and watch most of their games, and I don't have as harsh of an opinion as you do, obi, but mostly because he's so raw that it's hard to say much one way or the other. He was so much better last season than before, so you know he's still a work in progress. He would show up big in some moments, but then be invisible in others.

I actually don't think SF is the greatest place for him because in that 3-4 he's going to have to suck up multiple blockers, and I just don't think he plays with leverage well enough to do that. He's obviously very tall, and he plays like it. Smart NFL linemen are going to get under his pads and move him off the ball. Armstead plays well with his hands to prevent that sometimes, but until he learns how to be a better anchor, he's going to struggle in the run game.

I think his best role would be in one like what Michael Bennett does for the Hawks. Of course, that's if he meets his potential, and I just don't have confidence making a prediction one way or the other.

[obiken]

When does raw ever pan out? Come on. Paul Richardson, I told people that there were better out there. Its not that Locky is bad, he is a steal but we need people to block.

[HumanCockroach]

Kind of all over the place in that last post Richardson, "Locky" ( which is I assume our new PR ) and a reference to raw not working out. "Raw" players certainly have worked out in the past, some incredibly so, others have been absolute failures. No way to know which one this guy will end up being at this point.

[Oly]

Jason Pierre Paul comes immediately to mind, but there are others. Hell, even our own Michael Bennett went undrafted because he was inconsistent and would become invisible at times. It took him some time to refine his play.

Look, I'm not going to bat for Armstead, but there is a chance he becomes a great player. I just wouldn't put faith in a prediction either way.

[Futureite]

I think some of you are kind of skipping over the way SF plays defense. They don't ask their d line to be "productive" they want them to tie up the offensive lineman, eat space and allow the linebackers to roam and make the plays. They are not looking for the next JJ Watt, they are looking for guys that for lack of a better term, block the offensive lineman ( or even grab them) to keep them off the linebackers. Don't know if this guy excels in that regard, but defenses are based on doing your job, and doing it well, if he is not being asked to garner pressure, or create sacks on his own, what does it matter if he did or did not, in college?

Add in the fact that Oregon and SF is about night and day in defensive philosophy as you can get, and I'm not sure how anyone can project how he fits their defense or scheme in the least.

These are great points, and I made the same exact ones on SB Nation. A lot of people are down on the pick, but if you watch Justin Smith, there are plenty of games where he never pressures the QB or makes a tackle for loss, yet still plays a great game because he creates opportunities for others to do so. Who knows if Armstead will develop into that or be a bust. You never know with any player. I guess our and Haeks' selections didn't go over well with either respective fanbase.

[NorthHawk]

At 6'7", he has to be consistent in staying low to be successful.
He should be good on pass plays just by getting his arms in the air.
That's a lot of space to throw over or around.
The potential for him is huge even if he doesn't get many sacks.

[RiverDog]

That's an interesting take on the 2 Super Bowl opponents.

I worry about the Cards most of all and if the Rams QB situation is settled, they can be a real factor.

I'm the opposite. I worry more about the Rams than I do the Cards. The Rams match up with our offense a lot better than do the Cards and now that we've lost two starting OL's, have yet to address that need in the draft, and that we don't have a viable replacement for Zach Miller, our O could face major difficulties running the ball against them... and we all know how badly their DE's beat up on our OT's. The Cards have just as big, if not bigger, unsettled QB situation as do the Rams.

It might be a good thing that we're getting the Rams' road game early, before Foles has had a chance to find a groove with his new team. Hopefully our secondary will be healed by then.

[HumanCockroach]

Jason Pierre Paul comes immediately to mind, but there are others. Hell, even our own Michael Bennett went undrafted because he was inconsistent and would become invisible at times. It took him some time to refine his play.

Look, I'm not going to bat for Armstead, but there is a chance he becomes a great player. I just wouldn't put faith in a prediction either way.

Why stop there? Howie Long, Jevon Kearse come immediately to my mind. DL is a position that always seems to have a high percentage of "raw" player success (Rufus Porter, Michael Sinclair, and Michael McCrary all had that label prior to becoming extremely productive as well, just in Seattle).