49ers Luck Into Crabtree, Err By Trading Brown?

After a roller-coaster first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers emerged as one of the major benefactors of the many trades (and one huge reach) on day one, selecting possible top-four pick Michael Crabtree without trading up from the tenth-overall position.

The first two picks of the draft were not surprising at all, considering that the Lions had already agreed to an astronomical contract with QB Matthew Stafford, and the Rams needed OT Jason Smith to replace Orlando Pace.

Kansas City continued its recent trend of drafting LSU products, selecting DE Tyson Jackson to go along with last years picks of DT Glenn Dorsey and WR Dwyane Bowe. But by passing on LB Aaron Curry, the Chiefs helped create a domino effect that resulted in the 49ers nabbing Crabtree.

Seattle was very happy to find a compliment to Lofa Tatupu in Curry in the fourth slot.

Then came the Browns trade with the Jets. Sanchez started sixteen more games at USC than Matt Cassel, and seems to have the poise and accuracy to be successful in the NFL. And although had fewer weapons than Leinart had at his disposal (although at USC, talent is always relative), Sanchez's last year at USC is statistically similar to Leinart's.

Jets fans at the draft were extremely excited at first, but were not pleased when they heard the full details of the trade. If Sanchez really is as advertised, a franchise quarterback is almost invaluable. However, the pressure is definitely on Sanchez on the rest of the Jets to succeed, especially with Chad Pennington's success as a Dolphin.

At number six, the Bengals decided to put improving their running game over finding a replacement for T.J. Houshmandzadeh. OT Andre Smith had his issues before the draft, but in the NFL, 6'4", 332 pounds is worth quite a bit by itself.

But surely Crabtree wouldn't slip past the Raiders. who needed a talented target for JaMarcus Russell to throw to? Rightly or wrongly, by far the loudest boos of the night rained down after the announcement of the pick of WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. And the draft gurus quickly slapped an "F" on Oakland's report card.

Even if Heyward-Bey becomes a star, the question remains: why use the number seven pick on him, when trading down (even into the lower first round) would have netted picks as well as the covetted 4.30 forty-time? In fact, the Niners could've traded up to get Crabtree (a worthwhile three-pick jump), netting second or third-round picks for the Raiders and benefiting both teams. Ten would still have been a huge reach for the Maryland wide-out, but it would have saved a bit of money and resulted in more picks.

But even when the Raiders passed, the 49ers weren't free to grab Crabtree yet, as Jacksonville and Green Bay were yet to draft. But the Jaguars went with OT Eugene Monroe, despite having lost Matt Jones and Reggie Williams in the off-season.

The Packers selected a player that was rumored to be on the 49ers radar at one point: DT B.J. Raji. Aaron Rodgers no doubt would've enjoyed throwing to Crabtree, but the Packers needed the huge Raji much more than a wideout.

Therefore, a player once considered to be a concensus top-five pick fell to the 49ers at number ten. Crabtree should make the Niners starter look better than he actually is, and will help ease some of the problems in the passing game while a franchise QB is found (could Sam Bradford fall to them next year?).

No matter what happened after the first round, the first day of the 49ers' 2009 draft would still have been considered a success. But did they make a mistake by trading their second-round pick (Everette Brown) to the Panthers for a 2010 first-rounder?

Unless the Panthers regress dramatically next year, the future pick should be around the twenty-fifth overall. But Brown, who was once considered a candidate for the Niners to select - in the first round, could have been a significant upgrade to the Niners' existing pass rush.

The Panthers' motives for trading up to get Brown are unknown. Is Everette meant to be a compliment to Julius Peppers - or a replacement?

A major trade of a veteran like Peppers could dramatically alter the results of the draft, but as it stands now, a few teams seem to have had more day one success than others.

"Winners" in the long run could include teams such as San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York (Jets and Giants), and Cardinals.

The Eagles might have scored a huge coup with the acquisition of Jeremy Macklin. Paired with DeSean Jackson, Macklin could be a factor in the passing game almost immediately (as Jackson was last year).

The Giants replaced talented but problematic (and expensive) WR Plaxico Burriss with 6'4" Hakeem Nicks at twenty-eighth overall.

The Dolphins shored up their pass defense with athletic CB Vontae Davis, then used their second-round pick on Pat White, who could be lethal in the Wildcat offense. It could have been a wasteful reach on a player whose speed advantage over college defenses might be nullified by the speed of NFL defenses, but the possibility is there for White playing multiple postions, based on the formation Miami comes out in on a given down.

The Vikings still have questions at Quarterback, but picked up WR Percy Harvin to help stretch the field in the passing game. What football fan wouldn't want to see Harvin and Adrian Peterson in the same Wildcat backfield, though? In the second round, Minnesota acquired huge OT Phil Loadholt, a powerful run blocker.

The Cardinals, who did not trade Anquan Boldin, picked up power RB Chris Wells to help balance their offense attack for another playoff run.

The Patriots acquired the fortieth and forty-first overall picks, and with them took huge DT Ron Brace and solid CB Darius Butler.

In one of the stranger moves of the day, the Buccaneers traded up to number seventeen to take QB Josh Freeman. Freeman defines the word "project," and the rumor is that already QB-heavy Tampa Bay only took Freeman to keep him from the Vikings.

Cal center Alex Mack went slightly higher than expected, going to the Browns at number twenty-one overall.

With the first two rounds completed, the 49ers look to be among the best drafters so far. But with other NFC teams improving as well, it might take a franchise Quarterback to get over the top in the division.