San Francisco 49ers Have a Lot to Prove in the 2015 NFL Draft

The San Francisco 49ers went from being a Super Bowl contender to being one of the most turbulent franchises in the NFL in the span of about one season. The team struggled on the field, there was controversy off the field, coaches were fired, players retired or chose to not re-sign with the team, and the tumult continued.

Now that the 2015 NFL Draft is finally here, the 49ers finally have a chance to start to re-build their franchise and their image. This is the first Draft under Jim Tomsula’s reign, but 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said that, even with a new head coach, they’d approach the Draft with the same type of preparation, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.

"So how different has prepping for the draft been for Tomsula as a first-time NFL head coach after being the Niners’ defensive line coach since 2007?“No different,” general manager Trent Baalke said recently. “We’ve said from Day 1, it’s been an eight-and-a-half year relationship we’ve been around each other so there’s no new nuances. He knows how we operate from a personnel standpoint, he’s always been on board with the way we’ve operated and just because he’s become the head coach, (that) hasn’t changed his mindset on that.“To be honest, he has spent a lot of time focusing on getting his coaching staff and the players and the structural things necessary to get going in the offseason. That’s where he’s spent a lot of his time.”"

Baalke will, yet again, have a chance to call the shots in this year’s Draft. He puts his fingerprints on the Draft by selecting players that he believes fits into the 49ers’ style of play, which could be different this season under Tomsula than it was under Jim Harbaugh.

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Not only will Baalke have to fill several holes on the 49ers’ current roster (cornerback, wide receiver, defensive line, offensive line, etc.), but he will also have to prove to fans that this is truly a new beginning for the 49ers franchise. The 49ers want to be competitive now. They don’t want to be in rebuild mode, but based on their roster right now, the 49ers are certainly not the contender they used to be or even close to that type of team.

Baalke has to make a statement in this Draft by selecting players who fit into the new regime but who also are NFL-ready and aren’t projects. Fans want results now, and they don’t want to have to wait a few years to see the prospects contribute to this team. They want results now, and they want the 49ers to return to NFL relevance by getting into the playoffs this upcoming season.

Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News recently wrote about how important this Draft is for Baalke and the 49ers and how Baalke’s architectual-like approach to the Draft:

"For the 49ers and Baalke, this will be their first chance to put some real meat on the bones of the post-Jim-Harbaugh era and give fans something to talk about rather than the endless tape loop about how that epic meltdown between coach and front office transpired.…Remember how in 2005, Nolan tried to make Alex Smith into a franchise quarterback as a rookie? Smith didn’t find his solid footing until Baalke and Harbaugh took over in 2011 and surrounded the quarterback with an entire roster that successfully recast him as an important cog in more of a grinder-type offense. Baalke drafted players who fit that architecture. Harbaugh coached it — well, until last season, when Baalke clearly thought the coaches were trying to do too much fancy stuff with quarterback Colin Kaepernick outside the architecture. That’s not the only reason Harbaugh was told he wouldn’t return. But it was a significant dynamic."

Harbaugh’s departure truly suggests that Baalke is the mastermind behind this 49ers team, and many fans and outsiders have a negative view of this 49ers franchise right now. Some fans didn’t want to see Harbaugh go and are uncertain of Tomsula’s ability to coach at the NFL level.

Baalke wants Tomsula to run the team a certain way and wants players on the team that fit into that scheme. That’s why this Draft is so important and possibly even more important than any other Draft in recent history.

The 49ers have to overcome a controversial, rocky offseason by having a highly successful Draft. The 49ers can’t make mistakes, and they have to excite fans and ensure success with their picks. That’s a lot to put on one general manager and one Draft, but that’s where the 49ers currently stand as a team and a franchise.

Next: One Player 49ers Must Draft in First Round

San Francisco 49ers Have a Lot to Prove in the 2015 NFL Draft

By Maggie Pilloton | Apr 30, 2015

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