Speaker 1: It's up Faithball. Welcome back to the forty nine Ers
Speaker 1: First and Ten Podcast, presented by Cisco. The twenty twenty
Speaker 1: five NFL Draft just wrapped up. The forty nine Ers
Speaker 1: used all eleven picks, and we're recording live from Levi
Speaker 1: Stadium and the SAP Performance Facility. I'm your host, Brian McDonald.
Speaker 1: I'm with forty nine Ers team reporter Lindsay Polaris and
Speaker 1: special guest Haste. How do you guys feel about this
Speaker 1: year's draft class?
Speaker 2: Well, I think we were wrong and we got a
Speaker 2: good trade up, trade down, or remember all these different
Speaker 2: predictions we had, but it turned out to be a
Speaker 2: draft where the forty nine Ers were able to get
Speaker 2: a lot of players that filled those positions of needs.
Speaker 2: So I think overall a very successful draft class for
Speaker 2: San Francisco.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's first initial thoughts.
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely. I actually liked the draft how it went down. Obviously,
Speaker 3: like Lindsay was saying, we were talking about trading down
Speaker 3: in that medicals, they didn't do that. They kept all
Speaker 3: the original picks. But even even Kyle Shanahan say at
Speaker 3: the press conference on the last day, on the third
Speaker 3: day that they needed all of these Peaks to fill
Speaker 3: in for all the wholesday the team.
Speaker 1: Had exactly so on Friday, Mikel Williams, the forty nine
Speaker 1: ers first pick in this year's class, came into forty
Speaker 1: nine Ers HQ. What did you guys learn from him?
Speaker 1: What did you guys have to see from him in
Speaker 1: his first day on campus?
Speaker 2: I think, just very enthusiastic to be here, to meet
Speaker 2: all the coaching staff, a few of the players that
Speaker 2: are here obviously for the voluntary offseason workout programs. Overall,
Speaker 2: such a positive look on coming to the Bay Area.
Speaker 2: He said he's familiar more so with southern California because
Speaker 2: he does some of his off season training there. I
Speaker 2: think some of the fun tidbits we picked up from
Speaker 2: the one on one his mom was an Olympic volleyball player,
Speaker 2: so and then he said both of his parents played
Speaker 2: collegiate sports, so that athletic DNA these are family trades.
Speaker 2: So very excited to learn about him, and that it
Speaker 2: was actually wrestling WWE in particular, there was the reason
Speaker 2: he even started playing football, So I really appreciated that.
Speaker 1: Awesome is you also had a sit down with him,
Speaker 1: You got to talk to him. What did you learn
Speaker 1: about him.
Speaker 3: He's a really nice guy. Yeah, he asked him a
Speaker 3: couple of questions. He's very excited about meeting Nick Bosa.
Speaker 3: He even say it. He told me that, and also
Speaker 3: during his press conference he said, I want to learn everything.
Speaker 3: I want to know how he thinks. That's what he mentioned.
Speaker 3: And I also ask him about Ten Williams because actually
Speaker 3: Ten Williams on the other side of the ball, you know,
Speaker 3: can give him a few teams, you know, because obviously
Speaker 3: Ten Williams has faced over his successful career, has faced
Speaker 3: a great pass rusher, so he can give him a
Speaker 3: few tips. And he said, oh, yeah, definitely. I want
Speaker 3: to meet Trent too, So yeah, pretty nice.
Speaker 1: Guy, absolutely the best in the game to learn from.
Speaker 1: And that was just the beginning today to moving on.
Speaker 1: There was three more picks in the draft. Defensive lineman
Speaker 1: Alfred Collins out of Texas, defensive lineman Nick Martin out
Speaker 1: of Oklahoma State, and cornerback up In Stout from Western Kentucky. Lindsay,
Speaker 1: you also got to talk to them right after they
Speaker 1: got picked. What was their excitement like getting picked in
Speaker 1: Day two of the draft, and what did you learn
Speaker 1: from those three?
Speaker 2: I think from a lot of the prospects turned draft picks. Now,
Speaker 2: there was at least some contact with the forty nine
Speaker 2: ers throughout the pre draft process, so perhaps they didn't
Speaker 2: know they were getting drafted by the Niners, but they
Speaker 2: have had positive conversations, all of them very excited across
Speaker 2: the board. I really really enjoyed my conversation with Alfred
Speaker 2: Collins because I asked him, you know, what do the
Speaker 2: faithful need to know about you? And he said, very
Speaker 2: very short and sweet, the run will be stopped. And
Speaker 2: I know that that is definitely going to bring a
Speaker 2: smile to both head coach Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch's
Speaker 2: face is because that is really the number one reason
Speaker 2: that he was brought here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it seems like the theme of the draft at
Speaker 1: the very beginning was defense, all defense. Robert Sola was
Speaker 1: definitely cooking in that war room. What did you learn
Speaker 1: from those three on Day two?
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely that they wanted to fill in some holes
Speaker 3: in the differensive lines, so they did that with Alfred
Speaker 3: Collins obviously, MIKEL Williams on the on the edge, and
Speaker 3: then C. J. West. So yeah, definitely really good defensive
Speaker 3: linemen and very big. So so what I'm the way
Speaker 3: I'm looking at it is that they have their constructing
Speaker 3: like the team in the front, they want to be big, strong, fast, physical,
Speaker 3: sort of like they were in twenty nineteen obviously when
Speaker 3: when Robert Sala was here. Remember we had the Forest Parkner,
Speaker 3: Arik Arms, the big guys in the in the on
Speaker 3: the trenches, and obviously Bosa and the four on the
Speaker 3: on the outside. So I think they want to kind
Speaker 3: of have that type of difference now with the characteristics
Speaker 3: of these players, because in the back end you look
Speaker 3: at the linebackers they chose and Nick Martin, then not
Speaker 3: the safeties. They're like they're short but really quick. They're
Speaker 3: not like the biggest guys. But I remember, like even
Speaker 3: they mentioned that they want to focus like on speed
Speaker 3: to stop the run. And those guys that they chose,
Speaker 3: like a Nick Martin, he reminds me like a Malik Mustafa.
Speaker 3: He just goes like a and makes the tackle. So
Speaker 3: so I really like the way that they're constructing the defense.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the forty nine ers brass has done this before
Speaker 1: and they know that it works. Now. On day three,
Speaker 1: they got busy. There was quite a few picks I'll
Speaker 1: run down the list right now. Defensive lineman CJ. West,
Speaker 1: wide receiver Jordan Watkins, running back Jordan James, safety Marquise Siegel,
Speaker 1: quarterback Curtis Rourke, offensive lineman Connor Colby, wide receiver Junior Bergen.
Speaker 1: And so I want to know what stands out to
Speaker 1: you about this Day three haul. Definitely a lot of
Speaker 1: guys on the list, but what stands out to you?
Speaker 2: You know, I think, like you said, long list, I
Speaker 2: wanted to call out that CJ. West in particular when
Speaker 2: you talk about him joining forces with Alfred Collins. You've
Speaker 2: got two three hundred pound plus guys up in the
Speaker 2: middle who are natural bread run stoppers, right, And it's
Speaker 2: exactly what you said, you want to really bolster that
Speaker 2: defensive line. I think you see the Robert solid touch
Speaker 2: on the draft picks, especially with those five picks of
Speaker 2: the draft all being defensive players. I think. Also, let's
Speaker 2: talk Marquis Siegel. I think one of the best things
Speaker 2: he said is that he can play all four positions
Speaker 2: in the secondary. He said versatility and then also like
Speaker 2: you mentioned, his new speed are things that he really
Speaker 2: felt were important to highlight. And he was just said
Speaker 2: I'm ready to do whatever this team needs me to do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's used a lot of names to study, but
Speaker 1: what stood out to you on Day three?
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely a guy like like Siegel with like Lizzie
Speaker 3: was saying, with his versatility is going to be very
Speaker 3: important because remember Upton Stout, he's also like a nickel corner.
Speaker 3: So Siegel gives you that versatility you want to play
Speaker 3: at safety or in casee you need a Matt Nickel.
Speaker 3: So that means like there's a higher chance now for
Speaker 3: Dianador Lenore to just focus totally on being an outside
Speaker 3: corner because we know he can do. Yeah, he's the
Speaker 3: best actually involve nickel and outside. But I think if
Speaker 3: either like maybe Sieagel or Stout date that nickel cornerback,
Speaker 3: that's going to benefit Leonor and the whole forty nine
Speaker 3: Ers defense in general.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and the faithful felt at this year the theme
Speaker 1: of the draft was definitely defense, but Lindsay there were
Speaker 1: also four offensive players chosen. Whatston that's you about those
Speaker 1: four on the other side of the ball.
Speaker 2: I actually want to call out the final pick for
Speaker 2: the forty nine Ers, which came at the back end
Speaker 2: of that seventh round and Dus and I were talking
Speaker 2: about it, but it was wide receiver Junior Bergen out
Speaker 2: of Montana. He's a Billings native. And while he is
Speaker 2: a wide receiver and we're looking forward to seeing him
Speaker 2: in that room, he really had that edge because of
Speaker 2: special teams. And John Lynch said it to me in
Speaker 2: the one on one we had to wrap up Day three,
Speaker 2: is that the special teams coaches were very much heard
Speaker 2: on this pick. He has a lot of experience at
Speaker 2: pont returner. I believe in college return eight punts for
Speaker 2: a touchdown. They're looking to use that special team's experience,
Speaker 2: especially with the new NFL rule with the touchback now
Speaker 2: going back to the thirty five yard line. So I
Speaker 2: think that skill set's going to be really important.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Any standouts from the offensive side of the ball
Speaker 1: and this year's.
Speaker 3: Draft, Yeah, I also like a lot Jordan Watkins the
Speaker 3: wide receiver. He's really fast, so I think you can
Speaker 3: take advantage of that. For example, the forty nine ers
Speaker 3: needed last season that Dyavin Needing like a wire receiver
Speaker 3: that is able to separate, and I think Watkins will
Speaker 3: be able to create that separation. And also like on
Speaker 3: deep routes, on deeper trolls, he can present like a tread. Obviously,
Speaker 3: we know how good part is identifying whoever is fast.
Speaker 3: He processes information really fast, really fast. And if you
Speaker 3: see that Watkins is quick and it's able to separate quickly,
Speaker 3: that can be a huge advantage for the forty nine
Speaker 3: ers offense, and especially because we don't know, like when
Speaker 3: Brandon Nayuki is going to be back and healthy. Even
Speaker 3: even Kyle Shanahan said that at at his press conferences,
Speaker 3: I think Watkins is a huge addition to the team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Austin, will lindsay, you had the chance to talk
Speaker 1: to John Lynch after every single day of this year's draft.
Speaker 1: You just finished talking to him today on day three.
Speaker 1: What did he have to say about his final thoughts
Speaker 1: on this year's class, How proud is he of his picks?
Speaker 1: And really what insight did he give you from the
Speaker 1: last day.
Speaker 2: You know, with the eleven picks, there were definitely a
Speaker 2: lot of positions of need and they were able to
Speaker 2: address those almost in the way that they had envisioned
Speaker 2: really early with those four picks. But all of the
Speaker 2: picks were necessary, right, We were definitely predicting trades back
Speaker 2: to maybe get more trades up to get a higher
Speaker 2: they needed the eleven picks they had. They were really
Speaker 2: happy with the quality of talent that they were able
Speaker 2: to get. And what John Lynch did say is, you know,
Speaker 2: I said at the beginning of the draft, there's a
Speaker 2: lot of depth in this class, and they found those
Speaker 2: quality players well into Day three, and that is why
Speaker 2: they chose to keep those late seventh round draft picks,
Speaker 2: because those were guys that they were interested in.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and hey, zeus, which picks are getting the most
Speaker 1: buzz in your coverage on esp channels and what are
Speaker 1: your final thoughts on this year's draft class.
Speaker 3: Definitely like a guy like Alfred Collins. I saw that
Speaker 3: a lot of people like him, even our first rounder
Speaker 3: Michael and Michael Williams, Like I noticed that that people
Speaker 3: are really liking like that. This this draft has like
Speaker 3: Robert Sala's input all over it, and people are noticing
Speaker 3: that because you know, when when this thing started, we
Speaker 3: we really when you look at the forty nine ers
Speaker 3: roster before before the draft, obviously we have a Nick Bosa,
Speaker 3: we have a Fred Warner and the Amador Leonore. But
Speaker 3: and that's that's great, that's great. To start with, but
Speaker 3: on the end and on the offenses. But on the
Speaker 3: offensive side of the ball is where the majority of
Speaker 3: the stars are. You know the kid or the Trent
Speaker 3: Willing and you know all those guys. So obviously we
Speaker 3: needed some people in the in the offensive line, and
Speaker 3: we did get an offensive lignment, but in general you
Speaker 3: needed more people in the defensive line. So so I
Speaker 3: think people love a lot of those pis the Alfred
Speaker 3: Kahn and the c. J. West. I saw a lot
Speaker 3: of positive reactions and in general, I think they're really
Speaker 3: good players that have a really good chance to be
Speaker 3: starters for the forty nine ers immediately because they fit
Speaker 3: well perfectly what the forty nine ers.
Speaker 1: Do awesome well. To close us out on today's podcast,
Speaker 1: I've got a few fun questions to wrap it up.
Speaker 1: First off, an easy one, who are you most excited
Speaker 1: to see in action this upcoming year?
Speaker 2: I want to say cornerback up in Stout. I think
Speaker 2: just the energy and if you go watch either his
Speaker 2: press availability or the one on one zoom interview that
Speaker 2: I did with him bouncing off the wall in the
Speaker 2: best way possible. Also the most energetic draft call with
Speaker 2: John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan and CEO Jed Yorke, So I
Speaker 2: think being able to see that energy translate onto the field,
Speaker 2: I'm super excited, and he was so stoked to become
Speaker 2: a Niner this weekend.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'd have to say defensive lineman Alfred Collins is
Speaker 1: maybe one of my favorites to see in this upcoming year.
Speaker 1: I love the energy he gave you in that zoom
Speaker 1: call talking about his versatility, and also that dominance he
Speaker 1: brings up to the d line and that energy that
Speaker 1: he works with. I'm really excited to see that in action.
Speaker 1: Who's your favorite pick this year?
Speaker 3: I was gonna say Mike kel Williams, but that's a
Speaker 3: pretty obvious one because you know he's the person everybody's
Speaker 3: pretty excited about him. So I'm gonna go with Nick Martin.
Speaker 3: Nick Martin, I really like he has a linebacker. I
Speaker 3: think he's really fast. He's gonna help the forty nine
Speaker 3: Ers a lot in stopping the running game. And if
Speaker 3: if you look at it, all these guys, all these
Speaker 3: defenders the forty nine Ers acquire in this draft, they're
Speaker 3: really good against the run. So I think now the
Speaker 3: forty nine Ers defense in general, with guys like Nick
Speaker 3: Martin are gonna be really really good against the run.
Speaker 1: And if the faithful were staying tuned to social media,
Speaker 1: specifically X, you would have gotten a few hints from
Speaker 1: our CEO and owner Jed York. Right before the forty
Speaker 1: nine ers made their pick and they were on the clock,
Speaker 1: he dropped a few little tweets and ex posts giving
Speaker 1: fans a little hint on what the forty nine ers
Speaker 1: might do. Lindsay, do you happen to have a favorite
Speaker 1: on the list?
Speaker 2: So I can't say it verbatim, but I do believe
Speaker 2: it was before the fifth pick and he was like,
Speaker 2: let's do something different. Never mind Robert Solid just back
Speaker 2: like and then that's when the forty nine ers took
Speaker 2: their fifth straight defensive pick, which I believe was CJ.
Speaker 1: West.
Speaker 2: I'm kind of getting all of the picks of my
Speaker 2: mixed up at this point, but that was my favorite
Speaker 2: by far.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's what do you think I like the one
Speaker 3: of our Frank Gore when we were gonna chose the
Speaker 3: running back Jordan James. Yeah, and he tweeted something like
Speaker 3: if a fater Hall of Fame or approached it, then
Speaker 3: that's got to be the pick something. I don't remember
Speaker 3: the exact quote, but I like that one.
Speaker 1: The one of I like how he gives you some
Speaker 1: insight onto what's happening in the war room. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: I think my favorite because this was a really long day.
Speaker 1: On day three, he said speed this up, hashtag, let's
Speaker 1: do it, let's wrap this thing up. Awesome. So I
Speaker 1: also want to know what was your guys' favorite pick announcement.
Speaker 1: We had a few different celebrities and extra special fans
Speaker 1: go up and make some picks. Do you have a
Speaker 1: favorite that stands out to you?
Speaker 2: I do like the incorporation of Internet national sites and
Speaker 2: the forty nine ers were fortunate to be able to
Speaker 2: announce a pick in Monterey, Mexico, and we had Alfredo
Speaker 2: Gutierrez and Patrick will I think Patrick Willis is a
Speaker 2: lot of people favorites Hall of Fame linebackers, So I
Speaker 2: really like that announcement.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's this. Is there any special woman that stood
Speaker 1: out to you on the draft coverage? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I was gonna go with that one, the one that
Speaker 3: Lisa mentioned. I also like a lot the one Julian
Speaker 3: Peterson gave, especially because Julian Peterson brought a lot of
Speaker 3: memories of like my teenage years, like middle school years,
Speaker 3: because I watched him as a player growing up and
Speaker 3: he was really good for the forty nine Ers, So
Speaker 3: so yeah, I enjoyed that one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, my favorite was our forty nine Ers International Fan
Speaker 1: of the Year, Hugh Davies. He made a pick on
Speaker 1: Day three of the draft live in Green Bay. I
Speaker 1: got to talk to Hugh right after he made the pick.
Speaker 1: Take a look you you just announced a pick live
Speaker 1: from the twenty twenty five NFL Draft in Green Bay.
Speaker 1: What was that experience like standing on stage and representing
Speaker 1: the forty nine Ers.
Speaker 4: It was amazing. It was a Dreamtom Try. It was
Speaker 4: a surreal experience. The crowd was phenomenal. It just they
Speaker 4: went on forever, all the way back to lambeau Field,
Speaker 4: and it was a real proud moment for a team
Speaker 4: that I've supported for thirty something years. And yeah, to
Speaker 4: add another member of the team to the forty nine
Speaker 4: Ers was a dream come true.
Speaker 1: Amazing. Yeah, you picked wide receiver Jordan Watkins. How cool
Speaker 1: was it to call his name out and officially welcome
Speaker 1: a new player to the team.
Speaker 4: It was something that I never thought would happen in
Speaker 4: my lifetime, but now I have a connection to Jordan
Speaker 4: and I'm going to follow his career and hopefully he's
Speaker 4: the next debo and hopefully he has a very long,
Speaker 4: successful career.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love it. I want to rewind just a
Speaker 1: bit and just congratulate you for being the forty nine
Speaker 1: Ers International Fan of the Year. What's it like to
Speaker 1: represent the faithful? Tell us a little bit about your
Speaker 1: journey becoming the Niners fan all the way in Australia.
Speaker 4: So, yeah, I became a Niners fan when my dad
Speaker 4: brought me a hat back from America on a work
Speaker 4: trip and I was just a little kid, about ten
Speaker 4: years old, and from then on I sort of followed
Speaker 4: the forty nine Ers and they grew to be my
Speaker 4: favorite team. And yeah, I've been a passionate forty nine
Speaker 4: Ers fan for well over thirty years now. And we
Speaker 4: get up very early on a Monday morning to watch
Speaker 4: the games live because it's quite early and Monday morning
Speaker 4: in Australia is Sunday in the States. So it's a
Speaker 4: passion that comes with a fair bit of.
Speaker 1: Bake determination perhaps, Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yes, yeah, determination, like, yeah, getting up that early
Speaker 4: and starting off the week like that, but it is
Speaker 4: a highlight of starting off the week for me, and yeah,
Speaker 4: to be as I've grown that I've watched from Joe
Speaker 4: Montana to Steve Young and Jerry Rice and through the
Speaker 4: ups and downs of the forty nine ers and now
Speaker 4: with the brock Perty era, It's something that I'm really
Speaker 4: excited about. And when I got picked to me the
Speaker 4: international Fan of the Year for the forty nine Ers,
Speaker 4: it was something I could have never ever dreamed of,
Speaker 4: and yeah, it was a dream come true and it's
Speaker 4: got me closer to the forty nine ers than I
Speaker 4: ever thought possible.
Speaker 1: Well, the faithful, our family, Hugh, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for representing the faithful, and go Niners.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 1: That'll do it for today. Faithful, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for following all of our draft coverage on forty nine
Speaker 1: ers dot com. Make sure to stay tuned for any
Speaker 1: arts season coverage by subscribing to First and Time presented
Speaker 1: by Cisco on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. We'll see
Speaker 1: you there.