Former 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan is regarded as one of the best talent evaluators around. He was executive that had a key role in drafting players like Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Joe Staley, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Alex Smith and many others.
McCloughan, who currently runs his own scouting service and was recently commissioned by the Browns during the draft last Month, recently offered his thoughts on San Francisco’s recent draft class to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
McCloughan spoke about the 49ers’ first four picks: Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey, Washington receiver Dante Pettis, BYU linebacker Fred Warner and Southern Mississippi defensive back Tarvarius Moore. Check out what he had to say.
On McGlinchey:
“I liked him a lot. … I liked the size, I liked the length. I liked the toughness. … Everyone’s going to say he’s a right tackle. I think he’s a left tackle through and through. I like his intelligence, his instincts for the position. I liked the angles he would take and the fact that we wanted to finish (blocks).”
On Pettis:
“That scares me a little bit because he doesn’t play big. I understand he’s got the nine punt returns for touchdowns and all that. But when I watched him, I thought, ‘Ok. Cool route runner. But how’s he going to be against the Richard Shermans, the Brandon Browners, that type of corner?’ Because they’ll take him out of his route right away.”
On Warner:
“I liked him a lot. I think he’s going to be a damn good player, damn good player. If he comes in and he’s not the starter right away, which I think he probably will be, you’ve got a really good core (special) teams guy. … This guy makes plays. He’s athletic, he’s got enough size to him. He can play the WILL (linebacker spot) or the SAM, in my opinion. He’s not a MIKE. Because he doesn’t have the strength for it. But he’s a good football player, really good football player.”
On Moore:
“Very interesting guy. Very interesting. All of a sudden he popped up. And I looked at (John) Dorsey and said, ‘Who’s this guy?’ Because he’s got size, he’s got range and the guy makes plays. We liked him quite a bit. Not the first three rounds, but we liked him. And it’s interesting because the guy came out of nowhere. He plays smart for dang sure and he makes a lot of plays in coverage and the run.”
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