With the 13th pick of the Revenge of the Birds community mock draft, the San Francisco 49ers select...
C.J. Spiller | RB | Clemson
Strengths: CJ Spiller is a dynamic athlete who possesses a rare blend of athleticism, balance and overall instincts as a runner. Spiller has elite speed can change the game every time the ball is in his hands. He displays great vision and patience at the line of scrimmage with the burst to explode into daylight. He does a nice job feeling out his blocks and picking his way through the line of scrimmage. He possesses the lateral agility and footwork to consistently make the first man miss and does a great job changing directions at full speed. Spiller gets up to speed quickly and exhibits a second gear in the open field. He does a nice job lowering his pad level on contact and not absorbing many big hits. Underrated toughness, able to break tackles. Has soft hands and is a gifted receiver who possesses the ability to turn his routes up the field and make plays vertically. He catches the ball well out of the backfield and looks natural in the pass game. He can provide the offense with great mismatches in coverage. Amazing ability after the catch. Extremely good punt returner. No off the field issues. He's a jack-of-all-trades who can hurt you on the ground or through the air. Spiller has that 'it' factor as a runner and is very instinctive in all areas of his game. A real playmaker at the next level.
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Weaknesses: His main weakness is his ball security. He does not protect the football the way you want to see from a top RB. Not a great pass blocker, can deliver hits but not big enough to stand and block. He lacks ideal girth and some question whether he can carry a full load in the NFL. He will not always be able to break it to the outside and out run everyone like he did in college.
Why the 49ers will draft him:The 49ers need to add playmakers. They may have a need in the OL, but this can be addressed later in draft and/or FA plus the draft is deep in OL - the team can't afford to bank on a return to dominance from Frank Gore. Spiller can bring the 49er's the element of the big play they've been missing on offense and special teams. Spiller is a weapon of mass destruction that this team would love to have. Spiller has the "it" factor. He can help by running "it," catching "it" and returning "it."
Thanks to lorenzothedog for posting this pick and that puts 7ftCard on the clock with Seattle's second pick. Najmsh is now on deck with the New York Giants pick. Since I missed a pick yesterday we'll do a double post either today or tomorrow. Please send your picks to revengeofthebirds@gmail.com. The picks are after the jump...
- St. Louis - Sam Bradford, QB
- Detroit - Russell Okung, OT
- Tampa Bay - Ndamukong Suh, DT
- Washington - Bryan Bulaga, OT
- Kansas City - Eric Berry, S
- Seattle - Gerald McCoy, DT
- Cleveland - Jimmy Clausen, QB
- Oakland - Trent Williams, OT
- Buffalo - Bruce Campbell, OT
- Jacksonville - Joe Haden, CB
- Denver - Rolando McClain, LB
- Miami - Earl Thomas, S
- San Francisco - C.J. Spiller
- Seattle - 7ftCard
- New York Giants - najmsh
- Tennessee - kj197728
- San Francisco - lorenzothedog
- Pittsburgh - Cardscrazy247
- Atlanta - durst
- Houston - DaCards
- Cincinnati - LAcardsfan
- New England - Hadrarius
- Green Bay - notliketheboardgame
- Philadelphia - robloosli
- Baltimore - Skii
- Arizona - ROTB community
- Dallas - manderson367
- San Diego - WhiffSD
- New York Jets - Drullin'OverDaCards
- Minnesota - tooman234
- Indianapolis - TheAngelsColts
- New Orleans - Reo Hayes