With the 30th pick the 49ers select...

Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford. Fleener is 6'6" tall and 245 lbs. If ever there was a Jimmy Graham clone Fleener is it. The reason Baalke, Harbaugh, and Roman will go with Fleener over the other WR's available at pick#30 is plain and simple. The 49ers utilize TE's like no other team in the NFL. Harbaugh always had a catalog of TE's on his Stanford squads. With a TE like Fleener the 49ers can be more expansive in their play-calls, and unlike most rookies, he won't need to learn a new play-book, making him the most NFL ready TE coming into the draft if he goes to the 49ers...there won't be any learning curve. Fleener runs the 40 yard dash somewhere in the 4.7's so he doesn't have the burner speed that Davis has, but he does have the height (as shown above) to go over most NFL LB's, CB's, and S's. The guy is also the Mackey Award winner, given to the nations best TE, and an All-American. Given Fleener's credentials and pedigree he offers the best option over the WR's that would be available at the #30 pick in the draft.

Over the past two seasons Fleener has caught 17 TD's (see stats below) and has an excellent average yards per reception. Being 6'6" gives the 49ers that viable height advantage for converting 3rd downs into 1st downs and in-completions into TD's down in the red-zone. Drafting Fleener eliminates having to reach on an iffy WR prospect that the offense may never fully utilize.

SEASON	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
2011	34	667	19.6	62	10
2010	28	434	15.5	58	7

Fleener makes the 49ers more versatile because he is such a good pass and run blocker. At Stanford they would even line him up out in the slot from time to time, which allows the 49ers to play sneaky and run in trips formation or a 3 "WR" set, with draw plays or even sprint out runs.

Given he's a Stanford guy he's got smarts. I know it's been a long time, but he reminds me of a taller, faster, better version of Eric Johnson. I know it's not the greatest reference but Eric Johnson was a Yale alum (smart) and he also wore #82. This pick makes the most sense since the level of play from the TE position dropped off considerably once Delanie Walker went down with an injury. The 49ers got lucky they made it most of the year with healthy TE's. Adding Fleener is like adding a hybrid WR/TE/OL, so the 49ers will get the benefit of having all three in one. That is value, 3 for the price of 1 with your 1st round pick! The other important thing to note is that Harbaugh recruited Fleener, making the draft crush quite obvious. Not to mention the added bonus of Fleener already knowing Harbaugh and Roman's offensive system. Who cares if some draft pundits say this is a reach...they said the same thing about Aldon Smith and look how that turned out.

Fleener is ranked as the 2nd best TE in the draft by many of the draft 'experts' and the #37 overall best player according to NFL Draft Scout rankings, so there is a chance he could last to the #30 pick. Look for Fleener to be wearing #82 in red and gold next year and the 49ers anemic offense to finally start to churn out the big numbers that are so desperately needed to get to the Super Bowl.