Continuing our look at the first-round picks who are in the 49ers' wheelhouse and what those players need to show at next week's scouting combine. Thanks to NFL Draft Scout's Rob Rang, who helped me compose these thoughts ...
Earl Thomas, S, Texas, 5-10, 195
Thomas' biggest test in Indianapolis will be stepping on the scale. The Texas safety has tremendous range and great ball skills, but there are durability questions about Thomas, who is listed as 195 pounds. That's light for an NFL safety. Thomas also had some problems making tackles in the open field, leading scouts to wonder if he wouldn't be better off at cornerback in the NFL. Aside from Florida's Joe Haden, there aren't a lot of can't-miss cornerback prospects at the top of the draft. If Thomas runs his 40 in the low 4.4s or 4.3s, he would help convince teams he could make the conversion. There are certainly some talented NFL safeties who don't have a lot of size. The Colts' Bob Sanders, Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu and Baltimore's Ed Reed come to mind. All three of those players, however, were sidelined with injuries this past season and Reed is contemplating retirement. Said Rang of Thomas: "Durability is absolutely something teams have to consider."
Dan Williams, NT, Tennessee, 6-2, 329
On film, Williams was one of the strongest players in the nation last season, and Rang said he has no doubt he'll show that strength at the combine. Williams is not in the same category as defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy, but he might be the next-best interior defender in a draft that, for the first time in many years, is deep with them. Williams came on strong during his senior season. Mel Kiper, Jr., in fact, said that Williams' senior season catapulted him a round and a half higher than the level he had played his first three seasons. To Rang, that's the biggest question about Williams and one NFL teams will attempt to answer at the combine. "Was that (improvement) because of Monte Kiffin or is it because you want to get paid because you're a senior?"
Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma, 6-5, 318
The 49ers are almost a lock to take an offensive tackle in the first round, and Williams seems to be the one most prognosticators believe will land in red and gold. Williams' biggest issue as a senior was inconsistency. He played very well at right tackle as an underclassman, but when he switched to the left side as a senior, he struggled. Rang said he would look like a Top 10 pick on one play and then get beaten badly the next. "He'd be one of the guys I'd love to get in an interview room and ask, 'What were you thinking on this play?'" Rang said. There is also some concern that Williams is not as big as he was listed at Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford will not throw during the combine because he's still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered early in 2009. In the video below, you'll notice that the BYU defender who separates Bradford's shoulder runs right past Williams. Alex Smith, be warned ...
-- Matt Barrows
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