Grading a draft is just as pointless as a post-draft power ranking. There is just no way of knowing how the prospects turn out. A high overall pick could become a flop. A seventh-rounder might become a future Hall-of-Famer. An injury, heaven forbid, could stall the rebuilding process for another year. Nonetheless, teams expect their first-round choices to become starters and others are expected to make an immediate impact. Let's see whether the 49ers drafted potential starters and impact players.

The 49ers did a great job in free agency, addressing their need for a deeper and more talented receiver corps. With the exception of maybe a right guard San Francisco didn't need to draft a designated first-year starter. The Niners could use all their picks to add depth and slowly transition the draftees into impact players.

San Francisco selected WR A.J. Jenkins (first round), RB LaMichael James (second), G Joe Looney (fourth), OLB Darius Fleming (fifth), FS Trenton Robinson (sixth), OT Jason Slowey (sixth) and DE Cam Johnson (seventh).

A.J. Jenkins won't be a starter in his first season with the team. He is more of a safety net in case the WR Randy Moss experiment backfires. Jenkins can do everything the 49ers are expecting to get out of Randy Moss. Expect him to catch one or two passes per game with an opportunity to earn an increased role.

The selection of LaMichael James in the second round makes little sense at first. RB Frank Gore and RB Kendall Hunter will almost certainly be ahead of him once the season kicks off and RB Brandon Jacobs and RB Anthony Dixon are set to compete for the short-yardage downs. In the long run, however, James could be groomed to form a one-two-punch with Kendall Hunter once the Frank Gore era has come to an end.

G Joe Looney provides competition at the guard spot and could end up starting on opening day. Looney and G Daniel Kilgore are unproven though. The search for a right guard might not be over yet and a trade seems a possibility, considering the 49ers have a number of additional draft picks in 2013.

OLB Darius Fleming adds depth to the linebacker corps and could make an impact on special teams.

FS Trenton Robinson and T Jason Slowey provide depth but may not survive the cut.

DE Cam Johnson dropped down the draft boards but could turn out to be a steal in the seventh round. Teams were concerned about his history of injuries but if he is healthy he could continue where OLB Aldon Smith left off last season.

It is possible that none of the drafted players wind up starting in 2012. From this angle the draft hasn't made the 49ers a better team but San Francisco was drafting for depth and did just that. Depth is something you can never have enough of. A.J. Jenkins, Joe Looney and Cam Johnson are the most likely players to make an immediate impact. With the exception of the guard spot San Francisco has an overall improved roster compared to last season.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers agreed to a one-year contract with RB Brandon Jacobs. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The New York Giants released Jacobs for salary cap reasons three weeks ago.

The 29-year old was drafted by the Giants in 2005 and spent all of his seven seasons with the G-Men, winning a Super Bowl in 2008 and 2012. He rushed for over 1,000 yards twice in his career.

As RB Ahmad Bradshaw's backup Jacobs ran for 571 yards on 152 carries last season and scored seven touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown.

Jacobs will most likely be used on short-yardage and goal-line plays, since RB Anthony Dixon failed to live up to expectations in this role last year. RB Kendall Hunter is expected to remain RB Frank Gore's primary backup.

St. Louis Rams

WR Torry Holt will sign a one-year contract with the St. Louis Rams and retire as a member of the orginazation one day later.

The St. Louis Rams selected the 35-year old with the sixth overall pick in the 1999 draft. Torry Holt won a Super Bowl in his rookie season when the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans 23-16. Over the years he and WR Isaac Bruce would become one of the best receiver tandems in the league.

Torry Holt is second in franchise history in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, only trailing Isaac Bruce. He had eight consecutive 1,000+ receiving yards seasons and surpassed the century mark for receptions twice. Holt made the Pro Bowl seven times.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Torry Holt in 2009 but he couldn't score a touchdown in 15 games. This turned out to be his last season in the NFL. The New England Patriots took their chance in 2010 but Holt ended up on injured reserve and was released.  

On the all-time list Torry Holt ranks 13^th with 920 receptions, 10^th with 13,382 receiving yards and 28^th with 74 receiving touchdowns. Will this get him into the Hall of Fame one day?

The San Francisco 49ers beat the St. Louis Rams 34-27 to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. San Francisco’s next opponent will be determined between the Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants.

It was clear from the start that TE Vernon Davis and WR Michael Crabtree would have to carry the main load in San Francisco’s passing offense. QB Alex Smith connected over and over again with both on the opening drive to get the offense into field goal range. The record-breaking David Akers attempted a field goal from 48 yards but missed.

The St. Louis Rams saw a chance to score the first points in this game. They were in San Francisco’s half after a 24-yard reception from former Niner WR Brandon Lloyd and proceeded to the red zone after 20 yards on 3 carries from RB Steven Jackson. San Francisco’s focus seemed a little off after having surrendered a rushing touchdown last week and QB Kellen Clemens took advantage of it by running 18 yards into the end zone.

Alex Smith showed that he could do just as well as time wound down in the first quarter. The Rams had to punt out of their own end zone and S Reggie Smith returned it 10 yards to St. Louis’ 33-yard line. RB Frank Gore couldn’t rush into the end zone, so Alex Smith tried it from 8 yards and was successful to tie the score at 7.

The 49ers were in control now and continued to add more points to the scoreboard. CB Tarell Brown intercepted Kellen Clemens on St. Louis’ next possession and Michael Crabtree caught a pass for a 28-yard touchdown.

On San Francisco’s next drive David Akers could make up for a missed field goal at the beginning of the game. Alex Smith connected with Vernon Davis on a 44-yard pass to move the offense into the red zone. The distance was too much to overcome after LB Chris Chamberlain sacked Alex Smith for a loss of 7 yards and David Akers connected from 36 yard to give the Niners a 17-7 lead.

David Akers added another three points to the score when he hit a field goal from 42 yards after San Francisco’s final drive of the first half stalled at St. Louis’ 24-yard line. The 49ers took a commanding 20-7 lead into the break.

Josh Brown cut the deficit to 10, when he made a field goal from 49 yards, but the Niners responded with a trick play. San Francisco moved into the red zone after a 15-yard face mask penalty against S Quintin Mikell and a catch for 34 yards from Vernon Davis. The Niners couldn’t convert another first down. Michael Crabtree was running towards the sidelines as David Akers prepared for a 31-yard field goal attempt. No defender followed Crabtree and Akers passed to him for a 14-yard touchdown and a 27-10 lead.

Josh Brown again cut the deficit, this time to 14, when he scored from 48 yards.

The Niners had to punt on their next possession but Andy Lee’s ball sailed 64 yards through the air to St. Louis’ 1-yard line. Kellen Clemens made the mistake of throwing an interception and Tarell Brown returned the ball 5 yards to St. Louis’ 13-yard line. RB Kendall Hunter set up RB Anthony Dixon’s 1-yard rushing touchdown with 3 carries for 12 yards and the Niners were up by a score of 34-13.

With 6:30 minutes remaining the 49ers seemed to relax a little and allowed the Rams to get back into the game. St. Louis entered 49ers territory thanks to an unnecessary roughness call on CB Chris Culliver and moments later Kellen Clemens found Brandon Lloyd for a 36-yard touchdown.

The Rams attempted an onside kick and LB Bryan Kehl recovered the ball for St. Louis. Tarell Brown was called for pass interference on the next play, which gave the Rams a first down on San Francisco’s 1-yard line. RB Carnell Williams ran into the end zone and San Francisco’s lead was down to 34-27.

The Rams received the ball one more time but turned it over on downs and the 49ers were able to run out the clock.

Game Tidbits

Alex Smith completed 21 of 31 passes for 219 yards, 1 touchdown and a passer rating of 98.7. His passer rating of 90.7 on the season and 3,150 passing yards are a personal best.

Michael Crabtree caught 9 passes for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Vernon Davis caught 8 passes for 118 yards.

Tarell Brown had the first multi-interception game of his career.

The 49ers surrendered 100 receiving yards to Brandon Lloyd.

San Francisco converted 38% of their third downs and their only attempt on fourth down.

Both teams recorded 3 sacks.

The Niners outpossessed the Rams 35:08 minutes to 24:52 minutes.

FB Bruce Miller left the game with a knee injury, though it doesn’t appear to be too serious.

San Francisco’s winning ways haven’t changed, even after a bye week. Dominating defense, stellar running game and remarkable receptions were the foundations for the 5^th consecutive win.

LOLB Ahmad Brooks sacked Colt McCoy on the second play of the game and DT Isaac Sopoaga recovered the fumble at Cleveland’s 20-yard line. RB Frank Gore rushed for a 4-yard touchdown five plays later to score the first points of the game.

On San Francisco’s second possession Frank Gore and RB Kendall Hunter each had a run for over 20 yards and LT Joe Staley caught a pass for 17 yards. Kicker David Akers completed the 88-yard drive with a successful 29-yard field goal attempt to give the Niners a 10-0 lead after the first quarter.

The 49ers opened the second quarter by marching down the field once again, seemingly unstoppable. At Cleveland’s 1-yard line head coach Jim Harbaugh made the call to run the ball into end zone three times but Cleveland’s defense stopped each attempt and the 49ers turned the ball over on downs.

I don’t blame Harbaugh for trying to score a touchdown on a 4^th and goal with 1 yard to go. The 49ers were outplaying the Browns up to this point and were trying to break Cleveland’s will, but I wonder why he didn’t select RB Anthony Dixon for the attempted one-yard conversion.

The 49ers were more successful on their next drive, though, when QB Alex Smith connected with WR Michael Crabtree on a 2-yard pass for the wideout’s first touchdown of the season.

With 1:23 left in the half Colt McCoy managed to move the chain, helped by a 15-yards penalty on FS Dashon Goldson for unnecessary roughness, and Phil Dawson scored a 52-yard field goal for a 17-3 half time score.

The third quarter did not deliver any scoring drives but Ahmad Brooks recorded his second sack of the game and Dashon Goldson redeemed himself by intercepting a pass at San Francisco’s own 20-yard line. “As a player you think of those type of things.” Reggie Givens said, who once again offered his insight as a former NFL player on http://schoolofthelegends.com during the game. “Make-up plays get the coach off your back.”

The 49ers failed to turn this contest into a three-possession game and in return the Cleveland Browns cut their deficit to 7 points. Colt McCoy passed to WR Joshua Cribbs for a 45-yard touchdown with 6:17 left in the game.

The Niners needed to respond and they did. The 49ers overcame 68 yards in 11 plays, ran down the clock to 1:56 and left the Browns without any timeouts. On 3^rd & 3 at Cleveland’s 32-yard line Alex Smith threw a pass to Isaac Sopoaga for 18 yards and a new 1^st down. Four plays later David Akers hit the game-winning field goal from 26 yards for the final score of 20-10.

Game Tidbits

Alex Smith completed 15 of 24 pass attempts for 177 yards and 1 touchdown. His passer rating was 98.8.

It was Frank Gore’s fourth consecutive game with 125+ rushing yards and a touchdown. He now has 7,089 rushing yards and moved past Roger Craig into second place on the 49ers career rushing list. He needs 256 more yards to surpass Joe Perry.

LILB NaVorro Bowman finished the game with 11 tackles and is on pace for 123 tackles.

P Andy Lee’s first punt came in the third quarter. His longest punt went for 65 yards.

The 49ers outsacked the Browns 4-1.

The defense committed a 15-yard penalty in the final two minutes of each half. “That’s a very big deal,” according to Reggie Givens. “They have to correct that if they want to become an elite team and go deep into the playoffs.”   

Two linemen, Joe Staley and Isaac Sopoaga, each caught a pass for a first down.

It was the game of the week and it may well have been the birth of a new rivalry. The game was extremely intense and this intensity transferred to the head coaches, which culminated in an altercation after the game. Regardless, the 49ers remain unbeaten on the road and solidify their position at the top of the NFC West.

The game didn’t start well for San Francisco. QB Alex Smith got sacked on their first play and lost the ball. Detroit’s Kyle Vanden Bosch recovered the fumble for a first down at San Francisco’s 17-yard line but the Lions had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Jason Hanson.

After some three-and-outs, which in San Francisco’s case weren’t helped by a couple of false starts, Lions QB Matt Stafford drove the offense 69 yards downfield for a 16-yard touchdown pass to TE Brandon Pettigrew and a 10-0 score after the first quarter.

This time the 49ers responded immediately. A 47-yard run by RB Frank Gore set up San Francisco’s first points of the game. Lined up at Detroit’s 1-yard line, RB Anthony Dixon couldn’t carry the ball into the end zone but Frank Gore was more successful on San Francisco’s second attempt.

After a few more three-and-outs OLB Aldon Smith, a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year, made his presence known. He sacked Matt Stafford for a safety and the Niners were only trailing by 1 point.

Detroit got one more chance to score before half time but Jason Hanson missed a field goal from 52 yards. The Niners got the ball back with 0:55 on the clock and finished the first half with a 55-yard field goal from David Akers. San Francisco was up 12-10 at half time.

The most striking statistic of the first half: San Francisco committed 11 penalties for 99 yards.

Detroit’s only points of the third quarter came from a 24-yard field goal from Jason Hanson but once again the 49ers responded straight away. Another great run by Frank Gore, this time for 55 yards, brought the Niners to Detroit’s 14-yard line, from where they had to settle for a field goal attempt. The reliable David Akers made it and the 49ers took a 15-13 lead into the final quarter.

The Detroit Lions capitalized on San Francisco’s second turnover of the game. Amari Spievey intercepted a pass intended for WR Michael Crabtree and returned it 30 yards to San Francisco’s 49-yard line. 8 plays later Nate Burleson caught a 5-yard touchdown pass. The Lions went for a 2-point conversion but couldn’t convert.

It took the 49ers three drives to regain the upper hand. In desperate need of a touchdown Ted Ginn Jr. returned a punt for 40 yards to Detroit’s 35-yard line. Thanks to efficient rushing from Frank Gore and RB Kendall Hunter the 49ers got one first down after the other and entered the red zone, where Alex Smith connected with TE Delanie Walker for a 6-yard touchdown pass. San Francisco was leading 22-19 with 1:51 left in the game.

The Lions got the ball back at their 20-yard line with 3 timeouts left but turned the ball over on downs. The 49ers received the ball again at Detroit’s 25-yard line and the Lions had to use up all their timeouts. David Akers hit a 37-yard field to make it 25-19 and the 49ers handed the Lions their first loss of the season.

Reggie Givens, former Niners linebacker and special teams captain, offered his expertise on http://www.schoolofthelegends.com throughout the game and summed it up best. “Defense & Special Teams won their battles today!! At the end the 49ers won all 3 phases today Offense, Defense & Special Teams!! That’s why they are 5-1.”

After the game head coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz had an altercation and staff as well as players had to separate them. A pumped up Harbaugh shook hands with Schwartz and slapped him on the back. Schwartz took offence to this and chased after Harbaugh. San Francisco’s head coach took the blame. “That’s totally on me,” he said. “I shook his hand too hard.” The NFL will look into the incident.

Game Tidbits

Alex Smith completed 17 of 32 passes for 125 yards and a passer rating of 60.0. He had 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

Frank Gore ran for 141 yards on 15 carries and 1 touchdown.

WR Michael Crabtree had a career high 9 receptions but is still waiting for his first touchdown of the season.

Rookie Aldon Smith had 2 more sacks and leads the team with 5.5 sacks.

The 49ers are the only team to deny Detroit’s Calvin Johnson a touchdown this season.

Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh did not have a single tackle in the entire game.

Both teams had a combined third down efficiency of 4 out of 29 but converted 2 of 3 fourth downs.

The 49ers ran for 203 yards and limited the Lions to 66 yards on the ground.

The Niners sacked Matt Stafford 5 times. Before this game Matt Stafford had been sacked 6 times in 5 games.

After committing 11 penalties for 99 yards in the first half the 49ers had only 4 more penalties for 21 yards in the second half.

If you were watching Sunday’s 48-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers you probably expected big performances from the usual suspects. RB Frank Gore ran for 125 yards and 1 touchdown, TE Vernon Davis caught 2 touchdown passes, RILB Patrick Willis had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery and DE Justin Smith recorded 1 sack. But the Niners got contributions from a number of players, especially their rookies.         

San Francisco’s first-round draft pick OLB Aldon Smith isn’t a starter yet but it only seems to be a matter of time for this to happen. He had 2 second-half sacks against Tampa Bay, which gives him 3.5 sacks in his last two games. He leads the team with 4 sacks. It’s early in the season but I have already seen his name appear in Defensive Rookie of the Year discussions.

QB Colin Kaepernick was drafted in the second round and came late into the game for one drive in the fourth quarter. He lead the offense 90 yards downfield for a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Anthony Dixon and completed each of his 3 pass attempts for a total of 35 yards and a passer rating of 115.3.

CB Chris Culliver, San Francisco’s third-rounder, was only one of three healthy cornerbacks on Sunday, when Tramaine Brock (hand) was ruled out and Shawntae Spencer’s status was questionable due to a toe injury. Culliver had to play a bigger role and he did just that. His first career interception, which he returned for 23 yards, set up Frank Gore’s touchdown for a 21-3 lead.

The 49ers chose RB Kendall Hunter in the fourth round of this year’s draft but nobody could possibly have anticipated back then that he is getting a considerable amount of carries in his first year. On Sunday Hunter ran for 65 yards on 9 carries and helped setting up Anthony Dixon’s touchdown late in the fourth quarter. In 5 games Kendall Hunter has rushed for 133 yards, an average of 4.6 yards per carry, and 1 touchdown.

DB Colin Jones was taken in the sixth round. He was promoted to the 53-man roster last week when the 49ers had to place DE Will Tukuafu on IR. San Francisco is deep at the safety positions but he is part of one of the best special teams units in the NFL.

The only rookie who started on Sunday was seventh-round pick FB Bruce Miller, who replaced the injured Moran Norris. Miller doesn’t have the statistics to show for but Frank Gore will be the first to admit that Miller’s blocking helped him to run for over 100 yards in each of his last two games.

A while ago I predicted that San Francisco’s future looks bright. It seems like the future is already here.