49ers Don't Regret Sending Patriots 2008 First-Round Pick for Right to Draft Joe Staley

During last year's draft, the San Francisco 49ers used the 11th-overall pick to select linebacker Patrick Willis. Willis would end up being the 2007 Defensive Rookie of the Year, but their other first-round pick, tackle Joe Staley, also had a solid rookie season, though nothing close to what Willis was able to accomplish.

To draft Staley, the 49ers had to trade their 2008 first-rounder, which means that ~~unless something changes, the team won't pick until Round 2~~ they won't pick until 29th overall*. It also means that the Patriots, the team that swapped picks with the 49ers last April, will have the seventh-overall pick in this year's draft.

Despite hindsight, perfect vision, and all that, San Francisco general manager Scot McCloughan doesn't regret the deal.

"I think Joe Staley will prove out to be a top-10 type caliber pick at a position that is very hard to find," McCloughan said. "It's not only from a standpoint of athleticism and his football potential, he's also a great guy, one of those guys you can build your offensive line around. I'd make the trade in a heartbeat again -- to get an offensive lineman, an offensive tackle, one year before."

Not everybody agrees, especially Patriots fans. From the comments of this story on Mike Reiss' Patriots blog:

As if we expected him to say otherwise - classic case of a surprising team making a decent step forward, record-wise, decided to play for the "now," not realizing that next year's more difficult schedule would make a repeat performance difficult. Every year there's a team in this position; before them, it was the Jets. It comes down to identifying who could disappoint next year, and making a deal.

Bill and Scott straight up fleeced him.

I don't know if San Francisco got fleeced, but assuming the team didn't make the move for Staley and still had this year's No. 7 pick, you'd imagine they'd prefer someone like Jake Long to Staley, who most draftniks considered a late first-round talent. On the other hand, if you think of Staley as SanFrancisco's 2008 first-rounder, he has the benefit of already having a year of experience under his belt, something no other '08 first-rounder can claim.

* This is the case because, as FanHouse reader Nick S. points out, "...instead of using their second-round pick last year, the 49ers traded with the Colts for their 2008 first-round draft pick, and another pick in 2007's fourth round. The Colts took then Tony Ugoh with the 42nd overall pick in the draft."