49ers eyeing defense, QB

Associated Press

SANTA CLARA, Calif.

A year ago, Trent Baalke guided the San Francisco 49ers through the draft for the first time and added a few key pieces to a team favored to win the NFC West and reach the playoffs after a long absence. His top two picks became immediate starters on a revamped offensive line, while several others also made impacts as rookies.

In Baalke’s second go-round, after a recent promotion to general manager, his moves this week will be an even bigger deal: San Francisco is in dire need of a difference-maker at quarterback. And this could be the best chance to find that person in a time of uncertainty with the lockout.

“It’s a critical decision,” Baalke said.

The 49ers have the No. 7 overall pick on Thursday night. They are likely to use that first selection on a defensive player such as outside linebacker and proven pass-rusher Von Miller or cornerback Patrick Peterson — the kind of shutdown defender the veteran unit could use in the backfield — if either is still on the board.

Or, it could be reliable run-stopping linebacker Robert Quinn out of North Carolina.

But Baalke and new coach and former NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh will have their eyes on all the talented QBs in this draft to see who might fit well into their West Coast offense.

While San Francisco has extended an offer — an “olive branch” as Baalke put it — to 2005 No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith to return and compete for the starting job this year, the Niners still hope to find their man of the future.

“Obviously, we need a quarterback,” Baalke said. “When I made that statement, that the quarterback of the future wasn’t on the roster, you simply look at the roster, and we have one quarterback under contract, and that’s David Carr. So we’ve got work to do, whether it’s in free agency, whether it’s this draft, or whether it’s in a trade. We’ve got to figure it out ... I’ve got tremendous confidence in Jim and the coaching staff to win football games with whoever we bring in here.”

A college star at Michigan and a first-round draft pick taken 26th overall by Chicago in 1987, Harbaugh played 15 seasons in the NFL for the Bears, Colts, Ravens, Chargers and Panthers.

During the evaluation process of potential draft picks, he put the QBs through a quiz in which he had them draw up plays and coverages to find out how they would handle different reads and progressions in the offense.

“If you have the DNA of a quarterback, you have the ability to figure things out,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any one way to know if a guy’s going to be a Pro Bowl quarterback, even a starting quarterback.

“There’s a lot of factors, and I’m not professing to have all the answers. You do the best you can and you try to evaluate the quarterback like you do any other position.”

Last year, Baalke selected right tackle Anthony Davis at No. 11 and then left guard Mike Iupati six spots later. Both started every game for a team that underachieved and finished at 6-10 following a surprising 0-5 start. The 49ers haven’t had a winning season since their last trip to the playoffs in 2002.