Eric Reid (LSU) holds daughter LeiLani Reid as he is introduced by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as the number eighteen overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall.(Photo Jerry Lai USA TODAY Sports)
SANTA CLARA Calif. Jim Harbaugh was giving the lowdown on the latest addition to his intimidating defense on Thursday night when the San Francisco 49ers coach gave an indication of just how deep his connection is with versatile safety Eric Reid.
He remembers the e mails.
Exchanged a lot of e mails with his mom Harbaugh said referring to Sharon Reid.
There were a few phone calls with Eric Reid Sr. too.
These were flashbacks from several years ago when Harbaugh as Stanford coach got to know the parents while trying to lure the top rated player in Louisiana to play for him on the West Coast.
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Reid turned down Harbaugh back then staying home for LSU.
He was a very very fine student Harbaugh recalled. That was something that was important to his mother. So I felt like we had a shot.
Stanford was the only out of state school that tried to recruit Reid although Harbaugh never made an in person visit because Reid had already committed to LSU by the time coaches were allowed to make recruiting trips. Other schools figured it was a waste of time. As Reid put it he bled the LSU purple and gold.
But now he's going to be playing for Harbaugh on the West Coast after all. The 49ers moved up 13 slots in the first round that make sure this would happen.
This time Eric had no choice Harbaugh said.
Seems that the safety's mother a traveling nurse who has spent extensive time working in the San Francisco Bay Area was hoping for this outcome too.
I guess it's just a small world being that they picked me Reid said. Coach Harbaugh poked fun at me for not going to Stanford and choosing LSU but the story comes full circle that he ended up drafting me.
The NFL draft process is such a different animal from the college recruiting whirlwind which is striking then considering how this played out for Reid whom 49ers general manager Trent Baalke described as the prototype safety.
Reid 6 1 213 was coveted in part because of the height weight speed mix that Baalke gushed about and also due to the range and contact courage that Harbaugh detailed. Yet unlike college recruiting the 49ers kept their interest under wraps.
Reid said the 49ers did express an interest to obtain him but a lot of teams told him that. There were no promises. And the 49ers didn't even fly Reid to their headquarters for a predraft visit.
Why not
Why would we want to advertise to the rest of the league that we had interest in a player Baalke said.
When the draft began though landing Reid was apparently the priority for a team that lost all pro safety Dashon Goldson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent.
This was definitely Option A Harbaugh said.
They surely needed a few more options. The 49ers began the day with an NFL high 13 picks but the first selection was next to last in the first round. To move up to land Reid the 49ers gave up a third round pick (74th overall) to the Dallas Cowboys.
Reid was the second safety off the board following the New Orleans Saints' pick of Kenny Vaccaro with at No. 15.
Baalke said the parameters for a trade were put in place before the draft given all the conversations with various teams in recent days as they weighed scenarios.
This was a busy week Baalke said. There were a lot of teams looking to do a lot of things. I thought there would be more trades than there were.
The 49ers widely projected to be an active trader given their high number of picks were one of four teams that swung trades to swap first round picks while moving up in the pecking order.
Another team the Minnesota Vikings gave up second third fourth and seventh round picks to the New England Patriots to get an extra first round pick and used it to select Tennessee receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.
Baalke maintained that with few marquee (read offensive skill position) players at the top of the draft there was a very large group of players at the next level. So much for the best available player philosophy. It was more like the best from a group.
In a draft like this the players available are very close to one another he said. So you're going to address need in those situations and I think that's want a lot of teams did us included.
Yet clearly the 49ers saw one player they separated from the pack.
They may not be done with the wheeling and dealing. The 49ers are almost on the clock again. They own the second pick on Friday 34th overall obtained from the Kansas City Chiefs in the trade for Alex Smith.
Does Baalke have a player in mind for that pick
Absolutely we know he said.
But things change. This is the NFL draft.
That doesn't mean that something can't happen over the night and you wake up tomorrow and the phone rings and somebody has a deal that you can't refuse and you trade back Baalke said. Otherwise we are prepared to make the pick.
Baalke was looking to go home take a break and recharge for the rest of the draft. Someone asked if he'd leave his phone on obviously to field trade offers.
I always leave it on he said.
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