Editor’s note: Matt Maiocco is in Indianapolis to cover the NFL Combine. Check back for his comprehensive coverage and catch his nightly updates on SportsNet Central.
INDIANAPOLIS – The 49ers' scouting department set the team’s initial draft board before the NFL Scouting Combine with 17 days of meetings in San Diego.
Coach Chip Kelly and his staff have been busy evaluating the crop of potential free agents, but Kelly made the trip to Southern California to sit in on one day of those meetings to become familiar with how the 49ers work through stacking their board.
“I think it was good for him to be down there,” Baalke said. “It was certainly good for us to have him down there. It went well.”
The 49ers took their scouting department to San Diego, in part, because of the space being occupied at their practice facility and Levi’s Stadium with Super Bowl 50.
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On the day of Kelly’s visit, the 49ers were working on cornerbacks, Baalke said. Kelly’s input was sought on each of the prospects.
“We got him involved. We asked him for his opinion on each guy that we went through,” Baalke said.
“Just like everybody else, when a guy gets put up on the big screen, everyone has an opinion. It’s good to hear what everybody thinks. It’s the beauty of this business. There are so many different opinions. Everybody looks at players a little differently.”
The NFL Scouting Combine is typically the first time that coaches become involved in the draft process. Kelly and his staff will be involved more as the evaluations, leading up to the April 28-30 draft.
Baalke said he and Kelly share similar ideals for the types of players they’re looking to acquire.
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“If you look at what his prototypes are, he’s looking for the same thing we’re looking for: Big players, guys with size at their position,” Baalke said.
“That’s part of what you’re looking for when you hire a head coach – do you have a philosophy that marriages pretty well. It was evident early on. Knowing how he liked to build his teams in Oregon, it was no different. He was looking for big players.
"That’s what we’ve been doing since coach (Mike) Nolan was the head coach of the 49ers, and that philosophy hasn’t changed.”
