Looking back at the 49ers haul from the first Alex Smith trade

Corey Lemonier

Using the 7th round choice they picked up from the Titans, Baalke used that extra pick as leverage to move up the very next round after taking Carradine. In a trade with the Green Bay Packers, the Niners traded their own third for the Packers’ third and gave up the 7th rounder to make up the difference. The reason: they wanted Corey Lemonier.

Lemonier came into the NFL as a young tweener (OLB/DE) who had been quite productive on the edge at Auburn. Coming into the NFL, it was easy to picture the one-two of Carradine and Lemonier as a dynamic new duo to bolster the front seven. Both the front office and fans had reasons to be ecstatic about the team’s pass rushing potential.

Unfortunately, Lemonier’s career has been far less productive than Carradine’s at this point, and the Niners parted ways with Lemonier long ago. This was the classic bust pick of a guy who has enough raw skills to get after the quarterback in college yet can’t make the transition to the pros. All of the signs were there for the Niners scouts: the stiff hips, the poor hands, the lack of various pass rushing moves.

Lemonier had a single sack in 42 career games with the Niners. Since then, Lemonier has bounced around the NFL from the Browns to the Lions to the Jets and he’s now a free agent.