SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers committed their top four picks to resolving gaping defensive holes. Only then did they draft a possible future replacement for Steve Young, whose own football future remains uncertain.
San Francisco, with two first-round picks for the first time in six years, on Saturday used the 16th overall selection on pass-rushing linebacker Julian Peterson of Michigan State and the 24th pick on cornerback Ahmed Plummer, a three-year starter at Ohio State.They stuck with the defensive emphasis in the second round, adding Virginia Tech defensive end John Engelberger with the 35th overall pick and using No. 48 for Texas A&M cornerback Jason Webster.
"We have filled needs," coach Steve Mariucci said. "Right now, we've got a better defensive huddle than we had yesterday. The outside edges on defense needed lots of improvement and we had to address those immediately. That's the direction we went early in the draft."
It was only in the third round that the 49ers veered to offense, making Giovanni Carmazzi the 65th selection and the second quarterback taken in the draft behind Marshall's Chad Pennington. San Francisco added Hawaii linebacker Jeff Ulbrich with the 86th pick in the third round after trading their a fourth- and fifth-round pick to Seattle.
"We just love his escapability and mobility. We love his upside," Mariucci said of Carmazzi, who becomes the third player from Division I-AA Hofstra to join the 49ers. Pro Bowl safety Lance Schulters and tackle Dave Fiore are the others.
"Hofstra is now one of the football factories," Mariucci joked.
Carmazzi was the first quarterback drafted by Walsh as a projected future starter since he took Joe Montana in the third round in 1979. Walsh traded for Young in 1987.
"We're excited to have him. We think he was the best quarterback physically in the draft," Walsh said.
There was plenty of speculation about the 49ers' interest in Pennington as a potential successor to Young, San Francisco's 38-year-old quarterback who hasn't played since a head blow at Arizona last Sept. 27 left him with his fourth concussion in three years.
Young, who has said through his agent that he's leaning toward resuming his playing career this season, is expected to meet with the 49ers in the next couple of weeks to discuss his future with the team. Though medical reports on Young have been encouraging, team officials said he still has not been cleared to play again.
Mariucci said the 49ers considered Pennington but opted to pass, deciding their defensive needs were too pressing and their belief in Carmazzi's potential to develop into a starter whether he spends the first season learning from Young or Jeff Garcia.
"I think it's a good opportunity," said Carmazzi, a scrambling quarterback who set 11 records at Hofstra, including 71 career touchdown passes.
"Obviously, the best thing for the 49ers is for Steve Young to come back and I would have a chance to learn from one of the best," Carmazzi said. "And Jeff Garcia showed last year he was a capable quarterback. I just want to come in and learn. That's what I'm most looking forward to."
Pennington wound up with the New York Jets as the 18th player selected, two picks after San Francisco got Peterson.
"We have to rectify our problems on defense," Mariucci said. "We can have a Steve Young and Joe Montana standing next to me on the sidelines and if you give up 45 points in a game, no quarterback can make that up."
The 49ers already envision Peterson, whose 25 sacks in two years at Michigan State ranks second on the school's career list, as the starting outside linebacker replacing former Pro Bowl selection Lee Woodall, let go as part of San Francisco's offseason $24 million salary cap purge.
Peterson brings together a rare combination of power and speed -- he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds, giving the 49ers a linebacker they can blitz as well as use in pass coverage.
Plummer, who ranks sixth in Ohio State history with 14 career interceptions, fortifies the 49ers' most troubled secondary position.
While Garcia returns after playing relatively well in filling in for Young at quarterback, San Francisco's secondary was unsettled through the 1999 season with seven different players starting at cornerback. The 49ers surrendered a league-high 36 touchdown passes, fourth most in NFL history.
"We needed a guy like him," Mariucci said of Plummer. "He was tested time and time again in the Big Ten and oftentimes they preferred to throw away from him because he was the shutdown guy."
Plummer said he likes the notion of coming in as a projected starter.
"I'm looking forward to playing and contributing," he said.
Peterson, who also forced 10 fumbles in his two seasons at Michigan State, said he believes it won't take him long to make his mark in the NFL.
"I have a lot of confidence," he said. "I always felt I had the ability to be a first-round draft pick. I'm trying to be the best. I'm trying to become my own icon."