ong before Nick Mullens took the field as an NFL quarterback

SANTA CLARA Jimmie Ward Jersey , Calif. (AP) — L, he prepared for the moment he’d play in a loud road stadium by downloading crowd noise and blaring it on his headphones as he practiced calling out plays in his apartment.That preparation will be put to the test this week when Mullens makes his second career road start for the San Francisco 49ers at Seattle in front of the loudest road crowd in the league.“I’ve played in a lot of the most prominent stadiums in the country as far as college football goes,” said Mullens, who pointed to games in college at Nebraska, Alabama and LSU as the most challenging crowds he’s faced.“Obviously, it has the reputation that it has in CenturyLink, and it’s going to be cool to play there.”Mullens’ first road start for the 49ers (2-9) wasn’t a successful one. He went 18 for 32 for 221 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and four sacks in a 27-9 loss to Tampa Bay last week. There were a handful of issues with hearing the play call from coach Kyle Shanahan in his helmet headset and Mullens had to rush to the sideline once to get the play and burn two timeouts on other occasions.Mullens had his lowest marks in yardage, completion percentage and passer rating out of his three career starts as the Niners struggled to get much of anything going against a defense that has been the worst in the league at defending against the pass.“It was very frustrating,” Mullens said. “We just never got on a rhythm. But, you watch the film and you see where you can improve and that’s why we’re so excited about this week.”Mullens had a record-setting debut against Oakland when he joined Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Fran Tarkenton as the only players with at least 250 yards passing, three touchdown passes and no interceptions in their first career game. He also had the most efficient debut since the merger for a player with at least 20 attempts, posting a 151.9 rating in the 34-3 win.He followed that up by throwing four interceptions and two touchdowns in losses to the Giants and Tampa Bay and now must face a much more difficult defense and a more challenging environment in Seattle.“I think Nick handles pressure pretty well,” Shanahan said. “He handled it well in Tampa. We just didn’t play very good. So, there’s a difference in that. Nick’s been the same guy since he’s been here. I don’t think he’s going to freak out just because it’s loud. Whether you do good or bad doesn’t mean that you freaked out or you were poised. It’s harder. It’ll be more of a challenge. We’ll practice all week at it. The better he plays, the better we play around him, the easier the challenge will be.”NOTES: WR Marquise Goodwin remains away from the team to tend to an undisclosed personal matter. … C Weston Richburg (knee) and T Joe Staley (veteran) also missed practice Womens Richard Sherman Jersey , while DB D.J. Reed (foot) will miss the game this week. Warren Sharp thinks that if the NFL is offering you picks, you should take them"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 49ers Salary CapLevi’s Stadium Events49ers Transactions49ers Injury News49ers Press Conferences & Conference CallsNFL DraftSan Francisco 49ers NewsNFL Free AgencyThe 49ers are above average in draft value gainedNew,48commentsWarren Sharp thinks that if the NFL is offering you picks, you should take themPDTShareTweetShareShareThe 49ers are above average in draft value gainedBrian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsAs we get closer and closer to the NFL draft, there will be more and more talk suggesting the San Francisco 49ers should trade back. The question then turns into whether or not the value is worth the trade. Instead of discussing the players, let’s take a look at the history of trading. Warren Sharp, creator of Sharp Football, put together some detailed analysis on this very subject.This isn’t so much related to the top of the draft as it is compensatory picks. It’s a very interesting article. The common train of thought is that building through the draft is the best route for team building. While that’s true, it’s also difficult considering that you only have seven draft picks to hit on. If the goal is to not over pay other teams free agents while accumulating more draft picks, compensatory picks are the way to go.How the 49ers stack upOne of the most difficult decisions teams make every year is valuing if a player is worth an extension. If that player isn’t critical to your team, it’s smart to let another team overpay. This is how you are awarded one of the 32 compensatory picks that the league hands out every year. It’s a numbers game. The more picks you have, the more opportunities you have to come away with good players.Sharp on the chart above:The last 4 of the 5 teams that won the Super Bowl are in the top 5. That says something. The 49ers come in at 12th. The team is also 10th in “total comp picks by round.”I’ll be interested in how this shakes out for the team in the next couple years. They’ve been aggressive in free agency. If a guy like Dee Ford or Kwon Alexander don’t work out, them walking will surely lead to a high comp pick. With the amount of cap space the team has, they should be aggressive. Now that comp picks can be traded, that allows you to maneuver in the draft. Teams like the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens take advantage of this. Will the Niners join the party?