The 2020 NFL draft offers a new, unique challenge for 49ers general manager John Lynch. They own the No. 31 pick, but have zero selections over the next three rounds. Five picks in the final three rounds make their draft capital situation a little less dire, but a four-round mock draft by Draft Wire highlighted how badly San Francisco needs to accumulate some picks in the earlier rounds.
In this four-round mock, the 49ers don’t trade back and select Florida cornerback CJ Henderson with the 31st pick. That’s the only player they take in the projections that feature 128 picks.
There’s a world where this is the strategy the 49ers employ on draft day though.
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Finding a long-term answer at cornerback in preparation for life after Richard Sherman is certainly a need for San Francisco. If Henderson falls to them at No. 31, and they believe he’s going to be a Sherman-caliber player who makes multiple All-Pro teams and a handful of Pro Bowls across a decade-long career, they might just do that and live with the consequences. After all, they could still use their later-round capital and dip into next year’s draft to find picks to move up into the earlier middle rounds.
However, filling out a roster with one first-round pick and then a few guys from Rounds 5, 6 and 7 is a risky proposition. It limits the talent pool they can pick from while trying to fill in gaps
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