He’s a nice talent for sure, but we all know what the 49ers really need.
With two games left in the 2018 NFL regular season, mock drafts are going to start for the top-10 picks in the league. The San Francisco 49ers sit at fourth or fifth depending on which site you want to frequent. CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso went off of Sportsline’s win projections to have the 49ers picking fifth and in his most recent 2019 NFL mock draft he has them selecting Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry. There’s going to be some chatter about the position taken, but first let’s look at what Trapasso has to say about the pick:
Yes, edge-rusher is a need in San Francisco, but as we’ve seen of late, the defensive front is more than just respectable. The 49ers need a true alpha receiver on the outside. The 6-foot-4 Harry can be that guy for Kyle Shanahan’s team.
This guy could almost solidify Kyle Shanahan’s offensive transition. All he’d need now is a guard/swing tackle to figure Joe Staley out and he has an offense that is all his own. That said, the 49ers have a glaring need on the other side of the ball, and we all know what the need is: a pass rusher. The 49ers haven’t had as many problems scheming their wide receivers open as they have having someone get to the quarterback.
I’d love to have Harry. I love his tape and I love him making the 49ers wide receivers a potential deadly, top-5 threat. I also love a defense that doesn’t break down and can sack the quarterback, and the 49ers aren’t that. The defense is transitioning into a defense that can hold an early lead the offense produces. Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos aside, the 49ers haven’t held much of anything. For a defense to hold a significant lead, they need pass rushers, there’s no other way around it.
I once again bring up that there were no trades in this draft. Trapasso made a draft considering the scenario the Giants are behind Eli Manning as their signal caller. In this draft at fourth, the Jaguars take Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. I still think the Giants standing behind Manning yet again is nonsense. If the 49ers manage to get to fourth ahead of Jacksonville (in this draft they are fifth, but if the season ended today they’d be fourth), that pick is a prime location for a trade to happen. The Jaguars and Giants (among others) would be looking to secure Herbert and fourth may be the sweet spot to get him, considering that Josh Allen/Nick Bosa would be off the board (keeping this and all other mocks in mind). The 49ers could get a decent haul for the Giants moving up, or the Jaguars trying to keep the Giants from doing so (that’s why the Bears traded so much to move up one spot for Mitch Trubisky).
All that said, the 49ers could THEN package everything, grab Harry and a pass rusher and offload the real estate. Everyone wins. That’s a crazy theory, but that’s really the only scenario I can imagine where Harry would come to the 49ers.
Taking him at fifth as-is doesn’t seem to happen. The 49ers need a pass rusher first and foremost (and may reach to get one if needed) and the city—not to mention the front office— is going to riot if they don’t call the name of one come draft day.
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