PFF thinks it’s a top 3 need
PFF looked at the three biggest needs for each team heading into the draft. If I were to poll San Francisco 49er fans, I’m guessing the majority of you would say that wide receiver is one of those three needs. Not according to PFF. Which is odd because they initially acknowledge that the offense needs help at receiver:
Jimmy Garoppolo returns to man a 49ers offense void of playmakers on the outside. George Kittle is a bona fide star at tight end but after him, the team’s highest receiving grades belong to Matt Breida and Kyle Juszczyk. San Francisco could use another receiver opposite Dante Pettis and even after the acquisition of Jordan Matthews, the team is locked into the 2019 season with a career-high receiving grade of 77.0, a figure that Marquise Goodwin put up in 2017.
While all of those names are capable—I actually think Pettis showed some high level skills for a rookie—you want a “sure thing.” Nothing in the draft is a sure thing, but the class is stocked with talent.
PFF argued that the offensive guard is a more pressing need than receiver:
Mike Person and Laken Tomlinson struggled to move people for the run game while they each allowed at least 30 pressures a year ago and Person, the higher-graded of the duo, will be 31 when the season begins.
One thing that I don’t think Shanhan gets enough credit for is his ability to “hide” an offensive lineman. Somebody to challenge on the interior makes sense, but I don’t think I’d spend a premium pick on a lineman if I’m John Lynch.
Secondary is the other obvious need. Here’s what PFF thought:
But the most pressing need for the 49ers is certainly on the back end in coverage where the aging Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams were the only two players to put up plus-grades on a unit that finished with the league’s lowest coverage grade last season. Sherman had career-low grades in overall, tackling and in coverage in his first season with the 49ers so getting a player to learn under the tutelage from one of the greats while also bolstering the league’s worst coverage unit from 2018 certainly is a good idea.
Sherman reportedly was never fully healthy in 2018. Injuries forced players to play before they were ready. When you have a lot of youth and inexperience out there, busted coverages and big plays are going to happen. Which could be one of the main reasons fans wanted Earl Thomas. I’d be shocked if one of the first three picks wasn’t on the secondary.
Would you spend one of the first three picks on an offensive lineman this year?
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