The NFL draft is anything but predictable. But is there a consensus for the 49ers?
The NFL Draft is officially only two weeks away. It’s an event that now competes for prime-time viewership and has generated enough attention to exist as a separate economy apart from the league’s already dominant seven-month season. Casual fans’ ability to consume talking points from thousands of media outlets makes it a unique spectacle worth our attention.
For the San Francisco 49ers, the collective of Twitter scouts, NFL analysts, and draft experts has landed on a common prospect to be the second-to-last pick of round one.
The NFL Mock Draft Database has plenty of coverage surrounding the annual event and provides the “most extensive list of the best NFL Mock drafts out there,” which now includes over 1,000 mocks for the 2024 class. Although mock drafts are far from perfect in their predictive power, they provide a useful tool for organizations and fans alike to understand team needs and consensus rankings and match prospects to teams.
When a team is picking at the back end of the first round, it’s difficult to find unanimous agreement. But they have identified a worthy trend in most player pairings with the 49ers—their target should be an offensive lineman.
According to the site, tackle Jordan Morgan from Arizona is the most common pick 31. He has been identified as San Francisco’s choice in 12.8% of all mocks in their database. Morgan’s popularity in this spot has only increased over the last few weeks, with his frequency increasing to 20% in mocks from the last two weeks and 26% in mocks from just the last week.
Morgan is the 36th player on their Consensus Big Board, which includes prospect rankings from over 100 sources, including The Athletic (34th overall) and NFL.com (Daniel Jeremiah has Morgan as the 49th-best prospect). Jason Aponte has already covered Morgan as a potential fit here if you’d like to read more about his background.
https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/players/2024/jordan-morganThe second most selected prospect for the 49ers is Duke Offensive Lineman Graham Barton, who has been praised for his potential five-position versatility. Some see Barton as a potential replacement for RT Colton McKivitz, while others think he would slide inside and take over at right guard.
There are also some more long-term projects with this selection, as Barton could start where needed in year one and eventually be the heir to Trent Williams at left tackle. Barton is listed as the 26th overall prospect on the Consensus Big Board, so he might not fall all the way to 31 anyway.
The only other prospect getting paired with San Francisco in over 10% of mock drafts is Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton. Like Barton, Guyton is listed above Morgan, so it might not last until the end of round one. He’s the seventh-ranked overall tackle. Standing at 6’8, 322 lbs., Guyton is an imposing force and would form a daunting duo with Trent Williams for opposing defenses.
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty ImagesThere isn’t a slam dunk prospect usually available at the end of the first round, but it is a deep offensive line class that could see as many as 10 come off the board on Day 1. The 49ers’ offensive line was a liability at times this season and throughout the playoffs, so landing one of the targets analysts have identified would be a smart move.
What would you like to see San Francisco do with the 31st pick? Should they take one of the above-mentioned prospects or find a trade partner for a shot at a higher-touted player?
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