Well, the positions all make sense. What do you think of the players?
We’re almost done with all this speculation of if Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray will go to the Arizona Cardinals and if Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa will go to the San Francisco 49ers. We are just over two weeks away from the draft and all of this can be settled.
But we need to see some speculation on the other rounds. ESPN’s Todd McShay put together a three-round mock draft. The rules are a bit strange, no trades and no projected picks, just what he feels the needs for the 32 NFL teams are.
So here’s what the 49ers received in his mock:
Round 1 (2): Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State
Round 2 (36): Taylor Rapp , S, Washington
Round 3 (67): Terry McLaurin, WR, Ohio State
And here’s what McShay said about his three picks:
If you can address three key needs and lock up the most talented player in the entire draft in the first three rounds, you have to walk away happy. Bosa immediately gives the Niners an elite pass-rusher off the edge to pair with Dee Ford. San Francisco fills a void at safety with the instinctive Rapp and creates all sorts of matchup issues for defenses by taking McLaurin in the third. Jimmy Garoppolo would be taking snaps in the middle of a track meet with McLaurin and Marquise Goodwin lined up outside.
I don’t need to go into Nick Bosa, not much more to be said about him that hasn’t been said. If Solomon Thomas can get right, that defensive line could be the best in the league.
Then there’s Taylor Rapp. When going with McShay’s needs, Rapp going in the second round makes sense, but I’ve also seen mocks where Rapp is going in the third or later. I’m wondering if using some strategy and sticking it out may benefit the 49ers rather than almost reaching for Rapp when they do. Rapp has been talked about with the 49ers before and Kyle has a good breakdown here in a mock draft he broke down.
I do wonder if Rapp is a good fit in the 49ers scheme, but I also love his 4.74 40-yard dash. At the same time, I’m wondering if that’s all I like about him.
Then Terry McLaurin. It again seems like a player that doesn’t fit the 49ers scheme. Kyle broke down what would work in Kyle Shanahan’s offense here and didn’t even list McLaurin as a player the 49ers could target. Going with McShay’s rules, the position makes sense, I suppose.
I’d probably flip-flop this here. Go with a wide receiver in the second and a safety in the third, but that’s just me. I’m still open to getting a swing tackle early to develop somewhere in there also, but that’s against the rules in this draft and given the more pressing need at safety, that may come first.
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