The 49ers have plenty of needs to address on both sides of the ball.
We have seven or so weeks remaining until the 2019 NFL Draft, and we are settling into a familiar refrain in mock drafts. Prior to the NFL Combine, mock drafts were primarily Nick Bosa going No. 1 to the Arizona Cardinals and Josh Allen or Quinnen Williams going No. 2 to the San Francisco 49ers. Following the Combine, it is not primarily Kyler Murray to the Cardinals and then Nick Bosa to the 49ers.
Pro Football Focus released their fourth 2019 NFL mock draft of the year, and they’ve joined the trend. Their top five is as follows:
1. Cardinals: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
2. 49ers: Nick Bosa, Edge, Ohio State
3. Jets: Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama
4. Raiders: Josh Allen, Edge, Kentucky
5. Bucs: DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia
The first four are a fairly common group, but Baker is a surprise. In various other mock drafts (McShay, Miller, SB Nation, 5 at NFL.com) the highest he is going is No. 17. Greedy Williams had been a top ten pick, but he has slipped into the bottom half of some mock drafts, and out of the first round entirely in others. It’s amazing what a couple weeks can do to draft stock, particularly after cramps forced him to shut things down at the Combine.
NFL free agency gets started in less than a week, and that will shake up mock drafts to some extent. Some of the familiar names will remain in the top handful of picks, but a signing here or a trade there could be enough to make a team shake up their draft board a decent amount.
If you were running the 49ers, is there any potential move that might result in a surprise of some sort at No. 2? Nick Bosa or Josh Allen seem to be highly likely options with the pick assuming the 49ers do not trade it. DeMarcus Lawrence, Jadeveon Clowney, and Dee Ford have all been franchised and are probably sticking with their current teams at this point. That leaves Trey Flowers, Ezekiel Ensah, and Dante Fowler, among others at edge rusher. I don’t know that any of them is the kind of signing that makes it more likely the 49ers trade down or don’t pick an edge rusher at No. 2.
Wide receiver is a position that the 49ers could use some help, but are flexible in how they approach it. Dante Pettis, Kendrick Bourne, and Trent Taylor are three experienced young players, and who knows what they might get from Richie James and Steven Dunbar. But do they look to add a veteran like Golden Tate or Tyrell Williams, or do they focus on the draft for the position?
The headline is a tough question to answer since we don’t actually know how they view any position group in the draft other than defensive line. They’ve been effusive in praising the options, which is not surprising since most everybody is. But there is a lot of room to maneuver at other positions.
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