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The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of needs. Some of those needs will hopefully be addressed in free agency while the upcoming draft will offer some other options for the team. Most mock drafts simply try to predict the first round, but
NFL Media draft analyst Chad Reuter has
released his latest three-round mock a full three months before the 2017 NFL Draft.
The 49ers hold the second overall selection and numerous mock drafts have had the team selecting a quarterback with that top pick. A lot of that is because those mocks have pass rusher
Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, considered to be the best player in the draft, going to the Cleveland Browns with the top pick.
Reuter sees the Browns going in a different direction. He has Cleveland selecting Deshaun Watson, the quarterback of the national champion Clemson Tigers.
That leaves the 49ers to pick Garrett with their top selection. "The 49ers get a difference-making pass rusher," writes Reuter.
In the second round, Reuter has the 49ers selecting
Christian McCaffrey. The star running back from Stanford made headlines in December when he announced that
he would not play in the Sun Bowl against North Carolina in order to prepare for the NFL Draft, a decision McCaffrey's teammates reportedly supported.
"His teammates have his back, they completely understand," Stanford coach David Shaw
told CBS Sports' Allie LaForce. "They know that he's going to be pacing and watching this game, and going crazy rooting for his guys to win."
In the third round, Reuter has the 49ers finally addressing what many people consider to be the team's top need – the quarterback position. He projects the team selecting Miami quarterback
Brad Kaaya. The junior became Miami's all-time leader in passing yards (9,968), completions (720), and attempts (1,188). Kaaya started 38 games during his three-year career with the Hurricanes.
Chad Reuter's Mock
Round 1, Pick 2 (2): Myles Garrett, OLB, Texas A&M
Round 2, Pick 2 (34): Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Round 3, Pick 2 (66): Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami
With the 2020 NFL season over for those teams not in the playoffs, like the San Francisco 49ers, it's officially mock-draft season. The Niners own the No. 12 overall pick in this year's rookie selection process.
ESPN analyst Todd McShay released his latest mock draft, which does not include any trades, given the draft is still months away. He has just two quarterbacks — Trevor Lawrence of Clemson and Zach Wilson of BYU — being selected ahead of the 49ers' first-round selection. Yet, the analyst doesn't have general manager John Lynch, head coach Kyle Shanahan, and company going
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch spoke with reporters on Monday, the day after the team finished the 2020 season with a 6-10 record. Here is everything they had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
General Manager John Lynch: "The only thing I'd like to say, I know I speak for [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan], with all of you guys, I know a different year for you doing this remotely. You guys deal with Kyle a lot more than you do with me and our players, but we're very appreciative of your guys' patience and your flexibility to do it this way. We appreciate your cooperation and all that. So, thank you."
First
Pro Football Focus released what is sure to be a controversial mock draft, at least in the eyes of San Francisco 49ers fans. Anthony Treash admits that this mock doesn't necessarily represent what he thinks will happen during the annual rookie selection event, but what he would do if he were in charge of each team's draft.
Many predict that the 49ers brass might go quarterback with the team's first-round pick, even though John Lynch recently said that isn't the plan right