The San Francisco 49ers will benefit from a draft that will likely see several quarterbacks selected in the top half of the first round. It will ensure that the 49ers, who are not in need of a quarterback that early, acquire a top talent that might not otherwise be there.
"There's four quarterbacks up at the top," 49ers general manager John Lynch said Monday. "That always changes things. So this thing could break in a ton of different directions."
Of course, the draft can never be accurately predicted. Someone like linebacker Roquan Smith may not fall far enough for the 49ers to select him, assuming he would be the player Lynch and company covet at the ninth-overall pick.
Daniel Jeremiah, who joined the Murph & Mac show on Tuesday, feels the Indianapolis Colts may select Smith at the No. 6 spot. If Smith were gone, Jeremiah believes the 49ers may be comfortable with picking an offensive lineman out of Notre Dame -- but not the one you are probably thinking of.
"I've heard some buzz down the stretch here that they could consider an offensive tackle, and (Mike) McGlinchey, I think most people view him as a top tackle in the draft," Jeremiah said. "That's too early for me, but there are people that have different opinions on these guys. He seems to be somebody that could go off the board right there to one of the Bay Area teams. I wouldn't sleep on that possibility at all, for him to come in and be your right tackle and eventual successor to Joe Staley.
"It's a little early after watching them struggle against Georgia and Miami and N.C. State, but there's a lot of folks very high on him."
The 6-foot-8, 315-pound McGlinchey has experience at both tackle spots during his time at Notre Dame. Last year, he ranked as the nation's third-best offensive tackle and the top run-blocking tackle.
The No. 9 spot would be high for someone like McGlinchey if most mocks are to be believed. Many analysts have him projected to go in the second half of the first round. However, some do see him going in the top half. If the 49ers do not have a player who they covet at No. 9, it will benefit the team to trade back.
Lynch stated on Monday that the 49ers have Pro Bowl grades on 12 players, which means even factoring in quarterbacks, one of those players is likely to be there at the ninth-overall selection.
You can listen to the entire interview with Jeremiah below.
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