It's not the first time this is happened, and it won't be the last. But the notion the San Francisco 49ers will land Ohio State EDGE Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft is a strong one.
And it's reinforced by Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report, who recently sent Bosa to the Niners in his latest mock draft.
Tansey admits what most everyone knows: Bosa's availability to San Francisco is entirely contingent on what the Arizona Cardinals, drafting tops overall, do the spot before. Widespread speculation has the Cardinals taking Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. That would, for all intents and purposes, trash Arizona's efforts to draft and develop UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen a year ago.
Here's what Tansey had to say about that:
Until the Arizona Cardinals finalize the No. 1 overall pick, speculation will run rampant about first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury taking Murray as the perfect fit in his system.
While most people assume the potential selection of Murray means the immediate end of Josh Rosen in Arizona, the team could keep both quarterbacks on the roster after the draft, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted.
Even if Murray winds up being the Cardinals' pick, there's still the chance the 49ers go a different route other than Bosa. While Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is frequently seen as the second-best prospect in this year's draft class, if not just as good as Bosa, he evades any talk Tansey has about the 49ers possibly selecting him. Yet Tansey does mention how Kentucky EDGE/SAM linebacker Josh Allen might fit a better need over either Bosa or Williams, considering the Niners already have a deep defensive line and a glaring hole at the strong-side linebacker spot.
The verdict, however, is Bosa winds up going to San Francisco instead.
But based off this argument, one might assume the Niners' big board for their top three targets is Bosa, Allen and Williams in that order.
So, if Arizona's pick winds up being Bosa instead of Murray, that's when things could get really interesting for the 49ers and general manager John Lynch.