First off, I'm impressed with anyone who puts in the effort of creating a seven-round mock draft. CBS Sports senior editor R.J. White posted his on Wednesday morning, and it involves a couple of trades for the San Francisco 49ers. And no, neither involves trading down from the No. 2 overall pick.
Here are the team-specific results from the massive projection, which encompassed all 32 NFL teams.
| Rd | Ovr | Player |
| 1 | 2 | DE Nick Bosa, Ohio State |
| 2 | 36 | WR Deebo Samuel, South Carolina |
| 3 | 67 | CB Trayvon Mullen, Clemson |
| 4 | 104 | WR Mecole Hardman, Georgia |
| 4 | 134 | LB Tre Watson, Maryland |
| 6 | 176 | DT Chris Slayton, Syracuse |
| 6 | 212 | G Nate Herbig, Stanford |
| 7 | 252 | P Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah |
You will notice that this mock has the 49ers adding eight new rookies to their roster. You are probably also aware that San Francisco currently has just six selections in this month's draft. So how did we get here?
First, the 49ers go with former Ohio State edge defender Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick, as most mocks predict.
"The 49ers might have traded for Dee Ford this offseason, but that's no reason to pass on Bosa, the best player in this draft," writes White. "The two will make for an impact tandem the likes of which San Francisco has been trying to build for years."
The mock draft has San Francisco addressing the wide receiver position in Round 2, and again in Round 4.
White believes the addition of Bosa to the defensive line makes other players expendable, specifically defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Solomon Thomas. Each is a former first-round pick.
"First they ship Solomon Thomas to the Dolphins for Reshad Jones, a talented free safety who doesn't fit the Dolphins' rebuild at his huge cap number, which San Francisco has no trouble absorbing," writes White. "Then they ship Arik Armstead, who's playing on the fifth-year option, to New England in their annual trade hookup for fourth- and seventh-round picks."
The 49ers also add Tre Watson out of Maryland in Round 4 as an insurance policy should newly signed linebacker Kwon Alexander not be the same after rehabbing from the ACL injury he suffered last year.
The trading of Thomas, the No. 3 overall pick just two years ago, would be a massive admission of error by the current 49ers regime. San Francisco had two first-round picks in the 2017 draft, head coach Kyle Shanahan's and general manager John Lynch's first with the team, and shipping away Thomas would mean neither will be on the roster in 2019.
The 49ers' other first-round pick from two years ago, linebacker Reuben Foster, was waived in November after continually showing poor judgment in his off-the-field decisions.
H/t to Kirk Larrabee of 24/7 Sports and Patrick Tulini for the find.
