Peter Schrager of Good Morning Football seems pretty confident that the San Francisco 49ers will select former Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick. He's not the only one. Most mock drafts expect to see the former Buckeye in Santa Clara this offseason.
That doesn't necessarily mean Schrager believes Bosa will be the best player available when general manager John Lynch and company are on the clock.
"Hypothetically, let's say Murray goes one, and the Niners are on the clock," Schrager said on Tuesday morning. "Everything I'm hearing is that Nick Bosa is the clubhouse leader for the 49ers. They will listen to phone calls.
"What's interesting, though, is if you poll teams, and I've polled a bunch, Quinnen Williams is viewed as the best player in this draft on a lot of boards. The No. 1 defensive prospect, but he's an interior defensive line prospect. Nick Bosa is an edge player. Edge players are often given the edge — no pun intended — over the interior defensive line.
"Quinnen Williams really broke out this past season for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He moved to defensive tackle, he put on weight, and John Lynch said it in his press conference. It might have been the best single season he's ever seen from a defensive player on tape.
"That's how good Quinnen Williams was, and yet Nick Bosa comes in with lineage, with all this sort of hype, but he also has just three games last season because of injury.
"Right now, it sounds like Bosa is going over Williams, and Bosa will be the 49ers' pick, but if Williams is the top player on all these teams' boards around the league, is there a trade partner that might give a ransom to move up to San Francisco's spot at No. 2?
"I find it fascinating. Obviously, Bosa has some tweets. There's some other things going on off the field that San Francisco is going to dig into. Bosa or Williams right now (is) a great debate in league circles because if the 49ers go Bosa, that's fine. A lot of teams might be scratching their heads and saying, 'How can you pass on Williams?'"
Bosa, Williams, or trade back? @PSchrags gives the latest on the 49ers and their draft strategy at number 2 overall. pic.twitter.com/yWosl1yXbg
— GMFB (@gmfb) April 23, 2019
The 49ers have expressed interest in Williams and have done their homework on him. Team decision-makers met with Williams at Alabama's pro day on March 19 and hosted him on a pre-draft visit on April 2.
Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com reported in March that the 49ers are enamored with Williams and were gushing over the defensive prospect to other NFL teams. Of course, it is always challenging as the draft approaches to figure out what to believe.
"They felt Bosa was an excellent player," Campbell said, "a bit of a safe pick, probably more of a position of need heading into free agency given how good DeForest Buckner was for the team last year, but they just have more emotion in the voice, more excitement for Quinnen Williams."
H/t to Patrick Tulini for the find.
