Smith to make San Francisco his first stop

NFL Media analyst Michael Silver has a lot of belief in the San Francisco 49ers' chances of competing during the upcoming season. He feels head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad can bounce back from its disappointing injury-plagued 2020 campaign and has the pieces in place to become the team to beat in 2021. "I think they're going to come back strong," Silver told Steve Wyche and Judy Battista on NFL Network's Total Access. "You saw the bold move to trade up for the No. 3 pick. They're going to get a quarterback of Kyle Shanahan's choosing, and you're going to have a lot of difference-makers out there on that field." San Francisco has put itself in a position to acquire one of the top quarterback prospects in this month's draft. Right now, Justin Fields of

NFL Media analysts Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah went through the exercise of predicting the first three picks for the San Francisco 49ers in this year's draft. The team currently owns one selection in each of the first three rounds — Nos. 3, 43, and 102 overall. The duo took turns during the Path to the Draft segment on NFL Network, with Brooks going first. Jeremiah recently had San Francisco selecting former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in his latest mock draft. Brooks has been critical of the idea that head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch gave up so much draft capital to select

Mike McDaniel started working with Kyle Shanahan with the Houston Texans. He is one of the San Francisco 49ers head coach's most trusted assistants, serving as the team's run-game coordinator during his first four seasons in Santa Clara. In January, McDaniel was promoted to offensive coordinator, becoming the first coach under Shanahan to hold that title. "Immediately, you're trying to prove your worth and prove the people right that have really invested in you and invested in your career, and given you opportunities, and et cetera, et cetera," McDaniel recently told 49ers.com reporter Keiana Martin. "It instills a level of hunger on top of the hunger that you already had." After McDaniel

Jason Verrett enjoyed dipping his toes into the free-agency waters. The veteran cornerback ended up re-signing with the San Francisco 49ers on a one-year deal, but it wasn't due to a lack of interest from other teams. He opted to bet on himself again, as he did last offseason, and prove to skeptics that he can stay healthy while playing at a high level. It also feels good to stay with something familiar. "[Free agency] was a good experience," Verrett told reporters via Zoom on Monday. "It always feels good to be wanted, but my heart was always with San Fran. I love the comradely we've got with the team, the coaches, staff, training staff, the amazing fans, the whole nine yards. I was happy that we [were] able to get a deal done, and I'm just excited to see what