When it came time for analyst Steve Mariucci to make a selection for the San Francisco 49ers during NFL Network's live mock draft, he faced a bit of a problem. You see, many expect the team to land the best available of the top three wide receiver prospects. In this mock draft, however, all three were off the board.
Maurice Jones-Drew had the Jacksonville Jaguars select Jerry Jeudy of Alabama at No. 9. Then Dan Hanzus had the New York Jets select CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma at No. 11. Unfortunately for the 49ers in this mock, Henry Ruggs of Alabama went to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 12, courtesy of MJ Acosta.
So, where does that leave the 49ers? Addressing another position entirely, apparently.
Mariucci notes that San Francisco needs to add a starting receiver and starting cornerback in the first round, so he uses the No. 13 overall pick to add the latter. Mooch sends cornerback CJ Henderson of Florida to the 49ers with the team's first pick.
"Richard Sherman is getting up there in age," explains Mariucci. "He's going to be around, but they need a guy on the opposite side. And (there are) a lot of good quarterbacks in that division."
What did draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah think about the selection?
"Just trying to improve upon a strength of this team," Jeremiah says. "I think they were the number one pass defense in the league last year, but they do need to get a little more athletic in the back end, and that's what CJ Henderson gives you.
"(He's a) tremendous athlete. The knock on him? The tackling was not good, but I believe the culture there with Coach Saleh, they'll be able to get that out of him in that regard.
"I think if one of those top three receivers were there, they would have taken him, but in this scenario, they all were off the board, so I'm OK with this pick by Mooch."
