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 a quarterback he doesn't even view as worthy of a first-round pick, so he has another passer in mind.
Brooks kicked things off by having San Francisco select Trey Lance of North Dakota State with the No. 2 overall pick.
"If you go back and look at Kyle Shanahan's history, and who he's worked with, I think it's a combination of the running game that he was able to utilize in Washington with RGIII, plus what he's been able to do with Jimmy Garoppolo," explained Brooks. "So now, you think about the ability to run all of the bootlegs, the movement stuff, to get on the perimeter, while also having a quarterback that can do some designed run game? I think this makes that 49ers offense downright scary."
Jeremiah was up next and has the 49ers selecting cornerback Aaron Robinson of UCF with the No. 43 overall pick. He sees the player as a versatile defensive back who can contribute outside or in the slot.
"I really, really love the way he plays the game because he's real twitchy, and you can see it," Jeremiah said. "His speed shows up. It's not fake, just 40-time speed. This is legit make-up, recovery speed."
Brooks wrapped things up with the selection of linebacker Baron Browning of Ohio State.
"Speedy, athletic playmaker on the second level," he shared. "This is a defense that really likes to run and chase. He's one of those players that you can put in on the second level, can blitz off the edge, has coverage ability, and then just the overall athleticism that he adds to the unit. I think he'd be a nice fit alongside Fred Warner and company."
