Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Kiper has 49ers selecting Justin Fields in mock draft with McShay
Apr 20, 2021 at 10:55 AM
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It's time for
ESPN's annual joint mock draft by analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay (h/t to
Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports). The two take turns projecting the selections for each NFL team through the first three rounds. While most "experts,"
including McShay, are still predicting Mac Jones of Alabama to head to the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3 overall, Kiper ended up making the pick for the Bay Area team.
Of course, this mock draft doesn't feature what Kiper and McShay envision each NFL team doing with their respective selections. It is what
they would do with the pick. So, had McShay ended up selecting for the 49ers, he has made it clear that quarterback Trey Lance of North Dakota State is his third-ranked quarterback and would probably be the selection.
As expected, Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson go off the board with the first two selections. That leaves Kiper to select quarterback Justin Fields of Ohio State for the Niners.
"You should know by now how much I like Fields," Kiper explains. "He has all the tools to be a superstar, and he'd thrive in Kyle Shanahan's offense."
Kiper later has the New England Patriots trading up and selecting Jones at No. 7, and then the Denver Broncos adding Lance at No. 9.
In the second round, Kiper has San Francisco adding cornerback help with the selection of Tyson Campbell of Georgia.
"Campbell had an inconsistent college career, but teams are looking for high-end traits here," wrote Kiper. "The 49ers let both Ahkello Witherspoon and Richard Sherman walk as free agents."
McShay makes his first selection for the 49ers in the third round, at No. 102 overall. He, too, has San Francisco adding some help on the defensive side of the football with the selection of defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon of Iowa.
"The 49ers had one of the NFL's best run defenses last season," explained McShay. "They drafted
Javon Kinlaw in the first round last April, so let's go back to the defensive tackle well to give him a partner on the inside and keep the run D a strength. Nixon is very disruptive and is a good fit as a 3-technique in the San Francisco 4-3."
The 2021 NFL Draft begins on April 29 from Cleveland, Ohio.
More San Francisco 49ers News
Falcons draft room video shows reaction to 49ers selecting Trey Lance
By David Bonilla
May 11, 2021
Ari Meirov of NFLupdate.co shared an interesting look inside the draft room of the Atlanta Falcons as the San Francisco 49ers were selecting quarterback Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick. The Falcons ended up selecting tight end Kyle Pitts with the next selection.
Cool look inside the #Falcons draft room before they selected Kyle Pitts. Looks like the Lions gave a call. pic.twitter.com/gdEkUDLO6P— Ari Meirov (@AriMeirov)
Trotter: 49ers traded up to evaluate Trey Lance, Justin Fields; Mac Jones was a 'safety net'
By David Bonilla
May 1, 2021
Jim Trotter took a look inside the San Francisco 49ers' month-long draft evaluation process that ended this week with the selection of Trey Lance of North Dakota State at No. 3 overall. Since March 26, when the Niners traded a haul of draft capital to the Miami Dolphins to move up, rampant speculation surrounded the team's target. It made for great ratings, I suppose.
For a long time, Mac Jones of Alabama was seen as the most likely candidate to be headed to the Bay Area. Not necessarily by fans, but by the many analysts and media members with blue checkmarks by their names on Twitter.
That left fans infuriated. Jones was not a popular option. Both Lance and Justin Fields of Ohio State were favored over the Alabama quarterback.
In the end, it wasn't
2021 NFL Draft: Mel Kiper, other experts hand out 49ers draft grades
By David Bonilla
May 2, 2021
The 2021 NFL Draft is in the books, which means it's time for the "experts" to hand out their annual grades of each team's new rookie class.
Below are the grades issued by some of the more well-known analysts and writers within the media and what they had to say about the San Francisco 49ers' newest crop of rookies. Included are quotes from each analyst's explanation for the awarded grade.
49ers Draft Picks
Round 1: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
Round 2: Aaron Banks, G, Notre Dame
Round 3: Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State
Round 3: Ambry Thomas, CB, Michigan
Round 5: Jaylon Moore, OT, Western Michigan
Round 5: Deommodore Lenoir, CB, Oregon
Round 5: Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC
Round 6: Elijah Mitchell, RB,
McShay believes Trey Lance will start more games for the 49ers in 2021 than Jimmy Garoppolo
By David Bonilla
May 7, 2021
San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York recently spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area and called the team's decision to hold onto Jimmy Garoppolo while drafting his replacement an investment in Trey Lance's future. Basically, that means York had no problem holding onto the veteran quarterback and his hefty salary if it means affording Lance the luxury of sitting, learning, and eventually being better for it.
"So, for us, if you invest $25 (million) or $50 million into your rookie to get them ready, then to me, we're investing in the long-term future of our team," York told Matt Maiocco. "And you never want to put somebody out there, especially a guy who you heard the sort of parlance
