The 2021 NFL Draft is a three-day event from April 29th to May 1st that will be hosted in Cleveland, Ohio. A select number of draft prospects will be invited to Cleveland to walk across the stage and shake hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The NFL Draft will also feature draft prospects participating remotely across the country. Last month, the 49ers arguably made their most aggressive move since trading Joe Montana, as they gave up multiple picks to jump from No. 12 to No. 3 in this year's NFL Draft. The first Mock Draft Roundup I compiled of analysts' projected picks for San Francisco featured primarily defensive players, but NFL pundits have now...

On the morning of March 26th, the 49ers shocked the NFL world by moving up from pick No. 12 to pick No. 3 via a trade with the Dolphins, through which San Francisco gave up its next two first-round picks and a third-round pick to make the deal. Before the trade, there was still uncertainty with the quarterback position, since Jimmy Garoppolo's contract had not been restructured, meaning that his contract for the next year was not guaranteed yet, and therefore, could lead to him being traded. The move to No. 3 confirmed a quarterback change, but in 2022, not 2021, as Kyle Shanahan said publicly that Garoppolo would likely retain the starting job and give himself a chance to improve his stock, as well as disprove the injury concerns. Then, shockingly,...

Back in January and through the beginning of March, I was banging the drum on Twitter for the 49ers to draft Mac Jones with the 12th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. I felt that, if he fell to them, it would be good value and it would give them a young signal-caller to reset their cap number at the quarterback position. I also felt that Jones would provide them with at least the same level of play as current QB Jimmy Garoppolo, but with the possibility to open up the playbook a little more because Jones has a slightly better arm and more moxie to go deep. The 2019 season showed that, with competent play at the quarterback position, head coach Kyle Shanahan could put together an efficient offense that would complement a ferocious defense. The 2019 season also showed, on the biggest...

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith retired from the NFL after playing 14 of the last 16 seasons in the league. Smith, who was the top overall draft pick of the 49ers in 2005, spent his first seven years in the Bay Area. The former Utah Ute had many mountains to climb with San Francisco, like five different offensive coordinators, head coaches who did not believe in him, and being in the same draft as California Golden Bears' Aaron Rodgers, whom the Green Bay Packers drafted in the same draft. In honor of his career with the 49ers, here are Smith's top five moments with the team. Moment 5: The Phoenix rises After a horrible 45-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and coming off a bye week, the 49ers traveled to Houston in a Week 7 game on Oct. 25,...

Let's be honest, we can use a breather from debating about the No. 3 overall pick (#FieldsAt3). Hear me out before you dismiss my prediction with "any undrafted running back can thrive in Shanahan's system". I think the 49ers may just trade up for a running back in the early rounds and there's plenty of reasons why this is a likely possibility. 1) Depth and Injury History are Concerns There's no denying that Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. are awesome. The reality is that both running backs play extremely physical and have missed time in recent years while never handling a full season of consistent work. We also haven't seen enough of undrafted backups JaMychal Hasty and Austin Walter so the 49ers could have a serious problem on...

Justin Fields. Mac Jones. Trey Lance. It seems like we have had an insurmountable number of rumors when it comes to these three quarterback prospects, mainly being linked to the San Francisco 49ers. However, it seems as if all those unknowns may be finally leading to something. On Saturday, Michael Lombardi, an NFL writer for the Athletic, came onto The Wrap with Patrick Meagher, and set the narrative straight: the 49ers are not going to draft Justin Fields. With all the speculation surrounding the three intriguing quarterback prospects, news like this is alarming. While I personally would select Fields at number three, eliminating him from the picture clears up the story for the 49ers. Almost all of the rumors surrounding the third pick...

Throughout the past couple of weeks, the anticipation and coverage around who the Niners will take with the third pick in the draft has dramatically built to the expense of the discussion on who they should take in the later rounds of the draft. The 49ers' offseason signings and new free agency acquisitions have certainly exceeded expectations but there are certainly still plenty of holes and weak patches on the roster. Addressing these roster spots efficiently in the draft is crucial as the players they pick will be inexpensive and productive, leaving room for even more cap space for next year's free agency. This year, San Francisco has the following picks: 3 (1st Round); 43 (2nd Round); 102 (3rd Round); 117 (4th Round); 155, 172, 180 (Round 5); 194 (Round 6); 230 (Round...

The last mock draft I published included a trade-up from pick 12 to pick 3, sacrificing first-round picks in the next two drafts. A mere thirty minutes after the mock draft was published here, the 49ers made a trade for the number three pick, in real life, and gave up an additional 2022 third-round compensatory pick on top of the two first-round picks. Needless to say, I, and the rest of the 49ers Empire, was ecstatic. Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch confirmed the following Monday, during a press conference, that this move was made with a quarterback in mind. The majority of 49er coverage since that time has been about which quarterback they are going to draft at three, but I think this draft is important to add depth to the roster, especially in the secondary, interior...

The 2021 NFL Draft is a three-day event from April 29th to May 1st that will be hosted in Cleveland, Ohio. A select number of draft prospects will be invited to Cleveland to walk across the stage and shake hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The NFL Draft will also feature draft prospects participating remotely across the country. Last month, the 49ers arguably made their most aggressive move since trading Joe Montana, as they gave up multiple picks to jump from No. 12 to No. 3 in this year's NFL Draft. The first Mock Draft Roundup I compiled of analysts' projected picks for San Francisco featured primarily defensive players, but NFL pundits have now...

In an offseason during which many players have decided to find new homes, there have been some prominent "winners" and "losers". When hearing about "winners" for the NFL offseason, the teams that are generally mentioned are the New England Patriots, New York Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals, due to their additions of prominent free agents. However, none of these teams' offseasons match that of one under-the-radar team that managed to retain almost every important pending free agent it had: the San Fransisco 49ers. With a combination of key re-signings, additions of potential starters, and acquisitions to increase depth, the 49ers were a sneaky team whose offseason was overlooked due to the amount of volatility surrounding other...

The 49ers' front office has hit an absolute home run so far this offseason. Not only did it bring back every priority free agent that was poised to leave the team, it did so on relatively affordable contracts outside of the monster deal that it gave left tackle Trent Williams. The team also cleared significant cap space with some deft contract restructures for defensive end Dee Ford and the likely-to-retire center Weston Richburg. Then the 49ers traded two future first-round picks (2022 and 2023) and a future third-round compensatory pick in 2022--which they received through the NFL's new minority hire rule when Robert Saleh was hired by the New York Jets as their new head coach and Martin Mayhew was hired as the GM for the Washington Football Team--in order to swap...

Patrick Mahomes. Jared Goff. Carson Wentz. Cam Newton. Russell Wilson. What do these names have in common? Well, all of these quarterbacks were first-string quarterbacks on Super Bowl teams (Wentz was injured, but was QB1 on the Eagles). Most importantly, they were all on their rookie contracts during the year their teams made the Super Bowl. On March 26, the San Fransisco 49ers sent a boatload of picks: the No. 12 pick, their next two first-rounders, AND a third-round compensatory selection in 2022 for the No. 3 pick this year. Given the magnitude of the trade and the amount the 49ers gave up, many were questioning whether the trade up to presumably grab a quarterback was worth it for the franchise. Recent History Well, recent...

When Jimmy Garappolo arrived in San Francisco in a trade from the New England Patriots in 2017, he was a young, athletic, and skilled quarterback. However, a couple of season-ending injuries later, his value has plummeted. The perception of the quarterback is that of an older, immobile, and inaccurate passer who often makes questionable decisions. Garoppolo's injury-riddled stint with the Niners has caused the entire team to suffer due to below-average backup play leading to mostly disappointing results. After head coach Kyle Shanahan's third losing season in four years, he has set his mind on using the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to select a durable franchise quarterback who can execute his offensive playbook effectively and has the athletic skill set to lead a...

Shockwaves reverberated around the NFL last month when the 49ers traded up with the Miami Dolphins to the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. By giving away its first- and third-round picks in 2022, and another first-rounder in 2023, San Francisco made its mega move in upgrading the quarterback room for its foreseeable future. While the team has maintained a public stance of keeping current quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for this coming season, this trade signified its dissatisfaction with Garoppolo's services, as the 49ers are expected to select his successor with their third overall pick in the draft at the end of this month. Most predict that the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets, who hold the first and second overall picks in this year's draft,...

The 2021 NFL Draft is a three-day event from April 29th to May 1st that will be hosted in Cleveland, Ohio. A select number of draft prospects will be invited to Cleveland to walk across the stage and shake hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The NFL Draft will also feature draft prospects participating remotely across the country. Last month, the 49ers arguably made their most aggressive move since trading Joe Montana, as they gave up multiple picks to jump from No. 12 to No. 3 in this year's NFL Draft. The first Mock Draft Roundup featured primarily defensive players but NFL pundits have now shifted their 49ers mock drafts to the quarterback position....

When the San Francisco 49ers were drafting at No. 12, there was a lot of speculation about which quarterback might fall and who that might be. The only quarterback who seemed to have a chance to fall to twelve was Mac Jones. However, the 49ers aren't selecting at twelve anymore because they took a huge swing and traded three first rounds picks to move up to pick at No. 3. This means there will likely be three of the consensus top-five quarterback prospects still on the board. This is my case for Justin Fields. Fields is a unique specimen at the quarterback position. Everyone on Twitter wants to pigeonhole Fields into a "type" of quarterback and what he could become in Shanahan's offense. Some say he's a runner who can also throw. Others say he's a slow...

Last week, the San Francisco 49ers shocked the NFL world by trading up to the No. 3 spot in this month's draft. There is an overwhelming belief that Trevor Lawrence of Clemson and Zach Wilson of BYU will both be off the board by the time general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan are on the clock. If that is how things play out, what will be their move? We asked the 49ers Webzone staff to predict who the Niners will select at No. 3 overall, should Lawrence and Wilson be unavailable. Below are the responses in the order in which they were received. Justin Wong Justin Fields, Ohio State For the 49ers to aggressively trade top draft capital and move into the No. 3 spot likely means they have one quarterback...

The 2021 NFL Draft is a three-day event from April 29th to May 1st that will be hosted in Cleveland, Ohio. A select number of draft prospects will be invited to Cleveland to walk across the stage and shake hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The NFL Draft will also feature draft prospects participating remotely across the country. Last Friday, the 49ers arguably made their most aggressive move since trading Joe Montana, as they gave up multiple picks to jump from No. 12 to No. 3 in this year's NFL Draft. In comparison to last week's Mock Draft Roundup, which featured primarily defensive players, the NFL pundits have now shifted their 49ers mock drafts to...

It's time to address the elephant in the room. Racism has helped Mac Jones' stock and hurt Justin Fields' in the lead-up to the draft. Yes, it really is happening. Now before you freak out, take a breath, and keep reading because I don't mean what you likely think I mean. No, I don't think draft pundits are sitting at their keyboards and purposefully finding reasons to knock Fields while talking up Jones simply because of the color of their skin. That would be what I would call blatant racism or conscious racism, if you will. Racism has more nuance than that. There is such a thing as unconscious racism and every single person in this country has acted on it at one point or another without realizing it. How? Why? Because racism has purposefully been...

Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers are unlikely to have moved up to the number three overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to select Trey Lance or Justin Fields if past behavior predicts future behavior, as social psychology research suggests. Shanahans have been wary of mobile quarterbacks Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator when the Washington Redskins drafted Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and Kirk Cousins early in the fourth round of the same draft, leaving many scratching their head as to why the team would select a quarterback so soon after...