Third round: CB Redmond joins 49ers’ ACL draftees

[...] round: CB Redmond joins 49ers' ACL draftees On Friday, the 49ers general manager did it again when he used a third-round pick on Mississippi State cornerback Will Redmond, who sustained a torn ACL in practice on Oct. 22. In a nod to his history of drafting injured players, mostly with middling results, Baalke was asked why he didn't simply select players who entered the NFL healthy and ready to go. Baalke was referencing players such as Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith and UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, who were drafted early in the second round despite coming off serious knee injuries. In July, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper ranked Redmond as his top senior cornerback. The 49ers used a 2014 first-round pick on Jimmie Ward, who played the nickel role last year and also can play safety. From 2013-14, Baalke used five of 23 picks on players coming off significant knee injuries, spending second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round selections. Last year, two of those players (RB Marcus Lattimore and FB Trey Millard) weren't in the NFL and the remaining three (DL Tank Carradine, G Brandon Thomas and Reaser) played an average of 103 snaps for the 49ers.