Draft season is upon us ladies and gentlemen! With the NFL Draft less than a month away, I thought it would be a good time to drop a full 7 round mock; with trades! But this year, I wanted to do it a bit differently. Instead of your basic 7 round mock where you scroll through pages of picks and find your team’s selections with relatively no commentary, I decided to break the mock-up and do an article on each individual team’s haul! Giving you a breakdown of what each team brought in and how I think it could help. So without further adieu, let’s kick things off!
With the 3rd pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select…
- Justin Fields, QB, Ohio St( 1st round)
- Trey Smith, OL, Tennessee( 2nd round)
- Hamsah Nasirildeen, S, FSU(3rd round)
- Aaron Robinson, CB, UCF(3rd round)
- D’Ante Smith, OT, East Carolina(5th round)
- Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi St(5th round)
- Olaijah Griffin, CB, USC(5th round)
- Romeo McKnight, DE, Charlotte(6th round)
- Dez Fitzpatrick, WR, Louisville(7th round)
Well, the 49ers certainly sent shockwaves through the NFL with their huge trade up from 12 to 3! This move is almost undoubtedly a move for a QB, I mean why else send that much draft capital? The question now becomes, which QB do they go with? The overwhelming thought seems to be Mac Jones, but I disagree. When I watch all these QBs, it is hard to find reasons NOT to take Justin Fields with this pick. And if they plan to keep Jimmy G for a year(or more), then it makes sense to draft the guy with more tools and let him learn and fix any deficiencies. Justin Fields is a dynamic player with a ton of arm talent. The amount of things he would allow Shanahan to do with this offense makes this an easy selection for me.
From there, I think the 49ers are in a nice position to add high upside players but not really in desperate need of any one thing. Their team is pretty solid all-around. They add a few offensive linemen that have the upside to be a staple of their line or at worst provide high-end depth. They also snag a player like Kylin Hill. Now, I know they have Mostert and Wilson who are solid, but Hill can be a dynamic player and worth a shot in the 5th.
The 49ers also add some excellent players on the defensive side of the ball. Hamsah Nasirildeen is a big, strong, and very athletic safety that can fly around the field. He isn’t afraid to get into the thick of things to make a tackle and has the ball skills to change the game. He could step into the rotation very early for this team. They also add two high-quality corners that have the potential to shut down one side of the field.
Overall, I like what the 49ers do here for their future. They get a dynamic QB that can be their franchise guy for 10+ years and really open up this offense. They also add a ton of depth all over the field as well as a ton of upside. It would not shock me to see 2 or 3 of these guys end up being high-end players for years to come.
