The 49ers are one of the most unpredictable teams in the draft. They are this way every single year due to general manager Trent Baalke’s propensity for secrecy. Sitting at 15th overall, the 49ers haven’t had a pick this high in awhile and have a lot of options. Here are the five most likely targets for the 49ers in the first three rounds of the draft:
The 49ers will likely have their eye on a few wide receivers in the first round and watching to see whether or not they start to slip. Those wide receivers will likely be Kevin White from West Virginia, Amari Cooper from Alabama, and DeVante Parker from Louisville. The one that is most likely to fall to 15 is Parker. He’s the perfect fit for the 49ers as well. Parker is big, strong, great after the catch, and can make the big catches in traffic in the red zone and on third down. Parker is the kind of receiver the 49ers want to have on their roster for when Anquan Boldin leaves town.
If Parker isn’t there at 15, there’s a good chance the 49ers trade back in the first round. If they go this route, a likely option is a cornerback. This year’s cornerback class is very deep but not very top heavy, so they probably won’t want to take a cornerback at 15 because the value just isn’t there. A likely option late in the first round is Kevin Johnson, the former Wake Forest cornerback. Johnson is a solid cornerback that would fit very well in their system.
In the second round, the 49ers could target a linebacker since they lost both Chris Borland and Patrick Willis this offseason. The linebacker they could likely be targeting is former TCU linebacker Paul Dawson. Dawson is the exact type of linebacker Baalke values. When watching his film, if you lose track of him, just look wherever the ball is because Dawson is likely right there. His instincts are amazing and he can play all three downs if they need him too. He didn’t test very well at the combine, but you can’t argue about his speed when he’s playing. He flies all over the field and isn’t a liability in coverage. Dawson might not be there when the 49ers pick 14th in the second round, so they might have to trade up in the second to get him.
If the 49ers decide not trade up in the second round there’s a good chance they’ll take former Stanford defensive end Henry Anderson. Anderson is a player Jim Harbaugh recruited to Stanford, so there would be a bit of irony in the pick. But Anderson is a true 5-tech defensive end and the 49ers are one of the only teams that use those. If Justin Smith comes back for another season Anderson would benefit a great deal learning the game under him for a season. If Smith decides to retire Anderson will learn on the fly a bit more and will have a larger spot in the rotation from day one.
If Baalke doesn’t get the wide receiver he wants in the first round, look for him to start targeting wide receivers again in the third round. A wide receiver he’ll likely be able to land in the third round that would present great value is former Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates. Coates makes incredible catches and has game changing speed but sometimes he gets a case of the drops. He certainly isn’t able to carry an offense right away, but with Torrey Smith and Boldin being able to carry most of the weight until Coates can develop his game more, the 49ers would be a great situation for Coates.
The 49ers have a lot more flexibility than usual in this draft. They have better ammunition to move up and get the players they want or to trade back and get better picks in return. It’ll certainly be fun to watch to see what Trent Baalke does and who he targets this year.