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The 49ers don’t have one need in the NFL draft that stands above the rest. Perhaps that changes over the course of the offseason, but essentially every door as open as San Francisco navigates its first major turning point under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
ESPN’s Todd McShay illustrated the bevy of options available to the 49ers in his first mock draft of 2021.
With no trades executed in the projections, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields – widely considered one of the top two or three QB prospects in this year’s draft – drops to the 49ers at the No. 12 pick. While it seems likely San Francisco will select a QB, they skip on the opportunity to take Fields in this mock.
Instead, they opt for Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley.
Farley, 6-2, 207 pounds has tremendous size for his position and posted good production to go with it. He opted out of his junior season during the COVID-19 pandemic, but his strong freshman and sophomore campaigns are enough to garner him attention in the top half of the draft.
Here’s McShay’s reasoning for the Farley selection over Fields:
The 49ers’ pass defense was a strength this season, ranking fourth in yards allowed per game (207.9). But here’s the list of pending unrestricted free agents at cornerback: Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Ahkello Witherspoon, K’Waun Williams and Dontae Johnson. Injuries hurt San Francisco all over this season, but there isn’t a bigger question mark on the team going forward than at corner. Enter Farley, a 2020 opt-out with terrific ball skills. He had four interceptions for the Hokies in 2019.
Could the Niners make a change at QB? Of course, especially if Justin Fields were actually to fall this far. (He is dropping in this mock mainly because there aren’t any trades.) Jimmy Garoppolo is only under contract for two more seasons, has very little guaranteed money still owed to him and has battled injuries during his time with the 49ers.
Farley or another CB makes sense for the 49ers in the first round given their number of free agents at the position. Even if they retain one or two in free agency, they’ll need to add quality depth.
If Fields does fall to No. 12, it’s hard to imagine San Francisco would just let him slide by without either picking him or trading back to a team looking for one of the top QB prospects.