© Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The 49ers have two first-round picks followed by a four-round gap, along with a host of questions outside of trading down to answer. Here are five questions they’ll have to answer in just over one week’s time:
1. How much of a priority is replacing DeForest Buckner’s value?
This is not a particularly deep draft class for defensive tackles. There’s your two elite prospects in Derrick Brown and Javon Kinlaw, then the next group of Ross Blacklock, Justin Madubuike, Neville Gallimore and maybe Jordan Elliot. There are some mid-round options like Ohio State’s Davon Hamilton and Raekwon Davis of Alabama where the value is low. It’s a draft where someone like Larrell Murchison or McTelvin Agim (guys with some raw upside) could be found as steals, along with some other sleepers like Georgia’s Tyler Clark, or Josiah Coatney, who never lose ground, are likely to be available late.
The question is whether the 49ers see the draft the same way, with value early and not again until late. They’ve proven to be arguably the NFL’s best Day 3 drafters. Do they make a move early to try and find a long-term interior prospect, or go for a value-by-committee approach, betting on D.J. Jones being healthy and Solomon Thomas taking a massive leap on the interior.
If you’re using a logical approach, the 49ers have been dormant in free agency, and also lost Sheldon Day. It’s hard to believe they really think they’ll be the same team if they don’t make an effort to substantially replenish value on the interior early in the draft, unless the Shanahan-Lynch regime views a significant improvement at corner, wide receiver and maybe the offensive line and/or tight end as creating enough value elsewhere to offset the loss of Buckner.
2. What type of receiver is the best partner for Deebo Samuel (and Kendrick Bourne)?
You’ve got CeeDee Lamb, who is a perfect outside receiver with elite footwork, is a yards-after-catch phenomenon with fantastic athletic ability, physicality (a love for blocking) and a matchup nightmare, Jerry Jeudy, the masterful route runner who’s always open, or Henry Ruggs III, one of the most athletic wide receiving prospects in draft history, with a solid route-running foundation and hands. What about Justin Jefferson, the slot weapon with underrated athleticism? Or Denzel Mims, the weirdly long, physical, shifty option? Maybe Jalen Reagor, who’s very similar to Samuel?
Kyle Shanahan has a history of favoring athleticism and if his close friend Chris Simms is believed to be operating in good faith (and not as a Shanahan shadow operative), then route-running, for a player like Jeudy, doesn’t matter all that much. Simms likened Jefferson to Michael Thomas of the Saints, Ruggs to Tyreek Hill and Lamb to DeAndre Hopkins with a frame, but better than Hopkins with the ball, more “like Jarvis Landry with the ball in his hands.”
Do the 49ers want an athletic freak, deep threat in someone like Ruggs or Brandon Aiyuk? An athletic, long freak like Mims, Michael Pittman or Tee Higgins? Or a more well-rounded option like Lamb, Jefferson or Jerry Jeudy (assuming all are available)?
3. Is there an indication Joe Staley is retiring? If so, how confident are they in Justin Skule, Shon Coleman and Daniel Brunskill?
Joe Staley said throughout the season that he intended to play out the final two years on the extension he signed at the start of the season. But NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco said he puts the chances of Staley returning at “50/50” based on his gut feeling. If Staley does indeed retire, it assuredly be a result of the mental and physical attrition resulting from a Super Bowl loss.
The 49ers surely won’t press Staley if he is in fact uncertain, but if there’s an indication that he won’t be back, this could be a perfect opportunity to replace him now, with an exciting, top-heavy tackle class. If they believe he is returning, or are uncertain, well, that’s where Justin Skule and Shon Coleman come in. Coleman was the third tackle in the pecking order before fracturing his fibula in the first preseason game last season. The 49ers have to determine, if Staley leaves this or next year, are they confident in Skule, Coleman, or Daniel Brunskill as their tackle option.
4. Is Daniel Brunskill the long-term option at guard? Do they want to replace Weston Richburg sooner than later?
From the second through fourth rounds, there projects to be a host of exciting guard and center options. After a standout season, it’s fair to assume Brunskill is the likely starter at right guard with Mike Person released (Tom Compton was signed, and along with Ben Garland, will likely compete for the starting spot). But if the 49ers can get an upgrade there and find a future center to replace Weston Richburg and his not-so-affordable contract, do they do it?
What if they trade down from 13 and/or 31 and find LSU’s Lloyd Cushenberry or Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz at their new second-round selection? Guards aren’t viewed as offensive weapons, but if you have an elite, athletic man-mover in a zone-blocking run scheme for the foreseeable future, that is a weapon. Clearly the 49ers weren’t satisfied with what they had in Person (his neck injury was probably a significant consideration).
Do they like what they have in Brunskill? Or do they see opportunity for a substantial upgrade and/or a future long-term center option?
5. What’s their plan at corner (and strong safety)?
This might be the trickiest calculation. Richard Sherman, Ahkello Witherspoon, K’Waun Williams, Emmanuel Moseley (RFA) and Jaquiski Tartt’s contracts all expire next season. The 49ers have to draft help in the secondary and they really need to do it early (their history of finding above average caliber secondary players is horrendous after round three).
Are they looking for a replacement for Jaquiski Tartt or a backup? Based on the late-round safety prospects they’ve interviewed, it seems to be the latter.
Who stays in that corner group? Moseley is probably a safe bet, but is Sherman worth bringing back another year older? Is Witherspoon ever going to find the borderline elite form he’s only harbored for limited stretches, followed by bouts of confidence-devoid missteps? Is it time to move on for someone like Florida’s C.J. Henderson or Virginia’s Bryce Hall?
Or are all three in the plans? Maybe just a Williams replacement in someone like Javaris Davis from Auburn? There are a number of moving pieces, and the considerations for who to draft will surely be factoring in the 49ers’ limited cap space in the 2021 season, too.
