NFL.com Breaks Down Needs for San Francisco 49ers in the 2016 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers don’t have any shortage of needs in the 2016 NFL Draft. NFL.com recently published a piece on all 32 teams’ needs, and Niner Noise goes into a little more depth to kick off a need-by-need breakdown to be published later.
Pick a position and/or unit on the San Francisco 49ers and, chances are, they need an upgrade or reinforcements there.
Not long after avoiding the overspending associated with NFL free agency, the 49ers still find themselves in need of a large influx of talent coming out of the 2016 NFL Draft. On the positive side of things, the Niners will boast a total of 12 draft picks, including No. 7 overall, as well as the ability to simply take the best player available on the draft board.
It’s one good element out of many negatives associated with a team coming off a 5-11 record last season and at, or near, the bottom of nearly every major offensive and defensive category.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein recently put together a list chronicling all 32 teams’ needs heading into the draft, which is to be held April 28-30. Each team had its top-five needs listed along with a description as to why those needs are so important.
Zierlein listed San Francisco’s needs in this order: quarterback, inside linebacker, offensive tackle, guard and wide receiver.
Here’s what he wrote in his assessment for the 49ers:
"The 49ers hoped that Colin Kaepernick would somehow turn it around, but he didn’t. With Chip Kelly in the fold, finding a quarterback could take precedence with the first pick, but help along the offensive line must be addressed at some point as well. Kelly will target specific types of WRs to fit into his scheme, but look for Trent Baalke to do what he does best, which is find inside linebackers."
We could tack on additional needs, such as outside linebacker, cornerback, defensive line or running back. But let’s stick with this assessment.
Us over here at Niner Noise want to break down Zierlein’s team needs for San Francisco one at a time. And we’ll kick things off with this introductory article for you.
So here you have it, position by position.
Quarterback
Will Colin Kaepernick wind up playing quarterback for the Denver Broncos should a trade between the two teams take place? It’s in limbo right now, but those sort of things change quickly.
Head coach Chip Kelly could be the guy who helps turn Kap’s career around. Yet the same could be said about a change in scenery. At any rate, Kaepernick’s ongoing saga will overshadow most of what the 49ers will do unless a trade finally takes place.
If so, fellow QB Blaine Gabbert becomes the favorite to earn a starting job in 2016. He took over for Kap in Week 9 last year, impressed some and made some notable plays. But is he really the long-term answer? Probably not.
So the 49ers may, as many have speculated, go with a quarterback early in the NFL Draft. Will it be Cal’s Jared Goff, North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz or, perhaps, Memphis’ Paxton Lynch? Someone else?
Inside Linebacker
There aren’t any worries about Pro Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman’s abilities on the field, which should be even stronger with a full year of football under him since suffering his gruesome knee injury in January of 2014.
Yet who plays alongside him?
It was a position held by linebacker Michael Wilhoite who, quite admirably, filled in previously as a backup during injuries suffered by retired linebacker Patrick Willis not so long ago. But Wilhoite didn’t exactly showcase that same sort of talent in a full-time role last year and was one of the Niners’ worst defensive players, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
San Francisco gave up the league’s fourth most rushing yards last season (2,020) and will look to get strong up the middle again to avoid this same stat line from repeating.
Offensive Tackle
Veteran left tackle Joe Staley, who earned a Pro Bowl nod last season, is the team’s best offensive lineman. But the right side of the 49ers offensive line was purely disastrous in 2015. Right tackle Erik Pears and right guard Jordan Devey’s ceilings are backups, at best, and the 49ers need help here in a bad way.
Will retired right tackle Anthony Davis return, as he has so often hinted at on his Twitter account? Even if he does, will he be in game-ready shape?
Yes, the 49ers have a promising player in Trent Brown. But is he more of a stopgap option or a long-term solution? It’s hard to tell.
Offensive Guard
The Devey situation opened up the door for guard Andrew Tiller to play a more prominent role, and he did so well enough. But, just like Brown, is Tiller a long-term option? Or did the weeks of watching Devey give up pressure make anyone else wearing a Niner jersey look decent?
Tiller is promising, but let’s leave it at that.
San Francisco also lost left guard Alex Boone via free agency, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, and replaced him with former Jacksonville Jaguars guard Zane Beadles.
The hope is for Beadles to adjust well in Kelly’s zone scheme. Regardless, there are room for some upgrades at the interior positions along the O-line.
Wide Receiver
There’s still a chance the 49ers re-sign veteran wideout Anquan Boldin. But he’ll be 36 years old in October and, aside from him, San Francisco’s only other proven commodity at the position is Torrey Smith.
It’s hard to bank a lot of hopes on depth receivers like Bruce Ellington and Quinton Patton suddenly hitting their stride after multiple years marked by injuries and inconsistency.
Further down the depth chart, the 49ers seem to like wideouts whose first names start with the letter D — Dres, DiAndrew, DeAndre and DeAndrew. While unique, the only player out of that crop with some significant promise is DeAndre Smelter.
But after redshirting his rookie season with a knee injury, how much should one expect out of the latest member of Baalke’s “All-ACL” team?
Over the next few days, Niner Noise will chronicle each position Zierlein listed in more detail — breaking down the situation currently and, more importantly, what actions the 49ers can/may take in the NFL Draft to redress it.
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Speculation may be the rule of the day, but it is possible to gauge what Baalke and Co. will be looking at doing when San Francisco’s number is called a total of 12 times in the draft.
So stay tuned, 49ers fans. And keep checking back on Niner Noise for continuous updates in this six-part series on San Francisco’s draft needs.
Next: 2016 NFL Draft: Worst-Case Scenarios for 49ers
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.