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2017 NFL Draft Preview: San Francisco 49ers 7-Round Mock

By Logan Stanley

Feb 2, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan answers questions during a press conference at Westin Houston Memorial City Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan answers questions during a press conference at Westin Houston Memorial City Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2016 NFL season has come to a close, and that means a head coach is finally in place for the San Francisco 49ers: Kyle Shanahan. With Shanahan officially at the helm, the rebuild can begin with general manager John Lynch. Their biggest challenge will be tackling the 2017 NFL Draft.

The Kyle Shanahan era is formerly underway in Santa Clara and the 37-year-old head coach has plenty of work ahead of him. Among those problems, a San Francisco 49ers roster that features:

  • The 32nd-ranked receiving corps in the 2016 NFL season.
  • The 32nd-ranked rushing defense in the 2016 NFL season.
  • The 31st-ranked passing offense in the 2016 NFL season.
  • The 31st-ranked total offense in the 2016 NFL season.

This team is hankering for a makeover. We have already looked at possible options for San Francisco in free agency; that’s half the battle in this fight. The other half rests in the NFL Draft — where franchises are built or destroyed.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

As it stands, the 49ers recent draft history shows a list of limited success. Aside from Eric Reid and DeForest Buckner, the organization has little fruit to bear from its past six draft classes, and that is something that cannot be overlooked when examining San Francisco’s recent woes.

Shanahan and John Lynch will be the ones responsible for creating the 49ers’ blueprint; that’s they both were handed unprecedented six-year deals. Team-building is a process, and it begins with forming an identity.

The building has to be consistent, and by that I mean the 49ers must stick to a philosophy.

Lynch and newly hired vice president of player personnel Adam Peters will head the hierarchy when it comes to player decisions and the draft, with Shanahan having final say over the 53-man roster. Considering Lynch’s background on defense and Peters’ time spent in Denver, defense is going to be the route San Francisco takes early in the draft. But with so many needs, a best-player-available (BPA) policy is most likely to be in effect.

We’ve seen that success of finding an identity and staying consistent with it — New England’s Bill Belichick: big, tough players who are able to play in various climates (Rob Gronkowski, Dont’a Hightower, Rob Ninkovich, Alan Branch) and Atlanta’s Thomas Dimitroff: speedy and shifty players (DeVonta Freeman, Julio Jones, Tevin Coleman, Vic Beasley Jr.).

Alongside Shanahan, Lynch and Peters, the three will work with 49ers director of player personnel Mike Williams and assistant GM Tom Gamble — as of now.

Heading into the 2017 NFL Draft, San Francisco owns ten picks, and that number will rise once compensatory picks are awarded. Using Bleacher Report lead NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller’s top 300 rankings, let’s mock up a full-seven round mock draft based on the picks San Francisco currently own and positional needs for the 49ers.