2016 NFL Draft: 5 Late-Round Prospects the 49ers Should Target
By Jerod Brown
The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2016 NFL Draft with plenty of picks to rebuild the roster. While fans debate who should be the team’s first pick, the team can find value in the later rounds by selecting versatile athletes to develop.
The 49ers will hold as many as 12 picks in the 2016 NFL Draft. Take a moment to think about this math. A team’s roster is only 53 spots and then ten more spots for players on the team’s practice squad. If 49ers general manager Trent Baalke can find valuable players with each pick, the team could potentially shuffle in about 20 percent of a brand new roster for head coach Chip Kelly.
Obviously, expecting 49ers general manager Trent Baalke to hit on each pick is unrealistic. There are, however, holes on the 49ers roster and the slew of draft picks will be Baalke’s cheapest way of addressing the needs that he and Kelly have identified. If the team manages to hit on six or seven players from the draft, Baalke will have gone a long way in rebuilding his reputation as a wise draft leader.
The 49ers hold the seventh pick overall and will have players at that spot that offer tremendous value to the team. The Niner Noise staff has already offered our suggestions for the 49ers with their first pick. But that one pick will just be the beginning of the draft experience for the 49ers and the players that they decide to bring into the building.
Baalke has found value in later rounds of the draft. If anything, he may excel above other general managers at identifying lesser-known players that can contribute to the team.
Some of the names that Baalke has acquired in the fifth round or later will stand out. Players like center Daniel Kilgore, fullback Bruce Miller, right tackle Trent Brown, cornerback Kenneth Acker and plenty of others have been found late.
The draft talk will surround the first round for the next couple of months but being successful includes finding players on the third day to contribute to the team.
Fortunately, the 49ers have needs that can be met by players that will be selected on the third day of the draft. Here are five late-round prospects that the 49ers should target in the 2016 NFL Draft.
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