San Francisco 49ers: Ranking Top 5 Needs in 2016 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
The 2016 NFL draft will be crucial for the San Francisco 49ers looking for significant upgrades at a plethora of positions. With the first wave of free agency in the books, what are the five most important positions of need for the Niners?
The first wave of NFL free agency wasn’t exactly a pool in which the San Francisco 49ers elected to restock and upgrade their incumbent roster.
General manager Trent Baalke largely avoided dishing out lucrative contracts to free agents despite the team now boasting the highest amount of cap space entering 2016 — $58,843,242 per Over the Cap. So this will put even more pressure on Baalke to cash in on a solid class from the 2016 NFL draft.
It’s a situation in which the 49ers will be armed with 12 picks — the most out of all 32 teams. And San Francisco will have eight picks within the first five rounds, per Matt Miller of Bleacher Report.
#49ers have eight picks in the first five rounds. Lot of holes on that roster. Baalke and Co. need a home run draft.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 16, 2016
The 49ers own the No. 7 overall pick in the draft. And the team could go in one of many different directions based on the shortcomings and relative thinness of the current roster.
Pick a position and, chances are, the Niners need an upgrade and/or reinforcement there.
Despite having so many needs, let’s break down what the top-five areas of concern are for San Francisco in advance of the draft. We won’t focus so much on value or even go into too much detail about the right fit in each round, etc. Rather, we’ll stick strictly to the needs the 49ers have and why they are so critical.
Next: No. 5: Wide Receiver