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2016 NFL Draft: Good Picks vs. Bad Picks for the San Francisco 49ers

By Peter Panacy

Sep 6, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff (16) on the sidelines during the fourth quarter in a game against the Sacramento State Hornets at Memorial Stadium. California won 55-14. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 6, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff (16) on the sidelines during the fourth quarter in a game against the Sacramento State Hornets at Memorial Stadium. California won 55-14. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016 NFL Draft is less than a month away, and the San Francisco 49ers will be looking to add talent in what promises to be an important rookie class. So let’s break down which possible selections are good versus those who aren’t as much.

Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook (18) in action against Alabama Crimson Tide in the second half of the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook (18) in action against Alabama Crimson Tide in the second half of the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it would be hard to notice we have entered all-out, full-throttle NFL Draft season. And the San Francisco 49ers are in the midst of a phase for which the draft itself is of utmost importance.

The 49ers, coming off a 5-11 finish last year, will need this NFL Draft to be one in which the team receives a great influx of talent. Nearly every position on the roster has needs.

Thankfully, San Francisco has a total of 12 draft picks with which to address these concerns. General manager Trent Baalke and the Niners’ cast of scouts have their work cut out for them as draft day approaches on April 28.

But, as football fans know all too well, the NFL Draft is anything but a guaranteed science. Sure, there are measures in place to help determine which prospects are the best fit for each team.

The NFL Scouting Combine, hours upon hours of film and numerous other resources go into determining what big boards and prospect rankings look like in the months and weeks counting down to the draft itself.

A lot of this also depends on individual team criteria. A great fit for one team may not necessarily be the same for another, yet that player could still be high on any given team’s draft board and/or nationally recognized analysts’ rankings.

Such is the nature of the NFL Draft.

So let’s take a look at some good fits for the 49ers along with some bad ones as well. This isn’t a mock draft or anything along those lines. It’s merely an evaluation of, to put things simply, “this guy instead of that guy.”

To make the list, each prospect has to have had some vested interest from the 49ers or, at least, be seen as a realistic option. Determination of whether or not the player would be a good fit for San Francisco will then be based on scheme fit, ability and other intangibles described herein.

Next: Good Fit: QB Jared Goff