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2016 NFL Draft: 6 Simple Steps for a Successful 49ers Class

By Bryan Knowles

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the start of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the start of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco 49ers need to ace their 2016 NFL draft class.

Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the crowd in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the crowd in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

By this point, you’ve likely read mock after mock, describing what the San Francisco 49ers have to do during the 2016 NFL Draft. You know what players you hope they target and what players you hope they do not come away with. You have a basic idea of what the 49ers draft strategy should be.

All that will get thrown out the window when the draft itself begins on April 28th. The draft-day planning done up to this point has already been wildly shifted with the major trade that sent the Los Angeles Rams up the draft board, and things are not going to get less hectic as the draft itself continues. If the 49ers lock themselves into a few names they want on draft day, they’re likely to either be disappointed or to pay exorbitant prices for those names.

With twelve picks and a lot of flexibility, it’s more valuable to think of general steps the 49ers should take in order to have a successful draft class. It’s not about “the 49ers need to draft Player X to have a good draft”. There’s no one quarterback or one edge rusher that the 49ers must grab to have a solid draft; it’s about balancing value and need, playing the board smartly and using draft capital wisely to get the best possible draft class.

Let’s take a look at some of the requirements I would put on the 49ers in order to call their 2016 draft class successful, at least before anyone actually steps onto the field.

Next: Reaching for the Stars