2016 NFL Draft: Revamped 49ers Mock Draft Post-Trades
By Jerod Brown
Round Five, Pick Three–No. 142 Overall
Yannick Ngakoue, Outside Linebacker–Maryland
Yannick Ngakoue will be all over the board depending on which team you talk to. Some will recognize his 13.5 sacks last season at Maryland and drool over the developing talent of a fluid athlete that can rush the passer.
The 49ers, however, will have Ngakoue slightly lower on their boards. General manager Trent Baalke loves height and arm length from his EDGE defenders and Ngakoue simply doesn’t meet the standards in that regard.
He’s only 6’2″ with 32 1/2-inch arms. Add to that a hand size of just nine-and-1/2 inches and you have a prospect that, although productive, doesn’t warrant high praise from Baalke.
If he makes it to the fifth round, the 49ers should put their size concerns aside and draft the talented pass-rusher from Maryland. Ngakoue shows excellent bend in collapsing the pocket on the edge and has experience dropping into coverage as well.
Baalke may already be loosening up.
#49ers meet with Maryland pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue at pro day Wednesday https://t.co/9FzKAekCok @TheNinersWire
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) March 30, 2016
Round Five, Pick Six–No. 145 Overall
Cyrus Jones, Cornerback–Alabama
Baalke typically likes to select cornerbacks late, especially in the fifth round. Cyrus Jones played at University of Alabama for head coach Nick Saban and will enter the NFL having learned from one of the best defensive coaches in all of college football.
Jones is on the smaller side at 5’10” and 197 pounds but he played in a major conference and is no stranger to NFL-level competition. Despite his smaller size, Jones excels in press-man coverage with strong technique and he brings a feisty attitude to the field.
In addition to his defensive play, Jones was an absolute stud on special teams as a return man. He scored four punt return touchdowns in 2015 and has a knack for finding daylight with the ball in his hands.
His size will concern teams against larger receivers in the league but the 49ers likely wouldn’t be pressing Jones to start anytime soon. He’s worth grabbing for dynamic playmaking ability.
Round Five, Pick 35–No. 174 Overall
Beau Sandland, Tight End–Montana State
The 49ers don’t have immediate needs at tight end. Or at least it doesn’t seem like it. They drafted both Blake Bell and Rory “Busta” Anderson in the 2015 NFL Draft and will enter training camp with a tight end group of Vance McDonald, Bell, Anderson and Garrett Celek.
However, the team had an abundance of tight ends throughout the summer last year and ended the season scraping by. Trent Baalke is comfortable holding an open competition and then trading away any valuable pieces. As such, if the 49ers find an explosive tight end, they shouldn’t hesitate to select him.
That’s where we arrive at Beau Sandland. I recently had a chance to scout Sandland and here are my some of my notes:
"Strengths: Crafty off the line of scrimmage. Excellent with the ball in his hands. Routinely gets behind safeties. Willing to finish run plays as a blocker. Long arms and big hands that he uses in every way possible. Excellent feet to mirror in pass-pro. Moves laterally with some smoothness that is surprising. Nothing will surprise him as a learner so it’s just technically developing and maturing. Good size/carries it well, might even be asked to put on more if it doesn’t slow him down. Weaknesses: Is his decent blocking because competition is physically smaller? Wish route running was cleaner-won’t get away with slop in NFL. All over the place as a run blocker, can you give best reps every play? Better competition would body him up or redirect him. Doesn’t take very good angles in the run game. LBs reacting slower and not as violently as NFL LBs, can he reach someone as smart/fast/violent as Thomas Davis and be productive? Shook by contact in run game that will occasionally force him to thin out his hips and he loses balance/productivity."
If available this late, Sandland makes sense for the 49ers. He has some work to do but he demonstrates the type of receiving threat that Kelly utilizes well in his system.
Next: Sixth Round