Best, Worst Picks by 49ers in the 2016 NFL Draft
- Prince Charles Iworah, CB, Western Kentucky (Pick No. 249)
Chalk this one up to “scouts know more than columnists”, because Iworah was not someone I had on my radar entering the draft.
That’s not a terrible think at pick 249—you’re basically looking for dibs on an undrafted free agent, and Iowrah would make a very intriguing UDFA. He’s got a lot of athleticism, if not a lot of corner skills yet, and he’s an interesting guy to stick on the practice squad and see what develops.
It’s just that he was the third corner the 49ers drafted in 2016. That in and of itself would be a little excessive, but the 49ers also drafted four corners just two years ago. The team is loaded with developmental players in the secondary. Iworah is probably ninth on the depth chart at the moment, and while there’s never an expectation that a seventh-round pick will be able to contribute (the last seventh rounder the 49ers drafted that really did anything significant for the team was Eric Heitmann, an eight-year starter at guard and tackle drafted in 2002), it seems odd to use the pick on a player who doesn’t have a really clear path to ever contribute for the team.
"This is what a 4.2 40 looks like…"
In a vacuum, I wonder why the 49ers didn’t use the pick on a different position. They picked up receiver/tight end hybrid Devon Cajuste in UDFA, so clearly they didn’t need to use a pick on him, but that would seem more like the sort of player who might contribute on the main roster at some point. A linebacker like Utah’s Jarred Norris (now in Carolina) or an offensive lineman like Michigan State’s Jack Allen (now in New Orleans) might have made more sense, considering where the 49ers have room on the roster.
Next: Suspended for 2015...