2017 NFL Draft: San Francisco 49ers First Round Big Board

Trade Down Options: No. 12-16

DeShone Kizer

Why didn’t he win enough games? Why did he have to time share with Malik Zaire? Does he have the confidence to succeed at the NFL level?

These are all genuine concerns surrounding DeShone Kizer but he remains the No. 1 QB in the eyes of many and the 49ers seem to have been pretty dialled in on him too.

GM John Lynch said Kizer “blew the doors off” in his Combine interview, and — per Niners Nation — has since had dinner with the QB, who has a fantastic arm and at his best can display poise in the pocket, touch, accuracy and mobility. It remains to be seen whether the 49ers believe they can get that out of him consistently.

Takkarist McKinley

He doesn’t bend consistently and is coming off a shoulder surgery, but Takk McKinley could be the answer to the 49ers’ problems on the edge with his size and speed.

With 10 sacks last season McKinley proved himself to be a destructive force off the edge but, if the Niners are in a position to take him, it just depends on whether they are ready to gamble on a defender whose preparations for the new season will be affected by his injury.

Patrick Mahomes

The great wildcard in the QB class, some love his game, others hate it. But there is no doubt his tape is fun.

The numbers, 41 touchdowns to 10 interceptions in 2016, are hard to argue with, as are Mahomes’ arm strength and ability to make unbelievable throws from any number of angles.

But the dissenting voices believe the mechanics are too bad for him to be turned into a successful NFL QB. We haven’t heard a peep as to what camp the 49ers are in.

Tre’Davious White

With Sidney Jones suffering an unfortunate Achilles injury, White may not go too far outside the top 10 and it is easy to see why.

White is a physical cover corner with outstanding anticipation and ball skills. He’s a tad smaller than today’s prototype at the position at 5’11” and can get overly grabby, however, the production — 34 pass deflections and six interceptions in his college career — should keep the 49ers interested.

Ahkello Witherspoon

For all the Richard Sherman trade talk in the NFL, it has gone largely unnoticed that there’s another Richard Sherman in the draft in the form of Ahkello Witherspoon.

He’s thin, had problems in run support and there will be questions around why he didn’t turn his 19 pass breakups in 2016 into more picks — he had just one interception last season — but Witherspoon is long and athletic and did an outstanding job against John Ross in the Pac12 title game.

Per The Niners Wire, the 49ers have met with Witherspoon, who allowed a completion percentage of just 26.5 percent last season, and they would be wise to act on their interest in the draft.