49ers: Redrafting Trent Baalke's 2016 NFL Draft Class

San Francisco 49ers: Redrafting Trent Baalke’s 2016 NFL Draft Class

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell annonces DeForest Buckner of Oregon as the #7 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /

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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 12: Sterling Shepard #87 of the New York Giants makes a catch against the San Francisco 49ers during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on November 12, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

. Wide Receiver. Oklahoma. Sterling Shepard. 2. player. 42

Original Player Selected: OG Joshua Garnett, Stanford (via a trade w/ Chiefs)

Trent Baalke shied away from taking wide receivers in the early rounds ever since his 2012 gaffe on A.J. Jenkins, which left San Francisco’s receiving corps pretty barren in 2015 and 2016.

Former Oklahoma wideout Sterling Shepard might not have size on his side (5-foot-10 and 194 pounds), but he’s plenty fast and shifty — aspects he has shown in both good-and-bad seasons for the New York Giants, who took him at No. 40 overall.

This slot-type receiver would have been an immediate upgrade over then-starter Bruce Ellington, who often found himself on the injury reports.

And with the Niners not having to make the trade-up for former Stanford guard Joshua Garnett, who currently sits on injured reserve with a knee injury, they’d have an additional fourth- and sixth-round pick in their pockets.