San Francisco 49ers: 5 day two NFL Draft prospects who can fill a need

No. 5: Will Hernandez, Guard, UTEP

I’ve written before of my love for Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson, but there’s no guarantee that he even makes it to the Niners’ first pick or that the Niners feel the same way. But the interior line is the most pressing need, so an early pick should be used to address it.

UTEP guard Will Hernandez is a big unit (6-foot-3, 330 pounds), who plays aggressively. He’s fits at right guard as a dominant run-blocking specialist and isn’t lost in the passing game either. He turned heads with dominant practices at the Senior Bowl, and showed he wasn’t lost taking on more superior defenders than he normally faces with UTEP.

As shown in the video above, Hernandez plays with a lot of aggression and fire. The Niners don’t need blockers just to protect Jimmy Garoppolo but also to blast open running lanes as well.

Why This Makes Sense

As noted, the Niners desperately need to upgrade the interior offensive line, and they have met with Hernandez during the Senior Bowl. Hernandez ticked the boxes during the Senior Bowl, and if he has a great pro day and combine leading up to the draft, it’s possible this slide may need to be updated with a more attainable prospect.

For now he’s a second-round prospect, and a definite 49ers target.