San Francisco 49ers: Rethinking 2018 NFL Draft big board after free agency
No. 5: Wide receiver
San Francisco already possesses a solid receiving corps around Garoppolo. Even though the 49ers did not grab a top-tier wideout in free agency, Lynch and Shanahan felt confident with the group they currently have.
Reliable veteran Pierre Garçon is set to return from his season-ending neck injury. Deep threat Marquise Goodwin will look to follow up his 962-yard performance in 2017. And Trent Taylor will try to improve even further after his remarkable rookie campaign.
Along with the young Kendrick Bourne, the Niners’ wide receivers are geared to make plenty of noise in 2018. Thus, the 49ers front office did not focus too much on addressing this positional need in free agency.
However, San Francisco should still look for a formidable red-zone target in the draft. Since the team only ranked 27th best in red-zone scoring percentage, Lynch and Shanahan must pursue a receiver who can grab those 50-50 throws in the end zone.
| Red | Red | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Tm | RZScore | RZPct ▼ |
| 27 | San Francisco 49ers | 24 | 47.1% |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/17/2018.
Because the 49ers have other priorities in the early rounds, they might look into the later rounds to find that missing piece.
If these players fall in the second and third rounds, San Francisco might not hesitate in drafting either 6-foot-4 receiver Courtland Sutton or 6-foot-5 wideout Equanimeous St. Brown.
The 49ers are also rumored to have high interest in Oklahoma State’s Marcell Ateman, according to Bleacher Report. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Ateman could become the big-play threat Shanahan once had in Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones.
San Francisco might even get a steal somewhere between the fourth and seventh rounds. After all, Lynch and Shanahan have so far found great success in acquiring players later in the draft.