Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: Way-too-soon 2019 full seven-round NFL Draft mock

By Peter Panacy

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces a draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces a draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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COLLEGE PARK, MD – NOVEMBER 25: Offensive lineman Connor McGovern #66 of the Penn State Nittany Lions signals from the line against the Maryland Terrapins defense in the second quarter at Capital One Field on November 25, 2017 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD – NOVEMBER 25: Offensive lineman Connor McGovern #66 of the Penn State Nittany Lions signals from the line against the Maryland Terrapins defense in the second quarter at Capital One Field on November 25, 2017 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

While the pass rush is the 49ers’ top need in the 2019 NFL Draft, finding an adequate and long-term solution at right guard is going to be nearly as important.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Right now, the Niners are looking to see if Joshua Garnett or Jonathan Cooper will wind up being the answer. But Garnett, who operated more of a power-run scheme at Stanford, isn’t an ideal fit in Kyle Shanahan’s outside-zone offense. Cooper, meanwhile, is often injured and likely isn’t pegged to be a lengthy option either.

Listed as a center, Penn State’s Connor McGovern projects nicely as a guard, particularly on the right side where he started nine games his freshman year.

Where McGovern wins is in his zone-blocking skills — something in which Garnett hasn’t done well during his 49ers tenure. And if San Francisco ever has to worry about an injury to veteran center Weston Richburg, it isn’t as if McGovern would be a liability there either.

McGovern has to add some muscle to his 312-pound frame. But the movement skills are there, and his smarts suggest he’ll have no trouble picking up Shanahan’s system.