2019 NFL Draft: Ranking the San Francisco 49ers’ top 5 NFL mock drafts
By Chris Wilson
After a month of NFL mock drafts, Niner Noise breaks down the top five options for the San Francisco 49ers to select with the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
As soon as the NFL regular season ends, the mock draft season begins. With less than a month until the NFL Scouting Combine and under three months until the 2019 NFL Draft, fans want to know which college stars will soon join the ranks of their favorite team.
In the four weeks since Week 17, a consensus has begun to develop among NFL analysts and mock drafters — particularly at the top of the draft, where there are fewer variables in play. Unfortunately for many Bay Area fans, this is where the San Francisco 49ers find themselves drafting once again.
The 49ers currently hold the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. After the Arizona Cardinals make their initial selection, San Francisco will have their choice of all remaining college prospects.
Not only do the 49ers have an early draft pick, but they also have a glaring need at one of the game’s most important and expensive positions: edge rusher. Luckily for San Francisco, this year’s draft class is full of talented pass rushers for the team to select both early and late in the draft.
Given the mixed results of their first two drafts, 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan need to hit on their first-round pick in 2019. Perhaps more important than hitting, they need to ensure they don’t miss, since the team will be stuck with the expensive guaranteed salary of the second overall selection whether the player booms or busts.
Due to the team’s high draft position and obvious positional need, the vast majority of mock drafts have the 49ers falling into one of five potential scenarios. In the majority of these scenarios, San Francisco drafts an edge rusher — but which of these prospects are worthy of a top draft pick?
Let’s break down the San Francisco 49ers’ five most common mock draft picks, beginning with a talented lineman that the Niners should not draft with the second overall selection: