Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: Post-Super Bowl 7-round mock 2019 NFL Draft

By Peter Panacy

Commissioner Roger Goodell names a pick by the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 NFL Draft (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
Commissioner Roger Goodell names a pick by the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 NFL Draft (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – SEPTEMBER 01: Blessuan Austin #1 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights celebrates his sack against the Texas State Bobcats during the first quarter at High Point Solutions Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ – SEPTEMBER 01: Blessuan Austin #1 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights celebrates his sack against the Texas State Bobcats during the first quarter at High Point Solutions Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /

We’re at that point in the NFL Draft where it’s time to take some gambles. And remember, the 49ers don’t have a fifth-round draft pick, as that was the one used to acquire Laken Tomlinson early in 2017.

The 49ers need some help at cornerback. Unfortunately, the draft board didn’t fall out to allow San Francisco to grab one of the higher-profiled guys in earlier rounds. As such, the Niners are forced to take something of a flier on a promising-yet-oft-injured prospect, Rutgers’ Blessuan Austin.

Austin has suffered two torn ACLs in his collegiate career, one in 2017 and the other last year. He bounced back nicely from the first one, but ended up tearing his second while recording an interception in the Scarlet Knights’ season-opening win over Texas State.

Normally, that would be a hard no for a team needing impact players now, particularly in the secondary. Yet let’s bank on Austin being a developmental piece, while hoping third-year pro Ahkello Witherspoon bounces back from a rough 2018 campaign.