San Francisco 49ers: 5 late-round gems to target in the 2019 NFL Draft

The 49ers need a big-bodied target at wide receiver, especially after no Niners wideout reached 500 receiving yards in 2018. Pair that with the fact San Francisco’s red-zone offense finished dead last in touchdown efficiency a year ago, and one can see why grabbing a go-to wide receiver would be a top priority.

San Francisco 49ers

But there’s a good chance the 49ers shelve this need until later. In doing so, they could open up the door for a late-round acquisition of Northern Arizona wide receiver Emmanuel Butler.

FCS players don’t get anywhere near the attention as other top prospects. One such example, who slipped in the draft because of this yet became a Hall of Famer, is former 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens out of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

This isn’t to say Butler, who stands at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds, is on Owens’ trajectory. And coming off a 2017 shoulder injury certainly hurt is draft stock. Butler isn’t particularly fast, either, although he’s more than capable of winning 50-50 balls and using his lengthy frame to create some separation.

Butler is likely going to be a seventh-round draft choice, potentially slipping into undrafted free agency.

If the 49ers want to take a flier, Butler’s intangibles make him more than worthwhile on day three.