49ers’ 7-round dark-horse prospect mock 2019 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
There seems to be a small number of players the San Francisco 49ers could take first in the 2019 NFL Draft. But what about these dark-horse prospects in this mock draft? Let’s ride with that theme.
In all likelihood, the San Francisco 49ers are going to select Ohio State EDGE Nick Bosa, Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams or Kentucky EDGE Josh Allen with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
By now, you’ve probably read a thousand mock drafts out there suggesting such, most focusing on Bosa to the Niners, while a handful of others point either Williams or Allen being the pick.
What if general manager John Lynch takes a more out-of-the-box approach, though?
For this mock draft, we’ll toss out the general consensus of a Bosa/Williams/Allen top pick in Round 1, and we’ll even get rid of the idea the 49ers grab a safety or a wide receiver in Round 2 — what’s becoming something of another trend, too.
Instead, let’s focus on dark-horse candidates for all six of San Francisco’s selections this upcoming NFL Draft.
The 49ers still need pass-rushing help even if they don’t go with either Bosa or Allen at No. 2 overall. And while some would argue San Francisco’s best-case scenario for the player listed here, Florida State EDGE Brian Burns, would be to trade down out of the second pick, another could equally argue Burns winds up being a top-five player anyway.
Burns, who stood at 6-foot-5 and 249 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine, added weight after his 10-sack junior 2018 campaign with the Seminoles. And those extra pounds certainly didn’t prevent him from having one of the more memorable combine performances out of this NFL Draft class.
In fact, one could argue Burns is the best pure pass-rusher in this year’s class, too. That wouldn’t be the craziest suggestion ever.
With San Francisco already boasting a defensive line with plenty of run stoppers, adding another pass-rushing EDGE would be excellent.
Burns fits the bill, even if he’s not seen as one of the top three prospects, and few would likely be too mad if the Niners grabbed him second overall.