5 2020 Senior Bowl standouts 49ers may like for NFL Draft
No. 2: Antonio Gandy-Golden, Wide Receiver, Liberty
There’s not much question that Antonio Gandy-Golden is the top small school prospect in this draft. The question is whether he’s worth investing a first-round pick in.
If the Senior Bowl is any indication, the answer is a resounding yes.
Gandy-Golden has every attribute needed to be a top No. 1 receiver in the NFL. He has amazing size at 6-foot-3 and 222 pounds. He plays physically and can make any amount of highlight reel catches that are now part and parcel for top receivers in the NFL.
His ability to track the ball and use his catch radius to snag balls may be the best among receivers in the draft.
There are some issues, as you would expect from a small-school prospect, and the top ones were route running, speed, and athleticism.
Gandy-Golden was able to address these concerns in the Senior Bowl. He showed speed and athleticism much better than expected, and while route running is still a major concern, it’s somewhat mitigated by D.K. Metcalf having a great rookie season for the Seattle Seahawks despite being a terrible route runner out of college.
The 49ers will be in the market for a receiver. They currently have only three receivers of note with Kendrick Bourne, Deebo Samuel, and Emmanuel Sanders. Jalen Hurd will be back next year after a medical redshirt year, but Marquise Goodwin and Dante Pettis may be on the outside looking in.
It also should be noted that Sanders is a free agent, and while the relationship between him and the team is good, the 49ers have bigger priorities in terms of contract extensions.
It’s also too soon to give up on Pettis, but he has to show he can take his career seriously.
Hurd projects to be that big physical receiver the 49ers covet, and he certainly flashed that ability in preseason, but Gandy-Golden could give the 49ers not just one, but two big mismatches.
Combine that with the route running of Samuel and Sanders (if he stays), and the redzone ability of Bourne, the 49ers would have a receiving corps to envy.
For this to happen, the 49ers would need to stand pat with their first-round selection and hope he gets through.