Niner Noise
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2020 NFL Draft: 3 Round 1 prospects 49ers hope fall to No. 31

By Peter Panacy

TUSCALOOSA, AL - NOVEMBER 10: Xavier McKinney #15 of the Alabama Crimson Tide knocks down a pass by Nick Fitzgerald #7 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL - NOVEMBER 10: Xavier McKinney #15 of the Alabama Crimson Tide knocks down a pass by Nick Fitzgerald #7 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Laviska Shenault, Isaiah Pola-Mao, Colorado Buffaloes, USC Trojans
Laviska Shenault Jr. #2 of the Colorado Buffaloes by Isaiah Pola-Mao #21 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

With the San Francisco 49ers picking at No. 31 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, they’ll have to hope some top talent slips down to the latter stages of Round 1.

The bad news? The San Francisco 49ers won’t be picking anywhere near the top end of Round 1 in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The good news? Each year, there is plenty of first-round talent finding its way deep into Round 1, even into Round 2. With some simple Twitter searches, it’s possible to find at least 60 players who have zero chances of falling into the second round.

For those draft novices, there are only 32 first-round picks.

Either way, the Niners can hope a number of top-rated NFL Draft prospects wind up slipping on draft day, especially if they are for legitimate reasons: a run on quarterbacks or other positions the 49ers don’t need to address, 30 other teams doing odd things or whatever.

General manager John Lynch won’t, however, reach on gambles for players who are falling for the wrong reasons. Case in point, linebacker Reuben Foster‘s 2017 draft stock started out as a top-five player, only to see that fall due to injuries, character concerns and red flags emanating from that year’s NFL Scouting Combine. While the Niners grabbing him at No. 31 overall in that year’s draft seemed like a steal at the time, subsequent red flags and legal run-ins ultimately meant his tenure with San Francisco lasted less than two years.

Still, Foster’s fall is completely unrelated to the kind of player falls the 49ers will likely hope for in this year’s NFL Draft.

And if the Niners wanted to pin their hopes on a few players realistically falling this April, here are three they should cross their collective fingers on the most.