San Francisco 49ers: 5 dream picks in 2020 NFL Draft

The DeForest Buckner trade opens up a serious void along the defensive line. While it’s still an elite unit, there’s no single player who can occupy and deliver the same kind of blocker-eating prowess Buckner delivered for San Francisco the past few years.

San Francisco 49ers

So, what if the 49ers could find Buckner’s replacement in Round 1?

Without question, the top interior defensive lineman in this year’s NFL Draft is Auburn’s Derrick Brown. Many a big board lists him as a top-five selection, and it’s hard to speculate Brown falling all the way to No. 13. And the Niners won’t trade up to get him.

Even though Brown has some prolific inside pass-rushing prowess, interior linemen don’t always possess the same draft value placed on edge rushers, quarterbacks and some defensive backs. Defensive-needy teams like the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars could easily snag Brown. But they could value other positions of need, too.

Or any one of those squads could be involved in a trade down, should another quarterback-needy team want to move into the top 10.

If Brown falls to the 49ers, they’d have their immediate Buckner replacement and could still use the No. 31 overall pick to grab a still-very-good wide receiver or cornerback. It wouldn’t be a bad situation at all.

The 2020 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 23.