While the San Francisco 49ers will focus the majority of their 2020 NFL Draft attention on Round 1, the seventh and final round could land some excellent bargain fits.
The San Francisco 49ers are currently slated to pick twice in the opening round of the 2020 NFL Draft later this month, pick Nos. 13 and 31 overall.
For months, draft analysts, pundits and fans have been speculating, mocking and anticipating what general manager John Lynch and Co. will do with these selections. And for anyone who has watched an NFL Draft, Round 1 gets all the attention. Rounds 2 and 3 are interesting, then all the day-three picks often flash by on the ticker while the broadcasting networks cover stories and interviews from earlier in the draft itself.
All that said, Lynch has hit on some late-round picks already. Tight end George Kittle (Round 5 in 2017), nose tackle D.J. Jones (Round 6 in 2017) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Round 5 in 2019) were hidden-gem finds.
And with the Niners not currently slated to pick again until the fifth round after their Round 1 selections, those day-three finds will be inherently necessary again.
Round 7 is provocative. These are your longshot talents; players are seen as dark-horse candidates to make the roster, more likely the practice squad. It’s the time to take gambles on prospects who have tremendous physical gifts, yet perhaps lack actual on-field experience or savvy.
If anything, it’s the epitome of a low-risk, hopefully high-reward round.
San Francisco owns two selections in Round 7 this year, Nos. 218 and 246, and it’s anyone’s guess who’ll slip into the final stages of the draft.
But if one of these three proverbial “diamond in the rough” players are available, the 49ers should be more than just a little intrigued.
This is an out-of-the-box idea if there ever was one for the 49ers.
Anyone who watched the 2019 Army-Navy game, in which the Midshipmen manhandled the Black Knights 31-7 should recall how Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry almost single-handedly beat Army over the course of four quarters, rushing for an astounding 304 yards on 29 attempts with two touchdowns.
Simply put, Perry was electrifying. And while his collegiate numbers don’t at all reflect him being a true passer, which explains why he is being viewed as a wide receiver in this year’s NFL Draft, there are plenty of traits worthy of development aside from his natural leadership.
From a point of pure athleticism, Perry is a gadget-type weapon. He can handle option packages, serve as an emergency quarterback and has some pass-catching experience working out of the slot, too.
The Niners need receivers. And while Perry shouldn’t be viewed as a fix-all for this need, the thought of him being used in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense as a unique mismatch has its merits.
Plus, entertain this: San Francisco faces two highly mobile quarterbacks each year in the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray and Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.
If for nothing more, putting a player on the scout team with a similar rushing skill set under center, like Perry, would go a long way in preparing the Niners defense for those two yearly tough challenges.
The 49ers could look early in the draft to replace now-Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, which would somewhat negate the need to add defensive line depth later.
That said, the Niners currently don’t have an adequate option to back up their current nose tackle, D.J. Jones, who is returning from a season-ending ankle injury suffered late last year. Jones, who flashed some solid interior pass-rushing abilities in 2019, could see himself in much more prominent a role than a traditional run-stopping 1-technique, which opens up the possibility for San Francisco to target such a player late on draft day.
If Ole Miss’ Josiah Coatney falls into Round 7, there you go.
Coatney, 6-foot-3 and 308 pounds, fits the mold for what defensive coordinator likes in his nose tackles: short and squatty. He can play a number of positions along the D-line, which is always a bonus, but he projects best to be a 1-technique for base run-stopping formations. Although he did flash a little pass-rush potential with 6.5 sacks over his three college years.
Should the Niners put more emphasis on playing Jones frequently, finding an identical-type backup suddenly becomes much a bigger priority.
Coatney can help solve that.
The 49ers don’t necessarily need running backs. If anything, there’s a surplus, which has led some experts to believe the team will move on from former undrafted free-agent runner, Matt Breida, sooner than later.
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Such a move would still leave tailbacks Jerick McKinnon, Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and Jeff Wilson on the roster, yet one has to think Kyle Shanahan targets a late-round flier to at least add some competition to this group, potentially with the long shot of pushing out an older veteran like Coleman.
If so, Shanahan might want to look at Baylor running back JaMycal hasty, who doesn’t exactly fit the bill for an every-down back — he never rushed for more than 630 yards in college — but has enough pass-blocking and pass-catching prowess to suggest he’d be a favorable late-round option.
With a 4.55 40-yard time at the NFL Combine, Hasty has enough speed to suggest his 5-foot-8, 205-pound frame would make for a tough tackle. Tack on the fact he had at least 25 receptions in each of his last three collegiate campaigns, and one can see how he could fill a lowly celebrated, yet vital role on offense.
And he’d offer some special teams versatility, too.
The 2020 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 23, while Round 7 takes place on Saturday, April 25.