While the SF 49ers already boast a Super Bowl-caliber roster in 2020, numerous pending changes mean the 2021 NFL Draft will require a home-run rookie class.
The SF 49ers didn’t have to overthink their efforts in the 2020 NFL Draft, given the team was retaining 18 of its 22 offensive and defensive starters from last season’s Super Bowl appearance. While there were some notable changes, particularly losing Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders via a trade and free agency, respectively, general manager John Lynch’s primary job was to maintain the team’s prowess.
But that might not be the case for the Niners a little less than a year from now. Good teams tend to have players who want to be paid like good players, and the bill eventually starts to work its way upward. With the 2021 NFL salary cap projected to drop as low as $175 million, and San Francisco already having $174,746,087 in total cap liabilities for next season, it doesn’t take much to realize Lynch and Co. need to have a spectacular 2021 NFL Draft class.
This for two reasons: The SF 49ers are going to see a number of high-profile players — cornerback Richard Sherman, safety Jaquiski Tartt, offensive tackle Trent Williams, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and nickel back K’Waun Williams — potentially hit the open free-agent market.
Re-signing the majority of them will prove to be difficult, and the Niners could benefit from some new names playing on those cheap rookie contracts. In some ways, those are more valuable to a team amid a Super Bowl window than top-tier and top-paid talent.
This “perfect” mock will be anything but, of course, given the global pandemic convincing numerous NCAA conferences to cancel or postpone their 2020 campaigns. That’ll make things interesting next April, yet let’s put together an ideal no-trade rookie class for Lynch and the 49ers in 2021 anyway.
For the purposes of this mock, the Niners are selecting at No. 31 overall based on ESPN odds.