SF 49ers: Rethinking top 2021 NFL Draft needs halfway through season

Halfway through the SF 49ers’ 2020 regular-season campaign has revealed some truths about team needs in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft.

One of the biggest challenges SF 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan will face coming off a Super Bowl loss in February of 2020 is how to maintain a championship window.

A task made no easier by an increasing payroll, thanks to good and ascending players as well as the likely dropping of the 2021 salary cap down to as low as $175 million.

Needless to say, this puts increased pressure on Lynch and Shanahan to capitalize on as many picks as possible in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft, landing supportive talent while also enjoying the significantly cheaper rookie contracts, which will be necessary to maintain the Niners’ current Super Bowl window.

Nearly halfway through the regular season, and armed with a 4-3 record, things haven’t exactly gone according to play for San Francisco. Injuries have been a massive problem, the team has a number of high-profile pending free agents, and many of them will depart, there’s a need to get cheaper at some areas and depth is always a concern.

So much of the SF 49ers’ draft decisions in 2021 will hinge on how the team finishes the rest of the season, particularly quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who according to reports is still facing an uncertain future with the team beyond this year.

Financially speaking, it would be relatively easy for the Niners to move on from Jimmy G.

But for the purposes of this midseason evaluation, let’s assume Garoppolo stays put and the Niners focus their current crop of seven picks for the 2021 NFL Draft elsewhere.

Looking specifically at these three top needs.