SF 49ers mock NFL Draft halfway through 2020 season
By Peter Panacy
Round 3, Pick No. 95 Overall (from Jets): SF 49ers reinforce secondary with South Carolina cornerback Israel Mukuamu
. Cornerback. Gamecocks . Israel Mukuamu. 95. player. 850
What’s this? A trade?
Well, at this point in the draft, it’s worth it. San Francisco currently doesn’t have a third-round pick after dishing that one out for Trent Williams last April. Yet there’s a player on John Lynch’s radar who both fits what the SF 49ers do on the defensive side of the ball and from a program for which the Niners have some serious affinity: South Carolina cornerback Israel Mukuamu.
How does San Francisco get back into Round 3? Well, here you go:
The NY Jets need all the rebuild help they can get, meaning some added mid-round draft capital surely would help matters.
And as far as Mukuamu? He’s about as seamless a fit for coordinator Robert Saleh’s Cover 3 defense as there is in this draft.
At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Mukuamu is long and lanky with some “dog-like” mentality and tenacity. A willing tackler, Mukuamu thrives in zone coverage and converging with receivers to lay out big hits to jar the ball loose.
It’s important, too, as the Niners could easily lose boundary cornerbacks Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Ahkello Witherspoon and Emmanuel Moseley (RFA), who are all scheduled for free agency this offseason.