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SF 49ers NFL Draft: 7-round non-quarterback mock for 2021

By Peter Panacy

"THE PICK IS IN" for the San Francisco 49ers during the 2018 NFL Draft (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
"THE PICK IS IN" for the San Francisco 49ers during the 2018 NFL Draft (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Elijah Molden, Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies defensive back Elijah Molden (3) Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /

Round 2, Pick No. 46 Overall: SF 49ers select cornerback Elijah Molden, Washington

818. . Cornerback. Huskies . Elijah Molden. 46. player

Perhaps no other position for the SF 49ers this offseason will see more free-agent attrition than cornerback where Richard Sherman, Emmanuel Moseley (RFA), Jason Verrett, Ahkello Witherspoon, Dontae Johnson and K’Waun Williams are among the names to hit the open market.

Even if the Niners re-sign some of those players, there’s little doubt they’ll use a pick or two to reinforce the secondary.

Perhaps with someone in the ilk of Washington’s Elijah Molden.

At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Molden doesn’t necessarily sound like the prototypical boundary corner San Francisco has targeted in recent NFL Drafts. Yet the SF 49ers have shied away from this a bit recently. After all, both Verrett and Moseley have played outside and are under 6-foot-0.

Plus, Molden plays bigger than his size would indicate, and he’s had little trouble matching up against bigger pass-catchers over his collegiate career.

Elijah Molden Defense & Fumbles Table
Tackles Def Int Fumbles
Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
*2017 Washington Pac-12 FR DB 8 10 9 19 0.5 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0
*2018 Washington Pac-12 SO DB 11 20 9 29 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 5 1 1
*2019 Washington Pac-12 JR DB 13 49 30 79 5.5 0.0 4 45 11.3 0 12 1 3
2020 Washington Pac-12 SR DB 3 14 4 18 1.0 0.0 1 24 24.0 0 1 0 0
Career Washington 93 52 145 7.0 0.0 5 69 13.8 0 19 2 4

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Generated 12/2/2020.

Molden is exceptional in man coverage. And while the Niners primarily use zone-coverage schemes, the ability to put Molden in this kind of deployment only adds to what the defense would be able to do.

And if San Francisco wants to use Molden as a nickel back, he’s more than adept at moving inside, too.