SF 49ers NFL Draft: Niners grab a corner in WFP recent mock

The SF 49ers could be looking at quarterbacks early in the NFL Draft, but our friends at With the First Pick have the Niners going with a cornerback.

The popular choice among 2021 NFL Draft circles for the SF 49ers is head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. will grab one of the numerous top-end quarterbacks to eventually replace Jimmy Garoppolo, who could be on the outs after an injury-plagued 2020 campaign.

Perhaps. And so much depends on exactly where the 5-8 Niners select in Round 1 of the draft. Many of the highly touted quarterbacks could be gone by the time San Francisco is currently slated to pick, No. 12 overall.

But according to our friends over at With the First Pick, the SF 49ers aren’t thinking quarterback. At least not right away.

Instead, the mock selection is South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn:

"The end of the Richard Sherman era is upon the city of San Francisco as he has been quite blunt about his future with the 49ers. There are a few quality replacements the 49ers could select with the 12th pick in this 2021 NFL Mock Draft, but the direction they turn here is towards South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. …The son of former Pro Bowl wide receiver Joe Horn, Jaycee has been around football for his whole life, and it shows. He plays with a high level of intellect and physicality, and as a result has a reputation as one of the meanest cornerbacks in the SEC. As the 49ers transition from an All-Pro and future Hall of Famer, Horn will fill in quite nicely as a day-one starter in the Bay Area."

In With the First Pick’s mock, four quarterbacks have already been taken by the time the Niners select, so that part of the Horn pick makes a lot of sense.

And it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad move either.

Why SF 49ers could land Jaycee Horn in 2021 NFL Draft

As pointed out with the mock selection, San Francisco is preparing to move on from its three-year starter, Sherman. But he’s not the only cornerback the SF 49ers could potentially lose this offseason.

Jason Verrett, K’Waun Williams, Dontae Johnson, Ahkello Witherspoon and Emmanuel Moseley (RFA) are all pending free agents this offseason, and it’ll be tough for the Niners to retain all of them. And even if they managed to keep one or two names, some long-term upgrades would be a boost.

Horn fits the bill for what San Francisco has traditionally employed on its boundaries, being a 6-foot-1, 205-pound defensive back who can thrive in zone coverage but has equal skills to hold his own in man. Plus, with two interceptions and six passes broken up over seven games this season, Horn has shown he’s more than adept getting in the way between receivers and their intended passes.

That’s the kind of cornerback the SF 49ers could use.

In addition to cornerback and quarterback, the Niners could also stand for some serious offensive line help along with safety, tight end and defensive line depth.

But going with a cornerback in Round 1 wouldn’t be a bad idea.