2021 Senior Bowl: 5 NFL Draft prospects SF 49ers must watch
By Peter Panacy
SF 49ers Prospect No. 1: Quarterback Ian Book
819. . Quarterback. Fighting Irish . Ian Book. 1. player
Seems like a Notre Dame scouting report for the Senior Bowl, right?
Well, the SF 49ers could be closely monitoring Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, too. But after his electric five-touchdown performance over Ohio State in the CFB Playoff Championship game, there’s not exactly a lot left for Jones to prove. He’ll be a Round 1 signal-caller, that’s enough to be said barring a complete meltdown in Mobile.
Whether or not the Niners move on from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason is anyone’s guess, but backups C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens are poised to hit free agency and may not be back either. Even if San Francisco passes on a signal-caller early, it’ll still be wise enough to target another name in the draft to fill out the depth chart.
Notre Dame’s Ian Book would be a nice addition on day three of the draft.
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2017 | Notre Dame | Ind | SO | QB | 10 | 46 | 75 | 61.3 | 456 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 4 | 4 | 119.3 |
| *2018 | Notre Dame | Ind | JR | QB | 10 | 214 | 314 | 68.2 | 2628 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 19 | 7 | 154.0 |
| *2019 | Notre Dame | Ind | SR | QB | 13 | 240 | 399 | 60.2 | 3034 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 34 | 6 | 149.1 |
| *2020 | Notre Dame | ACC | SR | QB | 12 | 228 | 353 | 64.6 | 2830 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 15 | 3 | 144.3 |
| Career | Notre Dame | 728 | 1141 | 63.8 | 8948 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 72 | 20 | 147.0 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Generated 1/26/2021.
Niner Noise already touted why Book could be a solid day-three addition. While Book isn’t flashy, he’s been reliable, has a good arm and trusts his instincts. Those are traits neither Mullens nor Beathard showcased with any sort of consistency over the past few years, and Book might be worth developing as a quality backup at least with the high ceiling of being a low-end starting-caliber option.
That kind of quarterback has value, too.
Next. 49ers 3-round mock NFL Draft with Round 1 trade. dark
The 2021 Reese’ Senior Bowl kicks off on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m. ET.