SF 49ers: Post-Senior Bowl 3-round mock 2021 NFL Draft

Round 3, Pick No. 97 Overall (Compensatory): SF 49ers select QB Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

We had to involve at least one SF 49ers-selected player who impressed at the Senior Bowl, right?

The Niners are going to get a third-round compensatory selection in the 2021 draft after the NY Jets hired away defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to be a head coach this offseason. It’ll be towards the end of Round 3, so the actual number won’t be known until compensatory picks are announced later this spring. For now, let’s simply assume it’s at No. 97 overall right after the initial picks in the round.

San Francisco 49ers

And for the targeted pick, San Francisco makes the 2021 Senior Bowl’s MVP, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond, the selection here.

Mond was quite the wild card heading into the Senior Bowl. The 6-foot-3, 217-pound signal-caller did a good job protecting the ball last season, tossing 19 touchdowns against only three interceptions while completing a career-best 63.3 percent of his passes. But it was fair to question his overall arm strength, progression reads and whether or not he’d rely too heavily on his ability to scramble at the pro level.

Fortunately, Mond answered a good deal of question marks during the Senior Bowl, as NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread pointed out:

"Mond completed 13 of 25 passes for 173 yards, leading an American squad comeback from a 13-0 deficit to a 16-13 lead with two third-quarter TD passes, prompting NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah to say Mond “is making a little money today,” during the broadcast of the game."

What’s good about a would-be Mond selection by San Francisco is it would still allow Jimmy Garoppolo to start but would provide some serious competition, something Jimmy G hasn’t exactly had since joining the SF 49ers.

If Mond doesn’t pan out, few will overly worry about a third-round pick being used. If he impresses enough, however, the Niners could ultimately look to make the switch in 2022.