SF 49ers: 3 dark-horse targets for first pick in 2021 NFL Draft

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Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts (84) Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

The SF 49ers are not averse to throwing a spanner in the works come NFL Draft day.

This is a very important draft year for the SF 49ers, as the team looks to make the necessary adjustments to the team to remain a Super Bowl contender.

After a disappointing 2020 that was handicapped by injuries across the board, the Niners are expected to release some players who were a key fixture in the Super Bowl run from 2019 to free up cap space and allow some flexibility for free agency.

As a result, the SF 49ers need to strike gold in the 2021 NFL Draft to replace these players with cheaper, younger and hopefully better players.

San Francisco had some success in the draft in recent years. EDGE Nick Bosa and wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel have burst onto the scene as early picks, while the team has found late-round gems such as linebacker Dre Greenlaw and, most famously, All-Pro tight end George Kittle.

So it can be reasonably assumed the 49ers know what they’re doing and have their finger on the pulse of what will be an unusual draft class. With COVID-19 protocols making the pre-draft process much more digital and the unusual college season meaning less game film on players, we could very well see teams with radically different draft boards for 2021.

What’s exciting for the draft, as far as San Francisco is concerned, is the No. 12 pick is a perfect spot to grab an exciting talent that inexplicably falls down the order. The team could stand to upgrade a few different positions, especially when the SF 49ers cut players before the draft, so there’s a wide variety of ways the team could go.

So that makes an article like this challenging. If a team could go several different ways in the draft, how can you define a dark-horse target?

Well, for this situation, there are two different ways you can define a player as such. Either a player who plays a position that wouldn’t be on the top of the list as far as roster needs are concerned or a player who does fill a need but may not be considered a suitable prospect so early.

But as mentioned, such a weird college season and draft process could see players in radically different situations on draft boards.

So let’s take a look at three dark-horse candidates whose names could be called out for San Francisco at No. 12.