SF 49ers: 7-round mock 2021 NFL Draft with only SEC players

Round 5, Pick No. 182 Overall (Compensatory): SF 49ers select wide receiver Shi Smith, South Carolina

The SF 49ers have their top two wide receivers set for 2021, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. But the depth behind them remains an open-ended question.

Receivers Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor are unrestricted free agents. Fellow wideout Jalen Hurd hasn’t stepped on the field for a regular-season snap after suffering serious injuries the last two years, and last year’s seventh-round pick, Jauan Jennings, remains a work in progress.

There’s a chance the Niners rely more on backup slot receiver Richie James this year, but it wouldn’t hurt to grab another smallish, shifty wideout who can separate and gain some top-level speed.

South Carolina’s Shi Smith paired with Samuel in 2017 and 2018 and enjoyed consistent production, using his 5-foot-10 frame to obtain good separation at the line of scrimmage. While he’s nowhere near as polished as Samuel was in this regard coming out of college, Smith does have the elusiveness to suggest he can be a versatile weapon in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

And if Smith can help bolster the depth chart by being a reliable reserve target, using the pick the Niners received for the 2020 free-agent loss of wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders on him would be a smart move.