San Francisco 49ers: Round 1 big board for 2021 NFL Draft

Tier 1: 49ers’ first selection at No. 3 overall

While it’s possible San Francisco could have traded up from No. 12 overall to the third overall pick for a generational talent like Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell or Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, the fact the 49ers sent off two additional first-round selections (one in 2022 and another in 2023) along with a 2022 third-round pick would, in reality, only be used to grab a quarterback.

This year’s draft class has plenty of quarterbacking talent, but it’s awfully top-heavy. And while the five best prospects in this year’s class aren’t necessarily all quarterbacks, noting Sewell and Pitts, it’s perfectly reasonable to guess the first five players taken will be signal-callers.

That’s just how the draft goes sometimes.

As far as the big board would look from the Niners’ perspective, here you go:

Barring something insane, the top-drafting Jacksonville Jaguars are going to select Trevor Lawrence, but he’s still likely ranked atop San Francisco’s big board.

Things get a bit trickier with the New York Jets at No. 2, though, even if they’ve fully signaled they’ll grab a quarterback, too, after moving Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers earlier this week.

Most draft experts suspect the Jets will go with Zach Wilson. But if Gang Green opts to take someone like Justin Fields instead, the 49ers would almost assuredly run to the podium to put in Wilson’s name.

The reality of the situation, however, is the Niners will be picking between the remaining three: Fields, Trey Lance and Mac Jones.

Jones, for whatever the reasons, has been a media favorite for San Francisco and even has the best odds, currently, for the 49ers’ top pick. And while quarterbacks always tend to rise up draft boards leading up to Round 1, Jones probably could have been in range for the Niners’ original No. 12 overall selection.

If anything, a more modest trade-up between Nos. 6 and 10 would have signaled a bitter intention to grab Jones.

Hence why Fields and Lance are the two more realistic targets here.

Lance might have the bigger upside of the two. But after playing just one game in 2020 and having essentially only one year as a full-time starter, 2019, it’s perfectly reasonable to assume Fields is much more polished and ready to contribute.

Considering the 49ers have three losing seasons out of four under head coach Kyle Shanahan, it’s probably more important the Niners hit on a more NFL-ready prospect like Fields instead of someone who’ll need some considerable polish.