49ers NFL Draft 2021: Ranking the final 4 top needs
By Peter Panacy
With the 2021 NFL Draft fast approaching, Niner Noise ranks out the 49ers’ top four needs as they plan to take a quarterback at No. 3 overall.
The San Francisco 49ers are going to take a quarterback first with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
That much is apparent, as the Niners gave up the No. 12 overall pick in this year’s draft, along with two other first-round selections and a Round 3 pick in 2022 to make the move. While there are other top-end non-quarterback prospects who could be selected here, general manager John Lynch and Co. wouldn’t have given up so much draft capital for anything else but a signal-caller.
After that, however, things get awfully interesting for the red and gold.
Despite retaining a large chunk of its 2021 NFL free agency class, as well as making upgrades at center (Alex Mack) and EDGE (Samson Ebukam), San Francisco still has a number of pressing needs to be solved on draft day. Armed with pick Nos. 43 and 103 overall on day two, along with six more selections on day three of the draft, Lynch’s eventual draft plans could go one of any number of different directions.
So, with Round 1 of the NFL Draft closing in, let’s rank out the 49ers’ four biggest positional needs in reverse order.
49ers NFL Draft Need No. 4: Quarterback
Given the importance of this position and the resources it took for the Niners to get to No. 3 overall, one could make the argument grabbing a quarterback would be the team’s biggest need.
But only in the long run. Not necessarily immediately.
For now, San Francisco appears committed to its current starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. And 2019 proved the 49ers can win with him under center, provided he’s healthy and has a solid crop of weapons around him, which the Niners mostly have in place right now.
From that vantage point, grabbing a quarterback doesn’t solve an immediate need. It doesn’t have to, and that’s perfectly OK. San Francisco is looking for a long-term solution. And if whichever quarterback selected at No. 3 winds up taking over starting duties sooner than later, that’s just as well.
Instead, what the 49ers are doing here is trying to find someone capable of leading the franchise under center for the next 10 years while hoping to squeeze one more year out of Jimmy G during this crucial transition period.